A handful of students majoring in the health field got the chance to participate in a behind-the-scenes tour at Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Downey on Friday.
The tour was conducted exclusively for students who are involved with Project HOPE at Cerritos College.
According to the Cerritos College website, Project HOPE is a support group for students who have aspirations to obtain “healthcare-related or science-related certificates and/or degrees.”
Once all of the students arrived in the hospital lobby they were greeted by Kaiser Project Manager, Roseanna Edwards and Public Affairs Director Elizabeth Trombley; both were the tour guides for the day.
The tour guides led the students through various units throughout the hospital, where they were greeted by the lead technicians. The technicians took the time to walk the students through a typical day of working in a hospital environment.
The students experienced a behind-the-scenes sneak peak of what they could anticipate from having a career in the medical field.
Lead radiology technician, Leo Zamora, showed them images on a computer screen of various computed tomography (CT) scans done on admitted patients. The technicians were sure to keep any personal information on the images private, as any disclosure of information would violate the patient’s confidentiality rights.
The images shown were of various organs, such as the lungs, liver, kidneys, as well as the brain. Phrases such as “awesome” and “wow” were heard among the crowd of students as they looked at the images.
Biology major Tracy Crespo said, “Something that really stuck out to me was the CT room (because) we can see the different parts of the body and we can get really nice 3-D pictures.”
Nursing major Melinda Barr said, “It was really interesting, I really liked how all the physicians that we saw throughout the units all seemed like they really loved their careers.”
She continued, “They seemed like they were excited to come to work and it was just a good vibe the whole time.”
If you are interested in a way to help Project HOPE continue with its efforts, you can do so by dining at designated local restaurants where it will be hosting “Eat for Education” fundraisers in October and December. A portion of the profit will go directly to the 2012-2013 Project HOPE Scholarship Program. This month, the event will be held on Thursday, Oct. 12 at Five Guys Burgers and Fries in Cerritos.
For more information on Project HOPE or further information on its “Eat for Education” fundraiser please contact the Project HOPE office at (562) 860- 2451, Ext. 7847 or visit the Project HOPE website at www.cerritos.edu/hope.
