Those sporting the orange and black will hit the road to encourage and motivate students looking into the medical field as Oklahoma State University (OSU) gets ready for Operation Orange camps to begin this month.
Operation Orange will take OSU medical school on the road to help with the event.
Jordan Santos, a Duncan native and Operation Orange Ambassador, will assist with Operation Orange as a OSU medical student.
Santos, a 2016 graduate from Duncan, will head into her second year at OSU Medicine.
“In high school, I was involved in HOSA Future Health Professionals club through the Biomedical Science program at RRTC,” Santos said. “I played tennis for Duncan under coach Phil Barnes, I was involved in Jolly Jills club and I enjoyed volunteering at the local humane society.”
Santos said what’s helped her the most was learning how to stay organized with a busy schedule.
“(I learned) to work hard even when I faced adversity,” Santos said. “Tennis played a big role in teaching me both of these lessons. “
According to Santos, it’s an exciting adventure for those considering the medical field.
“I am really excited about getting to teach high school students how to suture at Operation Orange,” Santos said. “I am interested in surgery, so I am very excited to share that skill with others who are considering working in the medical field.”
Ashley Marler, High School Outreach Coordinator, said Operation Orange has taken place since 2012, with around 700 students each year.
Kayse Shrum, D.O., president of OSU-CHS and dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine, said the opportunity to work with Operation Orange brings fun, as well as knowledge of the medical school.
“Operation Orange is a fun opportunity for high school students from across Oklahoma to meet us close to home and learn more about our medical school,” Shrum said. “Our hope is that by showing students what it’s like to be a student doctor, we will spark an interest in medicine so that these students will want to become physicians here in Oklahoma.”
According to a release, OSU’s Center for Health Sciences will head to six cities and towns across the state in June for Operation Orange, OSU Center for Health Sciences’ mobile medical school summer camp for high school students.
The kick-off for Operation Orange will begin at OSU in Stillwater on June 1 and then they will continue to Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Enid June 2. Next, they will go to OSU College of Osteopathic Medicine at the Cherokee Nation in Tahlequah on June 4 and then on to Cameron University in Lawton June 7. From there, they’ll go to Southeastern Oklahoma State University in Durant on June 9 and finish up at East Central University in Ada on June 10.
According to a release, Operation Orange participants will experience a day in the life of a medical student by engaging in a variety of hands-on activities.
Activities include testing suturing skills, practicing chest compressions and simulated intubation of a patient and studying the anatomy of the human heart, lungs and brain.
Those participating will have an opportunity to meet with current OSU medical students, and with that, they will be able learn about how to prepare for medical school.
“My advice for students looking into medicine or college in general is do your best every day no matter what you’re doing,” Santos said. “Your best may not look the same every day, but if you have pushed as hard as you could, then it is good enough. I also encourage students to get involved with activities they enjoy and to use those experiences to learn life skills. Colleges want to know how your experiences affected you as an individual, so try to find things you like and invest your time in those things.”
For more information, contact Ashley Marler at [email protected].
For those wanting to register for a summer camp, visit www.okla.st/operationorange.
