An eyeball can be seen inside the mobile unit. (Raquel Villatoro/Tyler Morning Telegraph)

The University of Texas at Tyler School of Medicine launched its Pathways Explorer mobile unit on Wednesday. The unit, retrofitted from a school bus, will travel around East Texas to cultivate interest in the medical field, targeting kindergarteners to undergraduate college students.

“Our mission is to ignite curiosity and passion for the medical field within our community, starting from the earliest educational stages,” said Dr. Brigham C. Willis, School of Medicine founding dean. “This initiative will help us train the next generation of health care professionals and contribute to the health and well-being of our community.”

The unit can be reserved by schools, home school co-ops and community organizations.

“We want to create a vision that East Texas kids can be any kind of health professional they possibly can,” Willis said. “This is the first step. We’re gonna go into every elementary school, middle school [and] high school that we possibly can and give them that vision to experience what it’s like to save a life on a mannequin, or hear heart sounds, or look at anatomical [models] or wear a white coat for the first time.”

The Pathways Explorer has a touchscreen TV, six iPad stations and a space to conduct medical simulations, with different approaches available for the range of age groups served by the unit.

“We can use the mobile unit to offer a variety of activities — everything from show and tell for kindergarteners to basic medical simulations for high school students,” said Dr. Gisele Abron, School of Medicine associate dean of admissions. “Through collaborating with the Simulation in Medicine and Immersive Learning Experience Center, these simulations will feature a robotic mannequin that can experience human conditions such as a heart attack, stroke or seizure and emits realistic sounds like a heartbeat or breathing. We can even create customized packages upon request.”

Abron said the objective is to make students aware of the possibilities within the field. She’s excited to see their reactions.

“I’m most excited seeing these young people’s faces, putting on a white coat and just going through the experience of learning … these are things that doctors know, these are things that doctors do and help them see themselves being able to make that dream come true,” Abron said. “… We’re super excited to get in front of these young people to show them that they can be a physician.”

Through the mobile units, parents may hear excitement from their kids after a mobile unit visit. This helps parents see early on their kids’ interest in medicine, Abron said.

For UT Tyler president Dr. Kirk Calhoun, being exposed to the healthcare system as a child led him to pursue a career in medicine.

“It was absolutely essential for me,” Calhoun said. “I was a sickly child and it was my interactions with physicians and the healthcare system that inspired me to want to pursue a career in medicine. It’s been a wonderful career, a wonderful time and for the right student to pursue a career in medicine, or other aspects of health care, nursing is important. Pharmacy is important. The health professions, public health, all these things, we need these workers, and I hope this vehicle will inspire those young folks to pursue careers in healthcare.”

Willis, who grew up in a rural area and did not have anyone in his family in healthcare, said a career in medicine seemed far off.

“It was really difficult to even think that this is possible,” Willis said. “So we want to go very early in the lives of kids and tell them ‘yes, you can do this. You might not have someone in your family who has done this, but here’s the way to do it. Here’s the connection to our school, and we can show you.’”

For those interested in having the mobile unit at their event or school, contact Chase Ragland at james.ragland@uttyler.edu.