 Lynn Brooks, Director of Volunteer and Health Career Services at Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System (SVMHS), has created several programs for young people to encourage them to consider health care careers. “We are investing in our youth now to prepare them for future careers in health care. The newest is the Career Pathways Program (CPP) for high school juniors and seniors and college students who want to explore whether a career in health care—both clinical and non-clinical areas—is suited to them.”
Other SVMHS programs for high school students are: the six-week Summer Health Institute; job shadowing through the Mission Trails Regional Opportunity Program (ROP), which is operated by the Monterey County Department of Education; the biannual Salinas Rotary Job Shadowing Program; and the annual “Take Your Child to Work” event. The Medical Adventure Camp is a two-week summer experience for students ages 10-12.
The Career Pathway Program, now in its second year, teaches students practical job skills in the hospital setting. Often students think a healthcare career is exclusively a job in clinical services, but this program offers students the chance to consider administrative and retail services.
“Our CPP students must be eager to learn about working in a hospital setting and interested in medical science in some way, shape or form,” Brooks says. Students must successfully complete a training program that covers hospital orientation, confidentiality and customer service guidelines, given by Shannon Graham, Volunteer Coordinator. Also required are a background check and tuberculosis (TB) screening. The students are then scheduled to work in hospital departments related to their areas of interest. CPP students may earn community classroom credit for their participation through the Mission Trails Regional Occupation Program.
Job shadowing, which is another way students can explore healthcare careers, is available to students enrolled in ROP’s Health Occupations course. These students, who are referred by their teachers, participate in a three-week rotation in various hospital departments.
Some students want a longer term experience, such as CPP, to examine healthcare career options, while others prefer an educational experience that will last only a day. These options include the “Take Your Child to Work Day” and the Salinas Rotary Job Shadowing Program.
Gladys Gaboury, Assistant Vice President of Human Resources, oversees the annual “Take Your Child to Work Day.” The 2004 program brought 81 young people, who are children of SVMHS staff members, to the hospital to see what their parents do in the workplace. “Sometimes children have the wrong perception. They think health care is only for nurses, but they come here and learn that there are a variety of opportunities for them in the health care field,” Gaboury says.
 The Salinas Rotary works with Bev Ranzenberger, Senior Vice President/ Operations, to bring youth to the hospital for a one-day job shadowing program twice a year. “Salinas Rotary is a big supporter of introducing youth to the health care, agriculture and banking industries in the community. They do a lot to influence career choices. It’s great for the students and also for the hospital staff members who work with them.”
Separate from SVMHS’s educational programs are some opportunities for students to earn community service hours, now a high school graduation requirement. Many students volunteer for the Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) or the Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital Foundation. High school students, who need community service hours, can apply to CMN Director Kendra Howell to help with fundraising activities, usually held in the spring. The Foundation’s annual fundraising Cherry’s Jubilee event, held in September, welcomes student volunteers to help with food booths, says John Meyer, Foundation Director.
Lynn Brooks sums up SVMHS’s commitment to bring young people into the hospital setting as vital for the hospital and for the students. “Whatever contact students have with the hospital and the staff is good, whether it’s a long-term commitment such as the CPP or a short-term contact as with the Salinas Rotary event or volunteering for a fundraising event. We’re helping these kids understand how to be contributing members of society. At the same time we’re encouraging them to consider the possibility of a future career in health care. When we engage students, no matter what age, we engage them for life. I will do anything to introduce students to medicine and to a career in health care. It’s a win-win situation.” |
Careers in Healthcare