Four Year 11 Newington students were fortunate enough to be invited to a Schools Engagement Program at St Vincent’s Hospital on Tuesday, 11 September. The program, run by Newington parent Dr Pamela Blaikie, the Research Office Manager for the St. Vincent’s Health Network, engaged students from St Vincent’s College, Kincoppal Rose Bay School and Monte Sant’ Angelo Mercy College, as well as Newington. The four boys, Lachlan Sheehy (11/JN), Angus Waldon (11/MA), Ned Stevens (11/LE) and Lewis Waugh (11/PR) have all expressed an interest in studying Medicine. It is occasions like this that can motivate the boys to take the next step.

Here is what the boys had to say about the experience…

Lewis: I found the day really enjoyable and significant, as seeing some practical applications of medicine and hearing from medical professionals cemented my interest in medicine. I also enjoyed meeting some other students on the day who shared my aspirations, it was great to hear why they loved the area.

The experience has really motivated me to strive for a career in medicine as it showed me where I could be in less than 10 years. Meeting some researchers and medical staff really grounded the profession as before the experience, being a doctor seemed like a very unachievable job.

Angus: three other Newington boys and I with students from other schools enjoyed a tour of the hospital and laboratories, a lecture from A. Prof Kumud Dhital on heart transplantation, a panel presentation from different medical professionals and the opportunity to watch several researchers present their theses in a series of three-minute presentations. The main thing that I got out of the day was a far greater appreciation of the sheer number of different career paths in medicine, specifically regarding medical research. Witnessing a working laboratory working toward finding improved treatment or testing for HIV-AIDs and Hepatitis C, especially in working with high-risk people and patients (such as drug users), and hearing about their impact in the local community was especially empowering. The thesis presentations were also very interesting, exposing me to areas and processes of research currently being looked into. I also really enjoyed the “Heart in a box” lecture presented by A. Prof Kumud Dhital, as I found all of the information on the medical process and the ethics of heart transplant fascinating.

I think that the opportunity to attend this Hospital visit has helped to further solidify my aspirations to pursue medicine as a career, and I hope to study Medicine at University after leaving Newington. The “Heart in a box” lecture has also really excited me about the prospect of becoming involved in cardiothoracic surgery (heart surgery) and heart transplantation, although that would, of course, be far down the pipeline. The exposure to medical research has also made me consider the research aspect of the medicine, and while I would love the opportunity to run a project similar to those seen in the three-minute thesis presentations at this point in time my long-term goal would be pursuing a career as a doctor or surgeon.

Shane Serhon
Head of Careers