Henry Ford Jackson Hospital Hosts Career Summer Camp For Middle Schoolers

An interesting program to create more licensed healthcare professionals in the future:

https://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/2023/06/camp-teaches-jackson-students-about-opportunities-in-healthcare-field.html

Camp teaches Jackson students about opportunities in healthcare field
By Mitchell Kukulka | June 24, 2023

JACKSON, MI -- A unique summer camp experience at Henry Ford Jackson Hospital aims to open the minds of Jackson middle schoolers to the wide array of careers in the healthcare system.

Henry Ford’s Health Care Camp -- a partnership with the Jackson Area Career Center -- aims to attract more young people to all areas of healthcare, officials said.

The inaugral group of campers consists of 13 middle school students chosen from Northwest Community Schools, Western School District, East Jackson Community Schools and the Middle School at Parkside.

Between June 19-23, camp attendees were able to learn about healthcare-related careers including physical therapy, nursing, lab and diagnostics while also being exposed to the other positions required to run a hospital.

Cierra Sylvester -- workplace planning coordinator at Henry Ford -- said the aim of the camp is exposing students to the broad range of job opportunities available in the healthcare field.

“Hopefully they might come back next year for the camp, and then as they get a little older they could do job shadowing or volunteering so they’re exposed and they know what’s out there for careers, so once they get to college they can make an educated decision on their future,” Sylvester said. “It’s really important to allow students to see all they can and try as much as they can so they can make that decision.”

Campers spend the first half of each day at Henry Ford Jackson Hospital taking part in lessons and tours of the building before heading back to the Career Center for hands-on activities led by healthcare instructors.

The students have been responsive and engaged with the activities, especially those requiring a more active approach such as intubation tutorials and learning how to put an IV into a dummy, Sylvester said.

“As long as there is something for them to put their hands on and get in and do, they love it,” Sylvester said.

Brooklyn Mason -- an 18-year-old graduate of Northwest High School -- works as one of several camp counselors at the event.

“My favorite part is being able to see all the employees here and how kind and open they are to teaching us and showing us all the different things we can experience,” Mason said.

Mason plans on working at Henry Ford in the future and said she appreciates the opportunity to get a preview of what the career path might entail.

Northwest student Elena Williams, 12, said she has enjoyed learning about the many different aspects of operating a healthcare system.

“I like seeing different parts of the hospital -- seeing what different jobs I could have if I wanted to and try them out,” Williams said.

Williams currently has aspirations to become an anesthesiologist.

“It’s always been something I’ve wanted to try -- just something different that I’ve never really heard a lot of people talk about,” she said.

Though Brady Smith -- a 14-year-old student of Western School District -- initially didn’t know why he was asked to attend the camp, he found himself interested in the many opportunities available to him.

“I have a lot more interest in the medical field (now) than I did coming into this -- I never considered that to be an option,” Smith said. “I didn’t realize there were chefs in the hospital. Different things that you would think are a job on their own all have their own place in the hospital.”

Smith -- who plans to enter the seminary field -- was surprised to find positions like chaplains also have a place at the hospital.

Sylvester also hopes to impart the message that college is a viable option for those students looking to expand their education even for those with less than stellar grades currently -- a message Sylvester wishes she would have gotten in high school.