In seventh grade, JaNya Brown of Severn knew she wanted to work in the field of forensics — she even got a chance to visit the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore.

On Tuesday, the Glen Burnie High School sophomore got a look inside the world of health care, watching live as Dr. Adrian Park of Anne Arundel Medical Center used laparoscopic surgery — technically, Nissen fundoplication — to treat a woman with a hiatal hernia.

The surgery was streamed to Glen Burnie High and four other schools throughout Anne Arundel County, reaching about 500 students total.

At Glen Burnie, the operating room was displayed on a screen in the school’s auditorium. Not only could students see the OR, they also got a better-than-a-surgeon’s eye view through a laparoscopic camera that put the patient’s insides on screen.

Live streaming a surgery isn’t new, but this is the first time the hospital has done it on this large a scale, Park said.

The students in the audience at Glen Burnie High were in ninth and 10th grade — one of the goals of the event was to encourage more young people to pursue careers and physicians or surgeons, said department chairwoman Krystal Gulden, department chair of the county’s BioMedical Allied Health Program.

In 2016, the Association of American Medical Colleges forecast that by 2025 there will be a shortfall of between 61,700 and 94,700 physicians.

Senior Jess Bradley of Crownsville helped facilitate and lead the live stream video at the school Tuesday. She said more physicians are needed to help address the country’s increasing elderly population.

“I’m hoping to reach out to [students] now and open up these doors for them now, and expose them to these opportunities so they’ll pursue these careers,” Bradley said.

A hiatal hernia occurs when a person’s stomach “migrates” to their chest, Park explained. So, the first thing Park did once the surgery commenced was to pull the woman’s stomach back down where it should be.

That view wasn’t for the squeamish — but the students came prepared.

As he operated, Park answered questioned posed by students and explained what he was doing throughout. He also posed his own questions to the students, quizzing them on what they might be seeing inside the body. He asked what one structure was, and one student gave the correct answer, “heart.” The auditorium filled with cheers.

Brown is enrolled in the BioMedical Allied Health Program at Glen Burnie, and already has a good understanding of medical terminology. She said Park did a good job of sticking to more basic terms to ensure everyone was understanding what he was doing.

The appreciation was mutual. Park said the students’ questions showed some grasp of the material.

“By some grasp, I mean like a good medical student level grasp of material,” Park said.

Inviting learners into the “inner sanctum” of an operating room has to be done with respect, Park said, and the students’ questions and attention honored that commitment, he said.

Bradley is one of 16 students on Anne Arundel Medical Center’s Council of Advanced Student Learners. That program is a partnership between county schools and the medical center’s James and Syvila Earl Simulation to Advance Innovation and Learning Center.

AAMC spokesman Arminta Plater said as Bradley helped facilitate the live stream at Glen Burnie High, other members facilitated streams at their respective schools.

Bradley said she is the first student from Glen Burnie to serve on the council, and she hopes the session will pave the way for other students.

“We know what we’re talking about. We’ve learned this stuff with our [BioMedical Allied Health Program] classes,” she said.

rpacella@capgaznews.com