Students at Pimlico Elementary/Middle School Explore Healthcare Careers Through Partnership between Sinai Hospital and Baltimore City Schools
Baltimore "“ Sixth and seventh graders at Pimlico Elementary/Middle School are getting a glimpse at how doctors, nurses, radiology technicians and other clinicians at Sinai Hospital work in their healthcare careers. The students are taking part in a program called the Pimlico Middle Grades Health Sciences Program. The program and the curriculum are administered in partnership with Baltimore City Public Schools, LifeBridge Health and Sinai Hospital. 
The partners will officially welcome the sixth-grade students in a pinning ceremony on October 6 at 5:00pm. Along with pins, the elementary and middle school students will receive lab coats and welcome kits during the ceremony, which will take place at Pimlico Elementary Middle School (4849 Pimlico Road) with the students' families participating.
"This program is designed to create a pathway for our students into medical and health-related careers. We are so thrilled to partner with Sinai Hospital and LifeBridge Health whose healthcare teams can share their backgrounds, real-world knowledge and experience with our students," says Nneka Barnett Warren, principal of Pimlico Elementary/Middle School.
More than 50 students are currently enrolled in the three-year program, which launched virtually last year due to COVID-19. Now back in person with both a sixth and seventh grade class, the students take advanced science classes and learn how to use evidence-based reasoning and scientific writing skills, as well as diagnosing mock patients. (Next year will be the first year when there is a class of eighth graders in the program).
The health sciences training also includes interaction with medical and non-medical staff from Sinai Hospital with demonstrations, lectures and labs. Students will learn firsthand from healthcare workers about the jobs they do every day, why they chose a certain field of medicine and what they like most about their careers.
"Sinai Hospital has a proud legacy as a teaching hospital - training doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers for many decades. Pimlico Elementary/Middle School is a neighbor in our Park Heights community, and we are so excited to extend our mission of education to these students, who will be the healthcare leaders of the future," says Daniel Blum, president of Sinai Hospital and Grace Medical Center. Blum is also senior vice president at LifeBridge Health.
As the program transitions to in-person learning, some interactions with the Sinai teams may be done virtually or with Sinai staff coming to the school. The partners are evaluating potential field trips to Sinai Hospital, in coordination with federal, state, local and Baltimore City Public Schools guidelines around the COVID-19 virus. During the first year of the program, virtual sessions included video tours of the emergency room and surgery suites, led by Sinai Hospital doctors, and virtual guest speakers with question-and-answer sessions with a variety of healthcare professionals. .jpeg)
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