High School Students Jump Start Future Health Careers through Upstate Program

This year, SCSD students from Corcoran, Henninger, Nottingham, and PSLA at Fowler were invited to get a head start on their future, thanks to the Upstate Medical University’s Jump Start Your Health Career program.
 
Through the ten-week paid program, held both in the fall and in the spring, students met for several hours on Saturdays on the Upstate Medical University Campus. There, led by Upstate students, faculty, and clinicians, the students learned and practiced the clinical reasoning process that guides the diagnostic and treatment process. They participated in interactive learning experiences in on-campus laboratories, and used complex, realistic patient cases to explore the field of health care and health careers.
 
Henninger senior Angar Cristcilla Amal plans to attend college to major in Health Sciences, with the goal of ultimately becoming an OBGYN or Midwife one day.
 
“I wanted to participate in this program because I knew that we would be getting hands-on learning about health care,” she shared. “I was excited to join the program because I was able to meet other students my age who are just as interested in healthcare! I learned so much during my time there. We examined case studies and did lab work experiments, and I learned about the paths available to you if you pursue different areas of medicine. One of our case studies was about a baby who was having respiratory issues. We collected data from his mother, reviewed the notes from the doctor’s checkup, and diagnosed him with Cystic Fibrosis. We then confirmed it by testing it in the lab – then we made a PowerPoint to explain how we discovered our findings. I feel like this will help me in the future because it gave me an early look at what I will be dealing with in my future career!”
 
Corcoran senior Sahrie Mcintyre said she hopes to become a Registered Nurse one day. She hasn’t taken any healthcare classes in high school, so she saw the program as a helpful opportunity to provide her with medical insight.
 
“It’s tough sometimes to pick up the medical terminology, so I know this will be an advantage in the future when I study nursing in college and take classes like this,” she shared.
 
Fellow Corcoran senior Anavay Cannon is also hoping to pursue a nursing career one day. She said this experience has helped spark her passion for the field.
 
“It’s a good opportunity for me to experience more, get more out there, and learn more about the healthcare field,” Anavay shared. “It’s really fun! Every day when I leave the program, I’m so excited to share what I’ve learned. It makes me want to be a nurse. It gives me a lot of adrenaline. They brought us into a simulated emergency room, where they showed us what it’s like, what the different people’s roles are in there… I felt so energized being in that environment. This experience gives me an advantage that a lot of people don’t have… it’s an opportunity for me to see firsthand what my future will be like.”
 
Over the course of the program, students learned about ethics, confidentiality, library search strategies, and academic skill building. They studied anatomy, physiology, and pathology. They even learned how to improve their study skills, critical thinking, and professional presentation skills.
 
“Medicine is one of the things I’m interested in,” Nottingham junior Jesse Smith IV said. “I thought this would be a nice chance to explore the field and see if it could be a good fit. My favorite part was definitely getting to diagnose cases… it was pretty fun! I learned that there are so many things that you can diagnose someone with, and a lot of the conditions have similar symptoms and are so similar that you have to find really specific things within them to diagnose. It can be complicating and confusing, and there are so many tests that you have to do to make sure you’re making the right diagnosis! We also got to hear from medical students and specialists about their experiences. We heard from a respiratory therapist, a physical therapist, a radiologist, and more. I’m definitely more interested in the field of medicine now… it’s one of those careers where I’d never get bored!”
 
For students who are still uncertain about what career path they will pursue, the Upstate program allowed them to get a sense of what the daily life of a medical professional could be like.
 
“It’s enlightening to learn what doctors go through day to day,” Corcoran junior My’Yanah Alezie shared. “I didn’t realize the reasons behind the things they do during a physical exam, for example. When they use the stethoscope on our back, they’re measuring our lungs. It’s been fun to understand the process behind everything. We’ve also learned about anemia – and I have anemia – so it’s been nice to gain more insight into what’s going on in my body! Nursing has always been an interest of mine, and this program, is definitely making me lean more into it. The med school students who work with us are really nice – and I like that they’re students, too, so they’re still learning while they’re teaching us.”
 
“I wanted to learn more about these careers, to help me determine if working in the medical field is something I’d like to pursue,” classmate Ny’Asia Morrison added. “I’ve always known that I want to help people… both of my parents are nurses and I’m able to see how they make a difference by being able to help people. My parents say this is a good opportunity, that I am able to be educated on the healthcare field so early. I’m discovering that it can be a hard transition to enter medicine if you go in ‘blind’ – it’s shocking to learn about patient symptoms and how they present differently… seeing how doctors make a diagnosis!”
 
Thank you to the team at Upstate Medical University for offering this program to our students and for helping our scholars become #SCSDCareerReady!