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MUSC employees encourage students to plan a career by Dick Peterson Public Relations Fifth-graders who crowded into a Buist Academy classroom Jan. 9 learned they could one day measure people’s brain activity, make people sleep through a surgical operation, or keep people safe from dangerous diseases and poisonous chemicals.    It was MUSC’s third annual foray into Charleston County elementary schools to encourage students to study diligently and to plan for a career. Buist was among seven Charleston County District 20 schools visited by representatives of about 25 professions to create a youthful interest in the health professions.    Visiting the academic magnet school on Calhoun Street were Marc Williams, a neurophysiology manager, Nancy Kitten, a certified registered nurse anesthetist, and Chloe Backman, an environmental health manager.   Nurse anesthetist Nancy Kitten demonstrates how a patient is anesthetized before an operation. “Nursing is one of the hottest professions there is,” Kitten said. “Nurses are in demand. They make good money, and nurses who specialize do even better.”    Asked how she decided to be a nurse anesthetist, Kitten explained that the path to a career is not always a straight one, but more often involves observing and trying out other professions before deciding.    Among the three who presented their professions at Buist, a common theme was that the most important thing is to study and learn about as many different fields as you can.     “Do you want to know how to make your brain smarter?” Williams asked as he pulled a gelatinized “brain” from a box on the table behind him. “Come up here after this is over, eat a piece of this brain and study an extra 10 minutes every night, and you’ll be smarter. But you have to do both,” he warned. He gave new meaning to “brain food.”    Blackman caught the attention of the students by demonstrating how to know if a room has positive or negative pressure. Negative pressure rooms in the hospital ensure that disease organisms don’t enter the ventilation system or circulate into the rest of the building and infect other patients and hospital staff.    Susan Carullo, Medical Center manager of employment compensation, organizes the program each year. She said that the students enjoy the program, and the teachers view it as a valuable learning experience—so much so that teachers frequently ask her to present the speakers more often than once a year. Elementary schools visited and the careers represented: Charleston Progressive (34 students, two classes) EKG, Operating Room RN, Medical Lab Technician Memminger (49 students, three classes) Public Safety, RN, Physiology  James Simmons (121 students, five classes) Respiratory Therapy, Medical Center Security, RN, Physical Therapy, Human Resources Recruiter Buist Academy (50 students, two classes) EEG, CRNA, Risk Management Fraser (35 students, two classes) RN, Sports Medicine, Occupational Therapy Mitchell (49 students, three classes) Meducare, Nutrition, Pharmacy Sanders-Clyde (22 students, two classes) Radiology, Social Work, Nursery RN Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to petersnd@musc.edu or catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Community Press at 849-1778.