A high-tech tractor trailer and a state-of-the-art simulation lab set the stage for a morning of discovery, innovation and inspiration as Virtua Health welcomed 60 area high-school students to its Berlin campus on May 9.
The event, hosted by Virtua Reconstructive Orthopedics in partnership with medical technology company Stryker, offered students first-hand experience with the tools and techniques shaping the future of health care.
Students from Moorestown High School, Camden County Technical Institute and several Catholic high schools affiliated with the Domenica Foundation rotated through immersive stations, both in the mobile Stryker Lab and Virtua’s permanent Simulation Center, where they interacted with advanced surgical technology, including the Mako robotic-assisted knee replacement system and the Q Guidance spine surgery platform.
The event aimed to inspire students in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields by introducing them to real-world applications of science and technology in health care. Under the guidance of Virtua’s top orthopedic surgeons – including doctors Brad Bernardini, Bob Greenleaf, Jeremy Reid, Christopher L. Haydel and Jim Sanfilippo – students practiced arthroscopic techniques, explored fracture- repair tools and even closed simulated incisions using surgical staplers.
“This interactive experience will enlighten these students and enhance their budding interest in science and technology,” explained Sanfilippo, Virtua’s vice president of clinical operations and medical director of orthopedics. “The opportunity to experience hands-on, guided learning in these state-of-the-art environments is invaluable.”
Educators echoed that sentiment. Erin Todd, an honors biology and anatomy teacher at Moorestown High, emphasized how the Virtua event reinforced classroom learning.
“It’s incredibly rewarding to see students engage so deeply in a professional setting,” she observed. “They left with a stronger understanding of what’s possible – and a deeper desire to pursue it.”
Inside the Stryker Mobile Lab, a semi-truck retrofitted into a mobile operating suite, students explored the inner workings of robotic-assisted surgery. At the Simulation Center, students used arthroscopes to remove candy from mock abdominal cavities, a playful yet educational exercise that mimicked the coordination and precision surgeons need in real operations.
For many of the students at the event, the experience was transformative. According to Elena Piperno, executive director of the Domenica Foundation, the event opened minds to roles students had never imagined.
“One of my students became fascinated with Stryker’s surgical tech facilitation program,” she noted, “something they never knew existed. These moments change lives.”
In addition to the hands-on activities, students participated in a Q&A session with clinical staff on health-care career paths – from surgeons and nurses to surgical techs and anesthesia technicians – and the education required for each.
Sanfilippo emphasized that the event was just the beginning.
“With the use of Virtua’s surgical simulation lab, we hope this was the first of many more to come,” he said. “We’re committed to expanding this programming to include more schools and potentially other medical specialties.”
Virtua has invited all participating students to return for its annual high-school health sciences symposium in October.
“We hope they can truly see themselves as surgeons, nurses, technicians, or engineers,” Sanfilippo pointed out. “This will inspire them to great things, no matter what they choose to do.”
