Center for Medical Science Students Observe Surgeries

Lisa Peck, Director of The Center for Medical Science at Shorecrest states, "The only good thing that came out of my needing surgery three years ago was the connection I made with my surgeon, Dr. Richard Fansler."

Mrs. Peck's Intro to Medical Science students have begun their field experiences at Largo Medical Center; shadowing her surgeon for a day. Every Wednesday, two or three of Ms. Peck's students will observe Dr. Fansler as he does his rounds and surgeries. Dr. Fansler is a general & vascular surgeon who, as a former faculty member of the Tulane University Department of Surgery, truly enjoys teaching students who are interested in medicine. Dr. Fansler takes the time to explain what he is going to do before the surgery and then describes what he is doing during the surgery too! What an amazing opportunity for high school students to be able to learn first-hand what it is like to be a surgeon! There are not too many high school students who get to shadow a general/vascular surgeon.

Every week Dr. Fansler performs a variety of different surgeries which the students observe. The next day they share their experience with the class. The students enjoy discussing what they learned and comparing “their surgeries” with each other. The students also get an opportunity to engage with Dr. Fansler’s medical resident and nurse practitioner to learn from them as well. Shorecrest is so fortunate to have Dr. Fansler supporting our medical science program.

See a video of Dr. Fansler speaking about his care philosophy and what inspired him to be a doctor.

Read what our students had to say about their experiences:

Pablo C. commented, “I would like to thank Mrs. Peck and Dr. Fansler for giving me the opportunity to shadow at the Largo Medical Center. Entering the OR and seeing a live surgery was one of the coolest experiences I've ever had. I witnessed Dr. Fansler prepare a patient for anterior spinal surgery and perform a radical mastectomy.”

Jack L. and Orrin F said, “We had the opportunity to shadow the wonderful vascular surgeon, Dr. Richard Fansler, at Largo Medical Hospital. It was a very unique opportunity because we got exposed to many different aspects of the medical field. We saw Dr. Fansler cut vertically into someone by the umbilical region, and move all of the organs and major blood vessels in the way aside to expose part of the vertebral column anteriorly. The point of this was so that the orthopedic surgeon could then come in and perform a vertebral spinal fusion by adding plates. Dr. Fansler even let us look inside the abdomen to see the organs and major blood vessels retracted and spinal column exposed. Moreover, after the orthopedic surgeon placed the plates onto the vertebrae, Dr. Fansler put the organs and blood vessels back in place and then quickly sutured back up the umbilical region and later on the orthopedic surgeon would go back into the body laterally to finish of the spinal fusion by inserting screws on the side of the vertebrae. It was amazing to see all of this being done. Then we saw a carotid artery receive a stent that would inflate and open up the blocked blood vessel. We had to wear lead aprons for Dr. Fansler used contrast and a CT machine to observe the blood vessels to locate the blockages. He used a cool vascular closure tool to close up the femoral artery. We really appreciated Dr. Fansler taking the time to explain what he was doing and why as he performed his surgeries. The amazing experience has helped us decide to become surgeons. Thank you, Dr. Fansler.”

Mitch S., Hannah L., and Kim B. stated: “The first surgery we saw was the laparoscopic removal of the sigmoid colon. The second was a right breast mastectomy. We learned that after the sigmoid colon was removed, saline was put in to check for leaks in the reattached section. The surgery smelled bad, but the experience was worth it. We appreciate this opportunity a lot because the residents kept informing us that they never had the opportunity to observe surgeries as we are in high school right now. In addition, we were able to tour the hospital with one of Dr. Fansler’s medical residents. She explained to us what it was like to go through medical school and have monthly rotations. We even got to see how she accessed charts on the hospital’s computers and how she got ready to visit a new patient in the hospital. It was so cool to talk with someone who could potentially be in the same spot we will be in in a few years. When we went on rounds with the medical resident, she showed us what a routine check up on a patient looks like. She asked the patient questions that weren’t already answered in the chart, and also listened to the heart beat and checked other vital signs. This opportunity to see one-to-one patient care was very beneficial, since we hadn’t seen anything like it before. We would like to thank Dr. Fansler and his team for allowing us to shadow today and being such great hosts!”

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