Cal Poly students shadow SLO doctors, develop medical tech
Riley Gordon (left) and Kayla Lovejoy (right) students in the Cal Poly bio engineering program and participants in the clinical immersion program at the kick-off meeting on July 5, 2023.
The San Luis Obispo Tribune
This summer, Cal Poly students will spend 10 weeks shadowing doctors at a San Luis Obispo hospital as a part of an innovative program to develop medical technology.
A total of 10 biomedical engineering majors gathered alongside medical professionals at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center on July 5 to kick off the second year of the clinical immersion program.
The students will not only identify some of the biggest challenges faced by medical professionals, but also use their engineering skills to create cutting-edge solutions to those problems.
“You are among the future of health care in our industry and nation,” Mark Lisa, CEO of Tenet Health Central Coast, told the students at the July 5 kick-off event.
Some of the projects developed by students who participated in the program in the summer of 2022 included a skin strip that measures alcohol levels, robotic artery stitching and a device that measures blood loss during birth-related hemorrhaging.
Emily Wolfert, a Cal Poly student who participated in the program last year, is currently working toward commercializing a device she developed with Dr. Steve Van Scoy, neonatologist and director of Sierra Vista neonatal intensive care unit.
The device will help babies suffering from drug withdrawal.
Program pairs Cal Poly students with doctors
The clinical immersion program, which is the first of its kind, was created by Cal Poly professors Chris Heylman, Michael Whitt and Ben Hawkins in partnership with Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center.
The program is funded by a five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health.
“This program is part of a broader vision we have for spurring innovation in medical technology in San Luis Obispo,” Heylman said.
As a part of the program, students will shadow physicians in five different departments, including the intensive care unit, NICU and labor and delivery departments.
Additionally, students will observe patient operations in the operating room and spend time in the emergency room.
In a development that’s new this year, the students will also spend time in the hospital’s blood lab, imaging, radiology, respiratory and rehab departments, Sierra Vista chief operating officer Michael Kelemen said.
Physicians are excited to be a part of the program, Keleman said.
“This year many more physicians are participating than last year,” he said. “Now its about two to three doctors per department.”
According to Heylman, many of the projects developed in the summer of 2022 benefited the entire bio engineering department at Cal Poly.
“Projects from the program go on to be case studies and senior design projects at the school,” he said.
Additionally, students are able to continue developing their projects through Cal Poly’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the HotHouse. The latter is funded by San Luis Obispo County tax dollars.
One of the factors that has made the program so successful is the level of commitment to the community in San Luis Obispo, Kelemen said.
During the program kick-off on July 5, many of the program participants said they are looking forward to seeing health care up close.
Riley Gordon, a third-year student at Cal Poly, said she looks forward to gaining clinical experience while learning how various medical devices directly impact patient care.
Gordon, who initially planned on applying for medical school, said she fell in love with engineering and believes the program will show her a broader impact of the field.
Other program participants echoed Gordon’s excitement.
“I think this program will give us an advantage for our future careers and a lot of inspiration on how devices are being used within the field,” said Kayla Lovejoy, a third-year student at Cal Poly.
“Through this program we will be able to speak with the patients who will be affected by our innovations,” she said. “We will get feedback from people who will actually use them.”
In reference to the upcoming challenges students will face, Lisa said, “In the end, we’re all here for the same mission. The patient is at the center of what we do.”
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Lucy Peterson is a reporting intern for The Tribune. She’s originally from Omaha, Nebraska, and graduated from Fordham University in May 2022. She recently earned a Master’s in Journalism from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in May 2023.
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