PACU nurse Kaitlyn Fredrickson (third from left), RN, demonstrates for “Family Day” attendees Gianni and Kelis Wilkinson (first and second from left) how to place intravenous lines, while their mother, PACU nurse Teyarnna Straughter, RN, snaps a photo.

More than 500 children, parents and siblings of staff from the Brigham’s Operating Rooms (ORs), Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) and Perioperative Services received a glimpse of what their loved ones do each day during an inaugural “Family Day” event, held in partnership with the Neil and Elise Wallace STRATUS Center for Medical Simulation, on Nov. 17.

In addition to providing tours of the ORs, PACU and Peri-op areas, staff hosted family-friendly educational activities. Interactive stations around the three areas provided hands-on opportunities for young visitors to use simulation tools to try out laparoscopy, intubation, CPR, ultrasound and more. Using models of bones, children also learned surgical skills used in orthopaedic surgery and how joint replacements are performed.