Cardiologist Speaks to Anatomy Students

On Friday February 6th, Anatomy Science class guest speaker Dr. Frederick K. Emge came to speak to all of the anatomy students about his profession as a Pediatrix Cardiologist. Dr. Emge has been in the medical field for the last 30 years, but has only been here in the Springfield area for the last three years as a cardiologist. He talked about a wide range of subjects including the anatomy of an adult heart versus an adolescent heart, education required for his kind of fieldwork, the future of  heart surgery,  and some of the perks to his job.

Emge says, ¨Most people believe the brain is the most important organ, but really the heart is one of the most needed organs in the human body. What all the heart does is quite amazing.” Dr. Emge has spent many years studying the heart, it takes roughly ten years of school to become a cardiologist. He went through six years as a part of a biomedical program, plus a three year residency, as well as an extra two years just learning as an assistant cardiologist.

Hearing Dr. Emge was more than just a lecture on being a cardiologist. He also spoke about the future science of heart surgery. He says, “There are a lot less heart surgeries being done and more ways to help people without having to go through all of the hazards. Stem cell research has helped bring us far into medical research. Doctors can now successfully grow a pulmonary valve. In just a few months a person can have a completely new valve without going through the hassles of surgery as well as have a heart that is very unique to their own.” He says he believes that even within the next ten years the medical techniques used will have enhanced greatly from today’s techniques.

The anatomy teacher at Fair Grove high school, Ms. Sarah Brannock, says that students are more attuned to wanting to learn at a deeper level when they can see the real world applications being used. “I was hoping the anatomy students would see Dr. Emge is a normal human. Dr. Emge began just like they did, as a student learning anatomical structures and he has become a successful cardiologist. I hope they can see is as an attainable goal. Many times we view people like doctors, surgeons, and the like as super human, like there is something they have that we don’t. But when a student can relate to a cardiologist, they just might see that they are more alike than they originally thought.”

Dr. Emge said the best part of his job is being able to work with kids. He says kids are a joy to help, and once they get better, they really do appreciate everything doctors do for them.