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| A large group of students interested in the healthcare industry took part in Healthcare Industry Day on March 28 and had the opportunity to ask questions of current healthcare professionals about a field each of them hopes to enter. |
By Maya Quale
On Tuesday March 28, the Dayton Regional STEM School hosted its first Health Professions Day. Healthcare professionals from a variety of fields in the Dayton area came to partake in an event that gave DRSS students a chance to explore the career possibilities of the Medical field, including Wright State University, Premier Health, Maple Tree Cancer Alliance, Dayton Children’s Hospital, Dayton Clinical Oncology Program, and Woodman Drive Animal Hospital.
Being a health professional is not solely comprised of doctors and nurses. While it is a major aspect of it, there are also physician’s assistants, physical therapists, epidemiologists, business professionals, and administrative nurses. These are just a few examples of a variety of career paths a person could take. During the session, professionals gave an example of how a resident nurse climbed the ladder and became President of Premier Health: her name is Mary H. Bossalis.
This event was set up so that everyone was sitting in a circle and students were able to ask various questions about what it means to be a health professional. Jake Ballard, class of 2017, said, “I think it’s really interesting because I already had my mind set on a career in the medical field, but this event cemented those feelings by allowing me to ask questions about my uncertainties. They gave a great deal of information: I could get an entry level job at my current age, while also receiving tuition assistance while I’m still in college. This allows me to get what I really want to do and still have a background in nursing, so I found all of it very interesting.”
Not only did this benefit students, it also gave health professionals awareness on what the future of the medical field could potentially be. Shawn Hamilton, an epidemiologist at Premier Health said, “I think [Healthcare Industry Day] helps us understand what the future is looking at doing and the new workforce in health care. This means we’re better able to prepare ourselves for what’s the common goal. I think it also gives students a great insight into something they might not know about. So, I think it’s the best of both worlds: we benefit because we understand the future workforce and the students benefit because they begin to understand exactly how the machine actually works.”
Students enjoyed Healthcare Industry Day because it gave them another opportunity to converse with experts in their field of interest, so hopefully it will continue to be in DRSS’ Bright Future.
