Cayhill – Students from the Milton Peters College visited the St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) last week for their yearly orientation visits. For four days, several classes from the high school had the opportunity to take a tour of the medical facility. This visit is important for the students of the second from classes, as they are in the transition stage of determining their desired area of study.
The students were informed of the daily operations of the departments and the use of medical equipment. Their tour also included an informative visit to the St. Maarten Laboratory Services within SMMC. After a tour of SMMC, the students were given the opportunity to ask questions and give feedback.
One student remarked “At first I thought the hospital was ‘backward’-that’s how people made it seem. Now I know that’s not true. They are up to date with technology, there is a lot of equipment and the SLS lab is ‘cool’ too.”
Other areas of interest on the tour were the radiology and dialysis departments and the education department where the students were amazed to see a preserved fetus for use in the educational skill lab.
Many of the students who have an interest in nursing were especially grateful for the tour and are even more interested in that career path.
Each year, the SMMC Education Department trains an average of one hundred students from St. Maarten, Saba, St Eustatius, Curacao and the Netherlands. The department seeks to inform St Maarten students, and also students abroad, about opportunities to work and learn at SMMC.
TKL class 2C with homeroom teacher Ms Vlaun on visit to St. Maarten Medical Center.