Nov. 8, 2023
Standing next to a mobile X-ray machine, three Glendale High School students were encouraged to try to drive it down a hallway.
“I mean, it’s not that bad,” said one student. “How much does this thing cost?”
Students from every SPS high school participated in the SPS Healthcare Career Day at CoxHealth. Part career fair, part field experience, the day included rotations and hands-on presentations with Dietetics, Ambulance, Occupational Therapy, Mental Health, Pet Therapy, Radiologic Sciences and Imaging, Respiratory Therapists, Surgical Nurses and more.
SPS high schoolers who attended the event were in Health Sciences classes and had expressed an interest in healthcare careers. But there’s nothing like exploring a hospital setting and all its career opportunities in person, said Heather McNair, GHS teacher.
“For a lot of students, a four-year degree at a university can be overwhelming to consider,” said McNair. “But there are so many different jobs and careers within healthcare that students may not even consider. This provides them a way to learn about their options; there’s so much more to healthcare than being a nurse or doctor.”
CoxHealth and Springfield Public Schools partnered to provide the experiential career exploration event on the current campus of Cox College – the future home of the Alliance for Healthcare Education. Many of the students who attended the SPS Healthcare Career Day at CoxHealth will eventually take classes and earn credentials in the hallways they toured during the Career Day, said Dr. Katie Kensinger, director of college and career readiness.
“These students have expressed an interest in healthcare; they want to be here,” said Dr. Kensinger. “But this space will become the Alliance, where they’ll be able to get a jumpstart on a career in healthcare faster and more affordably than ever before in our community. What better way for them to understand their possibilities for healthcare and healthcare education than to start here.”
