Alex Hubbell witnessed his first surgery this week.

The laparoscopic nephrectomy, an operation on the kidneys, is a far cry from the economics textbook Hubbell used to study.

After graduating with an economics degree from Harvard University, Hubbell, a Des Moines native, said he experienced a change of heart and decided to pursue a career in medicine.

And when the 23-year-old discovered “The Surgery Project,” a UI program in the College of Medicine that allows first-year students to observe surgeries, he jumped at the opportunity. He enrolled in the Carver College of Medicine this year.

“I came in with an idealistic frame of mind,” he said. “It’s cool to see what we’re learning and apply our knowledge in that way.”

The Surgery Project is an elective available to first-year students with good academic standing. The popular course initially addresses proper operating room procedures, which students must be familiar with prior to surgery observation. Following this orientation, students read a medical article relevant to the surgery they will observe. After a short pre-test on the ICON website, the students are ready for surgery.

When students complete their observations, they take a short post-test to exhibit what they’ve learned.

This year’s program, which started this week, has already filled all its available surgery opportunities with roughly 50 participants who were selected on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Chris Cooper, an associate dean for student affairs and curriculum in the medical school, decided to start the program after surveys revealed high student interest in surgical observation.

“Students start to integrate what they’re learning into a more clinically relevant situation,” Cooper said. “It gives students a chance to get out of the classroom and remind them of their ultimate goal. It gives them exposure they may not get otherwise.”

The program comes at no cost to the students, and the only cost to surgeons is their time.

Gerald Wickham, a curriculum coordinator in the medical school who is in charge of the program, stressed the importance of out-of-classroom experiences.

“The students are getting a very qualitative experience,” he said. “It’s very positive and exciting. They’re putting on scrubs and standing beside the people they want to become.”

The students get to see the anatomy they’re studying “come to life,” he said. The pre- and post-tests conducted so far have shown a “great growth in learning.”

Other Big Ten universities, including the University of Minnesota and Northwestern University, allow their first-year medical school students to observe surgeries. Northwestern also allows its students to shadow faculty to gain firsthand medical experiences.

“Students have free rein,” said John Thomas, a senior associate dean for medical education at Northwestern. “They walk up to a faculty member and say they want to get a closer look. The faculty has always obliged.”

As for Hubbell, the chance to witness a surgery was extremely beneficial.

“During surgery, the surgeon asked me a few questions,” Hubbell said. “I didn’t get them all right, but I surprised myself.”