What’s up Doc? Explore Health Services Camp Comes to the Southeastern Career Center

On Monday June 26th, students were given the opportunity to work with instructors and alumni of the Southeastern Career Center’s health services and dentistry departments, receiving a crash-course introduction to an array of careers in the field of medicine. Aside from conducting fittings for braces and suturing wounds, attendees were also taught how to administer a vaccine, use an epi-pen, perform CPR, and conduct a routine teeth-cleaning. Each of these skills are essential pieces of different medical professions, and being able to learn each, first-hand, over the course of three separate group sessions gave prospective doctors and dentists a sample of work in the field.

Mary Schmaltz, an instructor of Health Science at SCC, shared her enthusiasm for the breadth of the camp, saying, “They [the campers] have gotten a wide array of skills today, and a lot of exposure to different careers. Exposure gives them a hands-on approach beyond books and the classroom, and functionally helps them discern what they may want to pursue as a career.” As such, the practicality of this camp made it valuable for illuminating potential career paths for its participants.

Experiential learning greatly affected the value of the camp for its participants; learning through ‘doing’ and applying classroom skills to simulated situations provided attendees with a glimpse at what these careers are really like. Furthermore, for those campers who may not plan to head into a career in health services, there were still many valuable first aid skills taught that have the potential to come in handy in every-day life. 

For Makenna Westerman, an incoming 7th-grader from Jac-Cen-Del, the value of the camp came from the fact that it was, “more hands-on.” She continued in noting that a skill she learned was, “The Heimlich maneuver,” and that doing so was valuable because, “you never know when you’ll be in an emergency situation.”

Genesis: Pathways to Success would like to thank the Southeastern Career Center and all of its volunteers for their time and wisdom, and would especially like to highlight and thank Ripley County EMS for giving campers a tour of two of their ambulances. We look forward to providing Explore Health Services Camp again in 2024!