“I LIVE IN A MICROSCOPIC WORLD,” said Jesus C. Jaile-Marti, chief of neonatology at White Plains Hospital, addressing a room full of high school students. “Everything we do is small.”
The physician then passed around a number of tools of his trade to the students, from specialized equipment for intubating newborns to miniature suction catheters.
“Can I keep this?” one student asked, holding up an infant-sized diaper.
“Of course you can keep it,” Jaile-Marti replied, laughing. “I think we have a budding neonatologist here.”
The students are participating in the White Plains Hospital Clinical Tutorial Program, a series of two-hour classes that offers high schoolers a hands-on introduction to a variety of careers in the medical field.
Through the program, groups of 12 students meet weekly during each semester. Each meeting features a presentation from a different health care professional, from surgeons to physician assistants to nurse practitioners. Students are also able to follow the presenters into their work environment, gaining an up-close look at each profession.
“The program really connects the dots for them, rather than just seeing it on a PowerPoint or a slide,” said Kaare Weber, director of surgery at White Plains Hospital and director of the clinical tutorial program. “They can actually see the machine, see the table and all the inner workings of what we take for granted day in and day out.”
After Jaile-Marti”™s presentation, students hopped on an elevator that led them to the neonatal intensive care unit, where they were given a first-hand look at the doctor”™s pint-sized patients.
“I think they really love the way the program is designed,” Weber said. “They sit and they learn a bit about the field, but then all of sudden, you bring them into a place like the neonatal intensive care unit and it is so much more real for them.”
For Weber, starting the clinical tutorial program was not just about giving back to the community; it was also about continuing a legacy.
The clinical tutorial program was first launched in 1988 by the surgeon”™s father and former chief of surgery at White Plains Hospital, Carl Weber. It began as a collaboration with Scarsdale High School, where his mother, Joan, worked as assistant superintendent for more than three decades. As a Scarsdale high school student, “I actually participated in the program way back when,” Weber recalled.
Though he said he grew up listening to stories from the operating room at the dinner table, being able to explore the hospital environment as a participant in the program cemented his dreams of becoming a doctor. “That excitement and that sort of wonder and intrigue was all of a sudden brought to fruition and I realized, Wow, the operating room really is a cool place,” he said.
Weber said his father began urging him to think about restarting the clinical tutorial program when he began working full-time at White Plains Hospital in 2011.
“As I got settled, my father said, ”˜You know, we should really think about doing the program again.”
The younger Weber relaunched the program in 2015 and included students from Scarsdale, Harrison and White Plains. Since then, the program has expanded to include the Edgemont, Elmsford, Byram Hills, Ardsley, Irvington, Greenburgh and Ossining school districts.
“We are looking for the committed, motivated, exceptional students who aren”™t necessarily pre-med or destined to become a physician, but may think they have an interest in health care,” he said.
Recently, students were able to tour an emergency services unit vehicle and observe the working world of emergency management and response.
“The kids can see that they can become involved in health care in a variety of ways,” Weber said.
For Scarsdale High School junior Sydney Schweber, the program offers a realistic glimpse into the life of medical professionals.
“I know so many people who are like, ”˜I want to be a doctor, I love ”˜Grey”™s Anatomy,”™ so there”™s that whole thing where it”™s not reality, so it”™s kind of cool to see what it”™s actually like and go through the steps and follow actual doctors and see actual patients and hear actual experiences,” she said. “Not just things you see on TV, and you can decide if this is really what you want to do.”
The program is highly selective, Weber said, and students are chosen by their school”™s administration based on a number of factors.
“Many of the schools want to give the kids that they think are highly motivated, dedicated, who otherwise may not have been given the opportunity,” he said. “We want to make sure that all of Westchester is well represented and I think we”™re starting to do that, and I think we”™re doing a pretty good job.”
Because of heightened demand for the program, Weber recently decided to break the program into two parts, offering the series to 12 students each semester. Previously the program was one year in length, though still limited to a dozen participants.
“You”™ve got to keep it cozy. You have to keep it intimate,” he said of the small class sizes. “Anything bigger than 12 students and you”™re going to lose the kids.”
While the clinical tutorial program accepts students from all four high school grades, Weber said he believes the program is best suited for juniors. “It”™s timely for what they”™re thinking about for school and college and they can also use it and write about it and talk about it as they interview and apply for schools,” he said.
“I just wanted to see everything and get a feel for everything, because I think I know what I want, but it”™s good to explore,” said Katie Roth, a senior at Byram Hills High School who aspires to a career in medicine as a neurologist.
The program can also open students”™ eyes to careers they may not otherwise have considered.
“I really liked going into the NICU today,” said Schweber, who is unsure whether she wants to become a surgeon or a dermatologist. “That”™s not something that I think I ever would have dabbled in, so I thought that was really interesting and I was very engaged in the whole thing.”
Weber said sessions that cover robotics in the operating room are particularly popular with the students.
“It really sparks the kids”™ interests. There are a lot of kids out there into computers and programming and so while they may not see themselves as the actual person sitting behind the console and operating, they may see themselves joining a company and helping figure out how to move the technology forward,” he said.
The robotics classes proved so popular that a separate two-day program was created around the technology. That program is co-directed by Philip Weber, Kaare”™s brother, who is director of minimally invasive surgery, robotics and bariatrics at White Plains Hospital.
And how does the eldest Weber surgeon feel about both his sons”™ roles in the program he created? “I think he”™s proud of it,” Kaare said. “He”™s excited that both my brother and I are even working here together. That”™s been a real privilege for all of us, but my mother too, because they were sort of the brains behind the program, so to see it reignited and with such success is very satisfying to him.”
