Interactive immersive experience brings operating theatre experience alive
Operating Theatre Live – the UK’s only touring surgical experience – will once again be hosted by St Margaret’s School for Girls when it comes to Aberdeen later this year.
The next generation of budding doctors, pharmacists, radiographers, occupational therapists and other healthcare professions from schools throughout Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire are being invited to take part in the one-day live human interactive dissection show on Saturday, September 14, its only Scottish date.
Operating Theatre Live (OTL), which was featured on the BBC’s Dragons’ Den last summer, first came to St Margaret’s in August 2018, when 110 boys and girls from schools throughout the region took part in the event.
Led by human anatomist Samuel Piri and his team of clinicians, the immersive operating theatre experience is matched to UK exam specifications and provides those taking part with an ‘academically rigorous educational experience’, during which they take on the role of a trauma doctor bringing the systems of the human body alive through dissections of real specimens.
The aim of the experience is to challenge students aged 12 to 19 years, to explore careers in medicine and healthcare, to raise engagement in STEM subjects and take students on an experience into healthcare and human anatomy. There will be two separate events, one for future medics and one for surgeons.
An additional day has been added to this year’s programme – a NUPE (UKCAT/BMAT) training day aimed at those who wish to apply for medicine and dentistry which will be held on Sunday, September 15. This will provide those taking part with an opportunity to receive tuition and practise techniques for the UKCAT, an admissions test used by many medical schools to assess students’ suitability to study medicine.
St Margaret’s head teacher Anna Tomlinson, said: “We jumped at the chance of hosting last year’s event, especially as it was the first time it had been held in Scotland,” she said.
“Samuel and his team are extremely professional and dedicated physicians, and we were very impressed with the organisation and way in which they conducted the day. The feedback from parents and pupils was excellent and we are once again expecting exceptional demand for places. We would advise anyone who wants to take part to book their place as soon as possible.”
Students will work systematically through a complete dissection of the human body, and will be taught a variety of important clinical skills, including interpreting X-rays and linking symptoms to clinical diagnosis.
With a post-mortem style experience, students will look at disease and pathology, working on real specimens using real surgeons’ tools, discovering the intricate structures and how they function to keep us alive. They will have an opportunity to ask questions, handle the anatomical samples and undertake some dissection for themselves.
Programme director Samuel Piri, an anatomist and teacher, said: “I and my team guarantee you a breath-taking, unforgettable trip through the human body like never before. Each student will leave stretched and challenged having made measurable progress against the science specification, from GCSE, A Levels and BTECs to Scottish National 5 and Highers.”
For more information, please visit: https://www.operatingtheatrelive.co.uk/operating-theatre-experience