In mid-December, four students in the health careers track at Bethel Regional High School took a tour of the lab and the imaging and diagnostic departments. They specifically requested these departments as their curiosity was ignited by things they were learning in the classroom.
Justin King, Diagnostic & Imaging Manager and Luis Herebia, Medical Lab Technician, took the students on an enlightening tour of their respective departments, after which the students enjoyed a delicious lunch at the cafeteria.
Take a minute to read the students’ reflections on their tour of the two departments, then scroll down to see some photos from their visit.
Atarah Kelila, Kwethluk, 11th grade
I thought the lab was amazing. I was surprised to see so many machines. I know when I walked into the lab that it was something that I would want to do. I was also wondering if our tour guide did on the job training and was inspired to hear that he plans to return to school and climb up his career ladder. We can always keep learning and growing and improve ourselves.
The manager told us about the many positions in the diagnostic and imaging department. Sonographers do a lot to help their patients and they are able to impact patients’ lives. A lot of good things are done by sonographers and x-ray techs to provide radiologists with the information they need to support the health of patients. I also learned that radiation safety is very important or you can ruin good tissue.
Kaia Agibinik, Kwethluk, 11th grade
The lab seemed like a peaceful place and it is good to learn what goes on in a lab and the knowledge and skills that the people in the lab have to know what to do with blood.
I want to learn and do many things and keep growing as I learn more. Ultrasound is on my list now. I really loved how the manager said that there are many things to do in the Diagnostic and Imaging and how important it is to be cautious and follow procedures for the safety of all.
Katie Egoak, Kwethluk, 11th grade
What I saw in the lab was cool. I did not know that they keep blood there as I though they just take blood from people. I wondered how they would know if people have cancer in their blood. How do those machines know what is and how do the machines know if we are sick?
I learned that there are many careers in Diagnostic & Imaging. I could be a sonographer or an x-ray tech. With imaging, we can look at bones. Seeing how sonography works is cool as we can see what is inside us.
Davida Michael, Kwethluk, 11th grade
There were more machines than they were people in the lab. I was surprised to see so many big and small machines to run lab tests. Are the machines running all the time? How many labs are tested every day! The tour of the lab deepened by interest in becoming a lab technician.
What I found most interesting in Diagnostic/Imaging is ultrasound. It was really cool to be able to see blood vessels and muscles and how radiation can be used to see inside the body. The job as a radiologist seems to be important as radiologists use medical images to diagnose and treat various conditions and injuries.
