Simulating success: high school students explore health care careers with UM-Flint

Emergency personnel gathered around two crashed cars in a University of Michigan-Flint parking lot recently while dozens of people looked on. But, there was no cause for concern. The scene was merely an accident simulation that was part of "Exploring Health Care Careers," a two-day summer camp for high schoolers, now in its second year, hosted by UM-Flint's College of Health Sciences

The camp welcomed 45 high school students, June 21 and 22, from around Michigan for hands-on sessions led by faculty and students that highlighted CHS programs and related careers. 

"I know I want to have a job in health care and I wanted to explore my options," said Harshini Meenakshi Sundaram, a ninth grader from Grand Ledge High School. "I learned about many great job options that I had no idea about. I'm so glad that I came to the camp."

Attendees learned about respiratory therapy by seeing a pig heart and lungs inflated by a breathing machine and saw a demonstration of the radiation therapy program's Virtual Environment Radiotherapy Trainer that creates a 3-D virtual radiation treatment room where students can see inside a patient's body and practice their skills.

Other highlights included practicing opening airways and learning about intubation and ventilation with nurse anesthesia students, and practicing wound care and observing a cardiac ultrasound with physician assistant professors. 

Participants learned about the spread of microbes and infection control from public health faculty in an activity where they had to track where a disease originated and who was "infected." They also gained an understanding for physical impairments with occupational therapy faculty and students, wearing gloves that impaired their sense of touch to play cards, and putting on glasses that simulated different visual impairments while completing various tasks. In another activity, campers learned about measuring balance with physical therapy faculty and students.

"I loved the hands-on activities," said Harshita Rajaram, a 10th grader from Okemos High School. "It was amazing to have this opportunity to get to meet faculty who have done these jobs and could teach us about them in a hands-on way. I learned about many careers I hadn't known about before that may be great options for me."

The accident simulation on Day Two brought together everything campers had learned in their previous sessions. The accident was staged in coordination with the Genesee County Sheriff's Office, Mobile Medical Response, the City of Flint Fire Department, Complete Towing and Genesee County Emergency Management.

Students saw how emergency response teams respond to a call. In one scenario, a "patient," portrayed by a student volunteer, sustained a head injury in a crash, while in another, the "patient" sustained multiple fractures. Attendees got to see how various health professionals would respond both on the scene and in the hospital, including physician assistants, nurse anesthetists, occupational therapists and physical therapists.

"When high school students think of jobs in health care they often only think of nurses and doctors, but there are so many other great careers," said Donna Fry, dean of the CHS. "This camp is a great way for them to see new sides of health care and maybe spark an interest in a job they weren't familiar with. We are grateful for the way our faculty, students and local first responders come together to make this immersive experience possible."

Video and photos from the camp are available online. 

To learn more about UM-Flint's College of Health Sciences, visit its webpage.