Some of the roughly 800 teens who attended last week's Health-care Career Day have dreamed of becoming doctors all their lives. Others merely have an inkling that a medical career might be the path for them.
Whatever their mind set, students from six school districts converged at the Granite Technical Institute to learn about various health-care jobs from the professionals who work at them every day. Students took classes in everything from mental health to dentistry, from imaging to labor and delivery, and everything in between.
The teens -- most are enrolled in health and anatomy classes at their schools -- saw a pregnant woman (and a good sport) receive an ultrasound, "compounded" lotion in the pharmacy class, and taped their friends' ankles in the athletic training section.
"We're trying to teach the kids about things they know they're interested in, and also expose them to some things they might not have heard of," said Julie Bagley, a counselor at Granite Technical Institute. "We want them to go, 'Oh, hmm, I might be interested in that.'"
Fields such as respiratory therapy, occupational therapy and audiology might be more obscure, but there is a need for trained people in these areas too, Bagley said.
Brighton High student Krista Whitmore experienced one of Bagley's "Oh, hmm" moments.
"I'm interested in going into the medical field, but I really have no idea what I want to do so I decided to come to this," Whitmore said.
After attending demonstrations in surgery, critical care and imaging, her future appears more clear than ever.
"I was kind of leaning toward surgery, but now I'm kind of leaning toward imaging," Whitmore said. "It was really cool. They showed us picture of X-rays and MRIs and stuff. It kind of gave me a new perspective of how to look at things in the human body. ... It kind of makes me want to get started faster."
Skyline junior Linda Maranto attended the labor and delivery class.
"I've never seen an ultrasound before, so that was the most interesting part," Maranto said.
Andrea Chavez, a medical-assistant instructor with Salt Lake City School District, allowed students to watch as her midsection was slathered in gel and she received a fetal ultrasound. Chavez is 31-weeks pregnant.
"I'm an educator," Chavez said. "So, I'm all up for educating students."
In addition to viewing her first ultrasound, Maranto said it was interesting to meet medical workers.
"It's made me realize what the people are like who are in the profession," she said.
This is the third year that Career and Technical Education (CTE) departments from the six school districts that comprise the Wasatch Front Consortium teamed up for Health-care Career Day.
"The students are able to talk to professionals who tell them, 'You can do this,'" said Salt Lake City School District CTE specialist Jan Hedberg. "They are given a whole new perspective about what they can do."
Karen Martinson, a registered nurse and education coordinator at Jordan Valley Medical Center, one of 10 participating health-care agencies, was happy to see kids' eyes light up as they contemplated their futures.
"It's exciting that we have something to share that excites them," Martinson said. "It's nice to see the future of your profession in the hands of people that care and are enthusiastic."
