LOUISVILLE, Ky. — For a class period Tuesday, Ramsey Middle School Principal Katherine LaDuke was a patient with chest pain. Eighth grader Stacey Camille was one of her medical providers. "My name is Stacey and I’ll be getting your vitals today," she said. 

Camille was practicing how to read a patient’s blood pressure as part of a mock clinic in the school’s Health Explore Pathway. 

It was a chance for students to try out the skills they’ve learned as they look into different careers, said Explore coach Alex Claycomb.

“We have our eighth graders participating and they have a registration table, they have appointments, they have different areas like X-ray, pulmonology, and we have actually our teachers and staff that have signed up for appointments,” she said. “They come in, check in, then they get their ailment, and the students are just so happy to treat them.”

Nurse Chris Burchett came with other staff from University of Louisville Health to help and to donate blood pressure cuffs for the program. 

“I think it’s awesome,” said Burchett. “I didn’t get into health care until I was in college, so to be able to have that foundation leading up to that is really going to benefit them.”

The mock patients visited tables marked “registration,” “triage,” “physical therapy,” and “nutrients.”

“It’s a nice experience,” said Camille. “It’s nice to see how everything works so I can understand maybe in the future.”