Operating Theatre Live returned to Blackburn Central High School, during the February half term break, with their unique hands-on medical experience.
Forty young aspiring medics travelled from across the region, including from Manchester, Wigan, and Halifax to experience this amazing, interactive, live show. It was also great to see so many students from our school attend the event.
The day began with an informative anatomy lecture, where the students learnt about the brain, digestive system and nervous system. After a break for refreshments the students worked in groups to remove the brain from a pig's head, whilst investigating the dura mater and associated tissues of the brain. They then removed the eyeball so they could marvel at its structure.
We were incredibly fortunate to be joined by Dr Geoff Chiuu from Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital, who answered a request to 'Give an Hour' as part of a Careers and Enterprise Company initiative. Dr Chiuu aided students with their dissections and showed them how to work as part of a surgical team.
The afternoon workshops included a detailed look at the thoracic organs, including the heart, lungs and trachea. Attendees dissected the heart and had a detailed look at the internal structures and vessels leading to and from it.
Scarlett and Amy, from Operating Theatre Live, also showed the young medics the structure and described the processes of the intestines before students went on to digest their own food at dinner time.
A number of students stayed for an extra evening session, had the chance to perform a lower leg amputation, and practice their suturing skills. This group also had tuition on completing the UKCAT tests that all aspiring medics have to undergo as part of their application to medical school.
All of the young people left with medical skills, which will hopefully prove useful in their ongoing education and future medical careers. Many also made new friends with similar interests and aspirations.