O'FALLON, Il. - HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital recently welcomed high school students from across southwestern Illinois for its first Healthcare Bootcamp event of the year. The bootcamp for juniors and seniors interested in a career in health care is designed to give students a realistic look into various health care roles while also allowing an opportunity to make connections in the field.
Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
“Through these job shadowing opportunities, students are able to understand the roles and responsibilities of a health care career by allowing them a deeper look, which in turn will provide motivation to learn the role of the career, type of education that is required, skills that are performed, and network with our health care professionals,” says Gavin Halpin, community sourcing strategist at HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital and organizer of the Healthcare Bootcamp. “These students were able to experience hands-on skill sessions, and network with health care professionals from 11 departments.”
Twenty-three students took part in HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital’s Healthcare Bootcamp on Tuesday, June 20. It included experiences in eleven different departments, which engaged students in a variety of ways and solidified their interest in health care. Students also shared that they enjoyed the positive and caring environment that HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital provided them as guests. Interested students were able to talk directly to HSHS employment specialists about opportunities available to them in the field, opening a door in the health care industry before they graduate high school.
Funding for the bootcamp was provided by the HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital’s Foundation. “The Foundation is proud to support the next generation of potential health care workers,” says David Garris, the Foundation’s director. “This community supports our hospitals in so many tangible ways, including the work we do to equip our colleagues to be the best in their field. This community outreach is key to inspiring young people to choose career paths in caring for our community.”
Students from area high schools, including Belleville East, Belleville West, O’Fallon Township, Highland, Civic Memorial, Althoff Catholic and First Baptist Academy, participated in the bootcamp.
For those who did not take part in the bootcamp but are still interested in a job shadow opportunity with HSHS, future opportunities can be found at: https://www.hshs.org/careers/job-shadowing.
More like this:
