Health Science Summer Camp at King’s College gives students a taste of potential careers

“Swish, swish, swish.”

Mayah Kolinovsky and Emma Eick grinned Wednesday morning as they each listened to the amplified sounds of their own pulses through a pocket-size device called a Ultrasonic Doppler.

Their pulses seemed to be beating in sync, Emma noted as the two friends, both students from Dallas High School, prepared to move on to the next learning station at a four-day Health Science Summer Camp sponsored by King’s College.

The young women were among 45 students from Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and beyond who came to learn more about health careers, and health-related majors at King’s.

“The beauty of the camp is, a lot of them come in thinking about becoming physician assistants, nurses or physical therapists but we poll them afterward and it changes drastically,” said Jenn Dessoye, founding chair of the school’s Doctorate in Occupational Therapy.

Noting that many students change their majors several times during their college career, Dessoye pointed out that students who attend science camp may save time and tuition money by finding their ideal career early.

The camp lasts through Thursday and gives students a chance to sample much of the equipment their college counterparts use.

By mid-morning on Wednesday, clinical director of the PA program Bill Reynolds was giving students tips as they worked to suture simulated wounds on simulated flesh pads.

“It actually hurts the patient less when the needle is sharp,” he said, explaining how they should hold the needle with metal forceps away from the tip so as not to dull it.

“It’s challenging,” Mario Belza from Wyoming Area admitted.

Can they see themselves eventually stitching up real patients?

“Someday,” Madelyn Gaizick from Hazleton Area said with a smile, admitting her knots were too loose. “Once I figure it out.”

In another lab at the Richard A. Alley Center for Health Sciences, a trio of young men used stethoscopes to listen to their own hearts and each other’s.

“You could tell it sounded like a healthy heart,” Christian Magas from Holy Cross High School in Dunmore said after listening to the heartbeat of Pittston Area’s Devon Cerasaro.

And, using a coaxial ophthalmoscope, Alexa Toniatti from Crestwood High School peered into the eye of a patient simulator that Director of the PA program Diana Easton had programmed to exhibit symptoms of a burst blood vessel.