Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

IAA's Youth Scholars Program

A unique opportunity for local youth to work with physician mentors to learn about, and participate in hands-on anesthesia practices at Connecticut hospitals and simulation centers.  

IAA's Youth Scholars Program

As one of the pillars of IAA’s DEI mission, community engagement is extremely important to our group. As part of our commitment to community engagement, IAA offers an intensive week-long introduction to anesthesia for high school students 16 and over for students in public high schools in Bridgeport & Hartford.

Program Timeline

The Youth Scholars Program

  • Supports 3-5 students each at St.Vincent’s Medical Center / Hartford Hospital

  • Runs during a five-day session (Monday-Friday) in mid-August

  • Includes an initial Zoom session with students & mentors a week prior to discuss the program course outline.

  • Includes one meeting prior to the program to complete hospital orientation and get hospital ID badges.

  • Takes place  at respective hospitals on Monday-Thursday

  • Is held at Harford Simulation Center with a catered lunch on Friday.

Daily Schedule

9:00 AM – Students Welcomed

9:05 AM – Didactics & Procedural Skills

10:00 AM – Morning Shadowing

11:00 AM –Lunch in Cafeteria (Vouchers Provided)

12:00 PM –Afternoon Shadowing

2:00 PM –Students Dismissed

Program Requirements

  1. School administrators must recommend students for participation in this program. 
  2. Students must be enrolled in a public high school in Bridgeport or Hartford. Currently, we are collaborating with the following schools
    > Fairchild Wheeler Magnet School
    > Hartford High School
    > Hartford Magnet Trinity College Academy 
  3. Students must be 16 or older
  4. Students must be eligible to be a hospital volunteer.
  5.  Paperwork to obtain a hospital ID badge, including immunization forms and authorizations must be completed by August 1st.

Program Curriculum

Day 1: Introduction to Anesthesiology

  • Didactics
  • Overview of anesthesiology as a medical specialty
  • History of Anesthesia and its evolution
  • Types of anesthesia: general, regional, and local
  • Anesthesia team roles and responsibilities in the OR, L&D, and ICU
  • Common drugs used in anesthesia and their effects
  • Opening ceremony: Students get a personalized white coat
  • Morning Shadowing
  • Procedural Skills: Airway Management
  • Shadowing after Lunch 

Day 2: Anesthesia in the Operating Room

  • Didactics
  • Pre-operative evaluation and preparation of the patient
    Induction and maintenance of anesthesia
  • Monitoring of the patient during surgery
  • Emergencies and complications during surgery and how to manage them
  • Recovery from anesthesia and post-operative care
  • Morning Shadowing
  • Procedural Skills: RQI CPR (practicing effective chest compressions at appropriate rate using simulator dummy)
  • Shadowing after Lunch

Day 3: Anesthesia in Labor and Delivery

  • Didactics
  • Pain management options during childbirth
    Benefits and risks of epidural anesthesia
  • Monitoring of the mother and baby during labor and delivery
    Management of emergencies and complications during childbirth
  • Postpartum care and follow-up
  • Morning Shadowing / Visit to Healthcare Administration
  • Procedural Skills: IV Placement
  • Shadowing after Lunch

Day 4: Anesthesia in the Intensive Care Unit

  • Didactics
  • Types of ICU patients requiring anesthesia
  • Management of pain and sedation in critically ill patients
  • Ventilation and airway management in the ICU
  • Use of neuromuscular blocking agents in the ICU
  • Management of complications and emergencies in the ICU
    Morning Shadowing / Visit to ICU
  • Procedural Skills: Intubation
  • Shadowing after Lunch

Day 5: Anesthesia and Patient Safety

  • Didactics
  • Patient safety and quality in anesthesia practice
  • Strategies for preventing medication errors in anesthesia
  • Importance of communication and teamwork in the OR, L&D, and ICU
  • Standard safety protocols and practices in anesthesia
    Future of anesthesiology and ongoing developments in the field
  • Morning Shadowing
    Procedural Skills: POCUS (Hartford Simulator Center)
  • Shadowing after Lunch
  • Closing Ceremony: Students given Certificate & Stethoscope. Feedback provided.

The Four Pillars of DEI

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
EDUCATION
RESEARCH
Professional Development

Youth Scholars Program

As part of our commitment to community engagement, IAA offers an intensive week-long introduction to anesthesia for high school students 16 and over for students in public high schools in Bridgeport & Hartford. Learn more! 

IAA's Youth Scholars Program >

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