Jacksonville high schoolers get hands-on training at Naval Hospital Jacksonville

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Story published 6/12/19:

Jacksonville high school students are getting hands-on training at Naval Hospital Jacksonville.

It's a unique program for Darnell Cookman High School juniors and seniors.

“It was kind of intense. I was trying to do it to the best of my ability. I had to put strength in it and I kind of had to picture if someone was really bleeding out,” Brittany Gordon said.

The 15-year-old rising junior had just applied a pressure dressing on a mannequin.

She’s among 13 Darnell Cookman students who learned life-saving first aid training Tuesday under the close watch of Hospital Corpsman Second Class Timothy Helton.

Next up was tourniquets, then IV training. The students may have been practicing on dummies but they were learning real world skills that can help them in an emergency.

It’s possible through a partnership with Naval Hospital Jacksonville that started back in 2010. The students spend four days learning from corpsmen and doctors.

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They also get to observe an operating room and go through a trauma combat casualty care obstacle course.

“I want to be a cardio thoracic surgeon, so I felt I would get the best experience watching a surgery,” Gordon said.

Also on the agenda, clinical rotations -- from ultrasounds on staff to orthopedics training.

The goal – to give students hands-on experience.

“I could write a couple essays from this for my college applications, this will definitely help me,” Gordon said.

And also to help them explore possible careers in the medical field.

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