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 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 -- witnessed a pregnant woman 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.
The event got some students stoked about the medical field. Others, not so much.
"I've wanted to be a doctor all my life," said Taylorsville High junior Jacob Sturm, who attended the surgical tech demonstration. "I never knew what surgical techs did until today. I'm going to try to get enrolled in the surgical tech course next year. ... The instructor told us it's going to be hard, but I'm up for the challenge."
Fellow Taylorsville student Nathan Smith went to the same surgical tech class, and he came out with an opposite reaction.
"The surg tech class inspired me not to go into surgery tech," he said, emphasizing "not." "It's too time-consuming. There's too much schoolwork."
Which was exactly the point of Health care Career Day: helping students to narrow down their career choices or eliminate options that don't feel right.
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."
