North Valley Hospital is Job Shadow Host to Columbia Falls High School Students
The medical field is a highly sought after occupation. But with so many options, students nearing college age have difficulty deciding which road to go down. To assist with their decision-making, North Valley Hospital is hosting 20 Columbia Falls High School students who have interest in one or more of the medical fields.
“We work with all the area high schools to provide an educational setting for students interested in pursing a healthcare related field,” said North Valley Hospital Human Resources Director Susan Catt. “Columbia Falls has a large number of students this year, I think, because they have defined a program that encourages this type of partnership.”
The job shadow program was developed by Columbia Falls High School Principal Alan Robins to develop more community partnerships. Doug Cordier, the high school’s career counselor, said they took a different approach this year by having a field trip, providing the bus ride and organizing the tour.
“For many years, job shadows have been a part of what we do. But, we realized, that if we don’t organize the opportunity, the students tend to put it off,” Cordier said. “We made it a priority to give the students the idea of what’s available.”
After 65 students toured the hospital in February, twenty expressed much interest in returning for a more in-depth view of the departments. Several students have arranged multiple visits so that they may get an idea of more than one department.
“I think this is a superb turn-out of students who would like to learn more after their brief overview of the entire hospital,” Catt said. “More than 30 percent of the students who toured the facility last month show genuine interest in furthering their education in one of the many available medical fields.”
Each visit is a four-hour time period with one-on-one interaction where the student is able to walk a while in the shoes of North Valley Hospital nurse assistants, lab technicians, pharmacists, imaging technicians, surgical technicians and registered nurses in the emergency, med/surg, special care, surgery and obstetrics units. The program is a non-credit experience, but the students will be evaluated by the person they shadow. Cordier will provide feedback and “debrief” with participating students based on the evaluation and the students’ experiences.
Cordier said that the administration is taking job shadowing seriously with the students because it’s an opportunity to prepare them for future careers. They are expected to show up on time, have appropriate behavior, and then later learn how they can improve in a career setting. Ideally, Cordier said that the administration is taking job shadowing seriously with the students because it’s an opportunity to prepare them for future careers.
To arrange a tour, or learn more about our job shadowing and internship opportunities, contact Susan Catt at North Valley Hospital at 863-3500. |