Program Helps High School Students Explore Careers in Medicine, Engineering

OMAHA – Dozens of future surgeons and engineers learned more about these career fields first-hand through a special outreach program hosted by the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s (UNO) Department of Biomechanics and the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Department of Orthopaedic Surgery.

On Saturday, Nov. 9, faculty and graduate students from UNO and UNMC welcomed 40 high school students to the newly expanded Biomechanics Research Building on UNO’s campus to learn about pursuing careers in orthopaedics and engineering.

Each student was outfitted with their own scrubs and gloves, provided tools to perform simulated orthopaedic surgeries, and invited to take part in biomechanical research experiments. Biomechanics researchers and orthopaedic surgeons were also on-hand to talk with students about their work and why they should consider a career in orthopaedics or engineering.

Organizers hope that, by the end of the day-long event, some of these high school students had found their calling.

The event was part of the Perry Initiative, a nationwide effort to increase the number of women in the fields of orthopaedic surgery and engineering. Though the event is free for participants, students were selected for the program through an application process earlier this year. This was the second time the event has been hosted on UNO’s campus.

The event received media coverage from KETV.