The following article will be published in the next Education Quest bulletin
Exploring health careers Bancroft Rosalie has a comprehensive program dedicated to increasing student awareness on health careers. The school superintendent works closely with Northeast Community College (NCC) to provide students with a C.N.A. or Medication Aid certification. They hope to add EMT training in the future. Community members including health department employees and high school faculty work together to teach the health career courses.
Students work with in tandem with their parents during February registration to ensure that the students are enrolled in appropriate courses. Classes are offered during the high school day, generally, during the last period.
Students also have the opportunity for job shadowing experiences at an area hospital. This valuable experience provides critical insight into future careers expectations.
Campus visits to the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) and Creighton University are offered to students interested in the health careers field. Students participate in tours of the campus, and even get a look at the cadaver lab. All of these activities help facilitate the students’ understanding of health careers.
The Need
Getting students excited about a career is the first step but building a career for a student is a difficult task. Many students lack the necessary funds for certification courses.
Program Highlights and Tips:
• Build partnerships with local college to build support systems for students. Have the administration work closely with college professionals to provide quality programming and certification.
• Search the community and school faculty to find qualified staff for the courses. Check to see if the school nurse is able to teach classes to students. Consider contacting the local hospital to find potential teacher candidates.
• Encourage attendance by involving parents in the process. Identify students early via health career assessments and then assist them in the registration process. Require parental sign-off on student registration.
• Celebrate student success by recognizing the new certification awards. Recognize the students during a time when both peers and families are in attendance.
Source: Dr. Jon Cerny, Bancroft Rosalie, Superintendent of Schools, jcerny@esu2.org
