NEW ORLEANS – Four LSU Health New Orleans schools will bring hands-on activities and some of the most sophisticated medical equipment in the world to STEM Fest 2023, Saturday, October 14, from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. at the Caesars Superdome.
LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine is bringing a high-fidelity human patient simulator. This life-size mannequin blinks, breathes and responds as a human patient would. Faculty, staff and student volunteers will help the K-12 students hear heart and lung sounds as they interact with their “patient.” The kids will learn about what’s inside the body as LSU Health medical students show and explain the function of human anatomical specimens.
LSU Health nursing faculty and students will show the youngsters how germy their hands are with a “glow germ” tool and then the difference using a hand sanitizer makes. Older students will learn how to take and read blood pressure.
Cardiopulmonary Science faculty and students from LSU Health New Orleans School of Allied Health Professions will demonstrate negative pressure and positive pressure breathing using a pig lung encased in a Plexiglas box model. Students will use a resuscitation AMBU bag attached to an adapter on top of the Plexiglas box, which is in communication with the pig lung, to provide positive pressure breathing. They’ll use a 3-liter syringe attached to the Plexiglas box to create negative pressure around the lung (mimicking intrapleural pressure) for negative pressure breathing. The kids will have the opportunity to place an oral endotracheal tube in a mannequin head and then provide positive pressure breathing with a resuscitation AMBU bag.
Faculty and students from LSU Health New Orleans School of Public Health will teach participants about healthy eating. They’ll set up a MyPlate display where the kids can design their own healthy meals by applying food cut-outs onto their plates.
LSU Health New Orleans outreach efforts include working with K-12 students year-round. LSU Health New Orleans’ pipeline programs not only build upon their interest in science, but also show young people the sophisticated resources available at a university right here at home.
###