They say that the average college student switches their major of study twice before settling on the one that suits them, and there is no knowing how many graduate with a degree only to discover at their first job that they’ve chosen the wrong career. In order to help students better understand what is entailed in a career in the medical field, the Education and Training unit of the Flint & Genesee Chamber of Commerce partnered with Genesys Health System to allow high school students to shadow medical personnel. On December 5, students from six area high schools who indicated an interest in health care careers on their Education Development Plan participated in job-shadowing and career exploration in five health care-related fields. Staff working in Lean Processes and the lab, together with nurses, pharmacists and physical therapists revealed important aspects of their jobs, involved the students in hands-on activities, and encouraged them to pursue their dreams of careers in health care.
Deanna Troszak, a bubbly physical therapist who has been at Genesys for the past three years, worked to open her students’ eyes to the challenges that disabled people face in their daily lives. “Physical therapy is all about improving quality of life,” Deanna said as she asked students to try a variety of commonplace activities without using their limbs, or while breathing through a straw. She says that this is her second year volunteering at Career Day, which she calls “very much fun!”
With the help of the Genesys staff, these students have a better understanding of what a career in health care really entails.
PHOTOS BY SARAH REED
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