This year, students in the Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES New Visions Medical Professions program built upon the foundation of their traditional classroom experiences by participating in a wide range of shadowing opportunities throughout the Central New York region.
The New Visions Medical Professions classroom is located inside Auburn Community Hospital, where students are typically engaged in hospital-based learning and shadowing rotations. In addition to these rotations, many students pursued supplemental experiences tailored to their individual medical interests.
Kim Stevers, Work-Based Learning Coordinator at Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES, said the variety and depth of the shadowing experiences had a powerful impact.
“These experiences are extremely beneficial in helping students understand the nature of the work in a real-world environment,” said Stevers. “It gives them a clearer vision of what is expected and can serve as a huge source of motivation as they are about to set out on their journey of pursuing post-secondary education. Students have indicated that these experiences have profoundly impacted them.”
Sophia Zogby, a Cato-Meridian High School student in the program, completed more than 40 hours of shadowing in the Cardiology Department at the University of Rochester Medical Center. Her experience included observing surgeries at Strong Hospital, where she witnessed multiple coronary artery bypass grafts, an aortic valve replacement, and a wheat procedure.
“From seeing a beating heart in person, to learning all there is to know about the cardiopulmonary bypass machine, I can only describe my shadowing experience as nothing short of magical,” said Zogby. “The cardiothoracic surgeons, cardiologists, and O.R. nurses explained every surgery step by step in a way I could understand. This experience only solidified my desire to become a cardiothoracic surgeon. To all the future medical professionals out there, I cannot recommend shadowing in a big teaching hospital enough.”
Sophia Kelly, also a student from Cato-Meridian High School in the program, shadowed in the Labor and Delivery Department at St. Joseph’s Hospital.
“In May of my senior year, I had the opportunity of a lifetime,” said Kelly. “I was able to see a cesarean section and a natural delivery both in the same day. This was a first for me. I’m so very thankful that I was able to have this opportunity and visualize my future in a larger-scale hospital.”
These hands-on experiences provided by the New Visions Medical Professions program and partners not only expose students to the realities of healthcare but also ignite a deeper passion for their future careers. For these students, shadowing is more than an observation, it’s the first step toward becoming the next generation of healthcare leaders.
