Educate Today | Innovating New Approaches to Surgery in the Pandemic Era

Grades: 6 - 12

Plastic adapted from operating room biohazard bags are used in the creation a bubble environment for high-risk COVID-19 surgeries. Using ordinary materials available in the hospital, surgical teams at Mercy Hospital St. Louis practice this unusual procedure in a Mercy simulation lab.

Meet the innovators faced with a problem develop a procedure that uses materials already found in a hospital setting and see the life science practices they used to develop a safe surgical environment.

Teacher Resources for the Video:

NGSS Disciplines Addressed in Standards Referenced Below:

Life Sciences
Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science

Discussion Questions:

Have students view the video and then explain the procedure used to intubate a COVID patient. Once everyone has given their explanation, have students work together to check their understanding of the process and to settle on a refined explanation.
Based on what was learned in the video, how effective do you think the use of biohazard bags could be to ensure safe surgeries? What benefits do you think these methods provide for the patients and health care providers? What limitations do you see in these methods?

Activity Ideas:

Use the video in conjunction with a unit on innovation. Treating COVID patients, while protecting the health care providers, was difficult. Prior to viewing the video have students consider the challenges faced by medical staff during the COVID pandemic and come up with innovations about possible treatment/service options. View the video to learn this team’s innovation, then discuss it and student ideas. Remind students that while the COVID pandemic may be over, others may arise and their ideas might be important.

Resources for Additional Research:

Learn more about Mercy Clinic Trauma and General Surgery at https://www.mercy.net/practice/mercy-clinic-trauma-and-general-surgery/.
Learn more about the NGSS Science and Engineering Practices at the NSTA website.

Unique ID for the Video:

Use the unique ID as a shortcut for students to find this specific video. Click on Search and choose “By Video ID.” Type in the Video ID as it appears above.