Although many of the meetings for the Diamond Bar High School Pre Med Club have been focused on reviewing scientific papers and learning to write scientific literature reviews, many club members have expressed a desire for more hands-on learning. So on March 30, 2025, as the club president, I organized a special suture workshop to introduce students to actual medical skills. During my summer camp at Johns Hopkins, there was a lab where we learned how to suture so I was excited to share these skills through a tangible demonstration with my club. I collected some funds from the students and was able to order 3 suture kits from Amazon, which I spent the entire workshop demonstrating various suture techniques to students.
First, I introduced the basic tools that are used in suturing: the needle driver, forceps, curved suture needles, and thread. I explained the purpose of each tool—how the needle driver are used to control and thread the needle, the forceps are used to manipulate the skin around the wound, and to tie the knot after the wound has been closed up. Once everyone was familiar with the tools needed for suturing, I taught them how to perform three types of basic sutures: the simple interrupted suture, the running suture, and the mattress suture. After each introduction, I had the students pair up and try to do the suture with their own kits.
The simple suture is most commonly used for general wound closure. I showed them how to properly hold the needle in the needle driver and insert it perpendicularly into the skin and pass it through the wound. Then I taught them how to tie a secure surgeon’s knot. This was the hardest part to learn because it looks very confusing, but once they got the hang of it it was quite simple. The simple suture was pretty easy to learn but many people had difficulties getting the suture to be the right depth. Some people were too scared and didn’t insert the needle deep enough, while some people were overly excited and threaded the needle too deep into the wound. It was also challenging to gauge the distance needed between where the needle was inserted and the wound, too close and the thread would rip through the skin when the knot was tied, too far and the thread wouldn’t be able to close the wound properly.
Next, we moved on to the running suture, which is a continuous suture that is often used for long, straight wounds. I showed them how to anchor the first stitch with a knot, and then continue down the wound with one thread before tying it off at the end. I explained that this suture was the better option when speed and efficiency are important. After their experience with the simple suture this wasn’t too difficult. There were still some difficulties with how close to the wound the suture was or how deep the needle went. Most people’s sutures were inconsistent: some were too far, and some were too close, so the wound wasn’t able to be closed properly.
Finally, I showed them the mattress suture. This suture is typically used for deeper wounds. I showed them the “far-far, near-near” technique, demonstrating how to go deep on the first pass and then closer to the skin on the second pass to evert the edges of the wound. I explained how this technique is stronger and helps the wound heal better. The “far-far, near-near” technique was a bit challenging to get the hang of because they constantly had to think about if they needed to be deeper or if they needed to be closer to the wound edge. That made this technique much slower to learn for them and we spent the most time on this suture.
I asked students to write a reflection on their experience. Here are what a few of them had to say:
Travis:
I started by threading the needle, which felt a bit clumsy at first, and then practiced making a simple stitch. As I worked, I felt a mix of excitement and nervousness, especially when I realized how precise the stitching needed to be. My hands were trembling and my stitches turned out pretty bad. All of my stitches were uneven, and I had to pause a few times to really zone in.
Annie:
I thought it was going to be much easier than it actually was. But the moment I picked up the needle driver and tried making my first stitch, I realized how precise and steady your hands have to be. It’s definitely not as simple as it looks. The vertical mattress suture was definitely the most difficult. The “far-far, near-near” concept made sense when it was explained, but actually doing it was frustrating. It was hard to get the needle to go in at the right angle and depth.
Overall, the event was a success. The students were much more engaged, and they expressed excitement for a future hands-on workshop.
