Students Get Hands-on Introduction to Careers in Medicine at Sim Center

More than a dozen female students from local schools toured the Women’s Guild Simulation Center for Advanced Clinical Skills in March as part of the Los Angeles Clippers Foundation Mentoring Assist Program.

The young women from junior and senior high schools were given hands-on experience in medical training and also received a close-up look at the daily work of healthcare professionals under the guidance of Russell Metcalfe-Smith, associate director of the Simulation Center. The students used the latest tools to simulate a laparoscopic gall bladder removal, took turns at the virtual dissection table and helped place a breathing tube in a mannequin undergoing “surgery.”

After the tour, the students had the opportunity to speak with mentors about their work in the medical center and their careers.

Michele Rigsby Pauley, RN, interim associate director of Community Health and Education, described her career path from nurse, to nurse practitioner, to directing the Cedars-Sinai COACH for Kids®. Her advice to the young women was: “Never stop learning, because you never know where opportunities will take you.”

Cedars-Sinai is the official health partner of the L.A. Clippers.