Before Thanksgiving break, a couple new bodies entered Gregory-Portland High School. Not real bodies, but synthetic human cadavers. These SynDavers are used across the nation in different programs to help teach practices about the human body.
Recently, the Texas Workforce Commission and Workforce Solutions awarded the Jobs and Education for Texans (JET) Grant to Gregory-Portland ISD, in the amount of $251,828.
These funds helped G-PISD obtain two synthetic human cadavers to be used for students and classes at Gregory-Portland High School.
Tom Reid, Anatomy and Physics teacher at GPHS says, “basically all mannequins that’s all they can do, they just kind of lay there and they don’t really do much. Where as these can kind of respond and react and give information that the mannequins can’t.”
There are two different SynDavers that students can use. One is the syn-patient.
“They [students] can measure blood pressure, they can check the pupils on the eyes, the dilation whether they’re contracting or expanding, and they have limited movement,” says Reid.
The other synthetic cadaver is the syndaver that has no skin. The muscles, veins, tendons and organs are exposed. G-PISD Superintendent Dr. Paul Clore says, “this allows us to simulate real life emergency events and teach youngsters how to deal with those effectively and immediately.”
The bodies will be used through the Del Mar Health Science program, and other health science classes at Gregory-Portland High School. However, they will not be in use until January.
