[note: the following story was first reported in 2001; an update follows]

Reading, writing and open heart surgery

For as long as she can remember, Jessica Ryan has wanted to be a doctor. On Dec. 5, 2000, she rose extra early to drive from her home in Middleburgh to Ellis Hospital in Schenectady, where she quickly changed into scrubs and arrived in the operating room by 6:30 a.m. Her assignment was to observe heart valve replacement surgery on Thomas, a 23-year-old man whose valves had been ravaged by endocarditis. Afterward, Jessica would report in her journal about the surgery and her research on endocarditis, a bacterial infection on the heart.

But Jessica wouldn't be submitting her report to a medical school professor. A high school senior, she is enrolled in the New Visions: Health Careers Exploration, a Vo-Tec program for college-bound students. The one-year program is very demanding, yet the students rise to the challenge and excel. "What's so extraordinary about Jessica and the other Health Careers students," noted teacher Happy Scherer, "is that they approach each rotation with wide-eyed enthusiasm. Their journals reflect their excitement and quest for knowledge."

The rotations, structured observations of professionals and procedures in a career field, are the heart of New Visions. Health Careers students spend from one day to three weeks in 40 to 50 clinical and administrative areas of the hospital and local health care facilities.  Rotations include radiation oncology, the operating room, pharmacy, psychiatric units, rehabilitation, the business office and even maintenance, which poses special challenges in a sterile environment.

It was during Jessica's rotation in preadmission testing that she met Thomas. She requested permission to observe Thomas' surgery,  which surpassed anything Jessica had ever read or researched. "It was really interesting to see the layers of the body as a textbook cannot describe," Jessica reported in her journal. "After cutting through the sternum, or breast bone, we were right on top of the heart. The surgeon [Herb Reich, M.D.] asked me what he was cutting, and I quickly replied, 'the pericardium'. I was surprised by the compliments I got for knowing this. . . I learned an unbelievable amount, not only because of the obvious reason of seeing a beating heart, but because all in the operating room were very supportive of my curiosity."

The surgery was a success for both the patient and Jessica. Dr. Reich, who Jessica describes as "very student oriented," can't say enough positive things about either his student or New Visions. "Jessica was awesome, a real star. She observed the valve replacement and the next day watched bypass surgery," he related.

"New Visions has brought my dream closer to reality," said Jessica. "I'm still in high school, yet I've already seen heart surgery, an autopsy, radiation oncology and also the business side of a hospital. New Visions helped me know that I am truly on the road to medical school."

[Spring 2001]

Update Summer 2005:
Jessica Ryan graduated in May 2005 from SUNY Binghamton with a degree in cell and molecular biology. She'll attend medical school at Upstate Medical College in Syracuse. She thanks the New Visions program for helping her get to where she is today. Rotating through all of the departments of Ellis Hospital during her senior year of high school opened her eyes to different possiblities in the field of medicine. It also opened up summer job opportunities as a patient-care technician. But most importantly, it may have opened the door to medical school. "I landed five interviews," Jessica noted, "which are hard to come by, and I was accepted into my first choice, Upstate Medical College in Syracuse." She said that the written recommendation she received from a heart surgeon at Ellis Hospital probably played a key role. Jessica hasn't settled on a medical specialty, but she is highly interested in cardiology. Whatever she chooses, her heart is in her work!