Has your middle-school student ever wondered what respiratory therapists do for a living? Or has a high schooler you know wanted to explore what a career in nursing might look like?
The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio, has a variety of opportunities available for area K-12 schools and their students to learn more about the health care industry and the variety of career opportunities it offers. From classroom presentations to shadowing clinicians and touring laboratories, we want our young community members to be able to explore concrete health care options for their future.
With hands-on experiences, students will be exposed to many different jobs in the health care setting, and we’ll educate them on the paths they’ll need to take to be successful in those fields. At the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center, we believe health care can provide a fulfilling career for anyone.
What types of learning experiences are available for young students?
We offer a variety of ways for students of all grade levels to learn more about careers in health care and, specifically, how Ohio State can help them reach their career potential.
Some of the experiences we offer include:
- Classroom presentations – We’ll send one or more speakers to your classroom to talk about careers in health care with the goal of raising awareness of opportunities that students can consider for their future.
- Shadowing – Students can make a one-time visit to one of our facilities to observe and witness firsthand the environment and duties associated with their field of interest.
- Mentorships/internships – In some cases, we offer a recurring opportunity for a student to observe a field of interest at one of our facilities. Currently, we have mentorships or internships in the following fields: respiratory therapy, clinical laboratory careers, imaging, nursing, patient care associates and supply chain.
- Field trips – A group of students can attend presentations and participate in immersive tours at one or more of the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center facilities.
Some experiences are reserved only for students in schools that have Workforce Partnerships agreements with us.
How can I learn more about health care careers at Ohio State?
When students experience firsthand from an early age how they can make a difference in health care, it can dramatically impact their future decisions and career choices. Plus, bringing more awareness to the benefits of health care careers helps us keep the workforce at the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center strong and inclusive.
While we have various individual experiences for students, we also partner with area schools to provide agreed-upon education for these topics. Priority for fulfilling requests for experiences is given to schools with an affiliation Workforce Partnerships agreement and schools in the central Ohio community.
If you have a young person interested in learning more about health care careers, please complete this form and we’ll be happy to review your experience request. If you’d like more information about a formal agreement for workforce experiences, please contact Elizabeth Lanker at Elizabeth.Lanker@osumc.edu. Lanker is director of Workforce Partnerships, and her focus is on cultivating collaborations and steering the expansion of workforce initiatives.