GIRLS GET TO SEE WHAT PARENTS REALLY DO

The scene would have been disconcerting to a real patient.

Ten girls, ages 9 to 16, dressed in scrubs and latex gloves, surrounded the surgical table. They were listening to directions on how to administer anesthesia, then injecting the substance into an intravenous tube.

But the patient was one of their own -- the anesthesiologist's daughter -- and the drug dripped harmlessly into a waste can.

There were similar scenes in other parts of Cape Girardeau Thursday, the first time for some Cape Girardeau employers to participate in Take Our Daughters to Work Day.

Sponsored since 1993 by the Ms. Foundation for Women, the special day was established to build girls' self-esteem and help them make the connection between education and future careers.

At St. Francis Medical Center, surgical department employees took 17 of their daughters to work in two shifts. They had to put a limit on the number of girls due to overwhelming interest.

The young women toured the department, watched actual minor surgery and then performed a mock appendectomy. It was the first year for such an event at St. Francis, and parents already are planning to take their sons to work next year.

"Sometimes I come home tired, and my daughter will ask me what I did all day," surgical technologist Alice Jenkins said. "I wanted to show her what I did and to expose her to different areas so she can decide what she wants to do."

Felicia Jenkins, 10, said she already knows: The Clippard Elementary student wants to be a family doctor. "I've always wanted to be in the medical field," she said.

Registered nurse Laura Voerg took twin daughters Amber and Ashlie to work. Amber, 13, said she hadn't chosen a career yet but she enjoyed watching the doctors in surgery. Her mother wasn't sure what the response would be.

"We didn't let them watch anything major. They saw the metal plate and the screws going in, and they liked that," Voerg said. "But some of these girls may have weak stomachs."

Things were a little less gory at City Hall, where daughters watched their mothers and fathers work in various departments. The day began with Mayor Al Spradling III declaring April 25 Take Our Daughters to Work Day in Cape Girardeau.

He reminded the girls to get good educations, decide what careers they want and then believe in their abilities to excel in those careers.

"Listen to your parents. Surprisingly, they do know something," Spradling said. "We would love to have you as citizens of Cape Girardeau, working in this community."

Gay Lee, a data entry clerk in the finance and human resource departments, showed her 13-year-old daughter Joanna around City Hall. Lee said that even if her daughter didn't want a data entry job, the special day gave her a chance to learn about city government.

Another city employee, Randon Grissom, showed his daughter Lindsey, 10, how police dispatching is done.

Grissom, a systems administrator and communications officer, had to do a lot of schedule shuffling so Lindsey could participate.

"She knows I work rotating shifts, and I'm not there a lot," he said. "I want her to know that we work important jobs here and help people. It is exciting that the city and other agencies are taking this on to help children set goals."

Lindsey wants own a fancy restaurant. Even a day at police headquarters with Dad couldn't change her mind.

"I still want to be a chef," she said.