Center Students Learn About Health Care Careers First Hand

Alamosa, Colorado.  Center High School takes a different spin on their ICAP program by offering various field trips to their students.  On October 25, 2107, 21 high schoolers and 4 teachers signed up for the “Health Sciences” tour with Jenny Signs in the Human Resources department at SLV Health. They started with an overview of the various specialty clinics offered at SLV Health, then visited Physical Therapy at Valley-Wide Health Systems, then toured TSJC and ASU.  On November 14, 16 middle school students completed a similar schedule.  ICAP stands for Individual Career & Academic Plan, and at Center Schools, they do more than just talk to kids about careers, they show them what these careers look like out in the field.

SLV Health as well as Valley-Wide and Rio Grande Hospital, nursing homes and governmental, educational, and economic institutions are all participating in the Health Care Work Force Sector Partnership.  By introducing kids to various healthcare related fields, the plan is to start them on the course early for success and to keep them learning about science and other topics as they relate to a wide variety of careers that include medical care, leadership, accounting, emergency response, etc.

Katrina Ruggles, Center High School Councilor, stated, “The students that attended this tour had tested well in the I-CAP for the healthcare section.  Their main goal of the tour was to introduce the students to different areas and career options within healthcare.  They also wanted to show them that just because they didn’t want to be a doctor, nurse, or be in a clinical position there were still other avenues they could pursue within the healthcare field.”  One of the students remarked to the tour guide after visiting the lab at SLV Health, “Wow, I’ve never felt excited about anything before. After seeing what these scientists do, I am feeling more interested now in my science classes.”

Alondra Chaparro at Center Middle School organized the middle school tour.  There were 16 students that attended the middle school tour, along with three staff members.  They also wanted to learn about different careers in healthcare.  The students asked many questions along the tour, including, “I wonder how much blood we have in our bodies, and how fast does the ambulance go?”