DOBSON — Observing medical professionals, seeing the AirCare helicopter, exploring healthcare facilities, and job shadowing medical staff were all a part of the three-day experience at CAMP MED.
Fifteen high school students from five schools in the region learned first-hand about the healthcare industry’s high-demand and lucrative careers during the healthcare awareness camp, which was held July 13-15 at Surry Community College’s campus in Dobson.
Camp participants were: Taylor Chipman, Arianna Collins and Zara Petrocy, all of Elkin High School; Jacob Hiatt, Kelsey McCrary and Benjamin Thomason, all of Millennium Charter Academy; Hannah Chilton and Emma Ratcliff, both of Mount Airy High School; Nicolas Adams, Destiny Adkins, Cassandra Hernandez, Savannah Putman, Cynthia Ramos and Sierra Reeves, all of Starmount High School; and Autumn Spillman of Yadkin Early College.
The camp included visits to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital. The students also experienced individual and group job shadowing along with classroom presentations and demonstrations. Wendy Rash, RN, BSN, CEN, a staff flight nurse for AirCare and graduate of the SCC nursing program, shared her perspective as a flight nurse on the critical transport team with her more than 19 years of nursing experience.
She told students that her job was different from hospital nurses because she wears a flame retardant flight suit, helmet, boots and can give medicines independently based on a protocol under signed orders from a doctor. She may be working in the middle of busy traffic on an interstate or flying to a wooded area in order to care for critically injured patients. The AirCare helicopter landed during Rash’s presentation at Surry Community College, so the students could meet the pilot and nursing crew to ask questions and see inside the helicopter.
CAMP MED is sponsored by the Northwest Area Health Education Center, Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital and Surry Community College. Ann Marie Woodruff, SCC counselor, organized the camp.
“CAMP MED 2016 was very successful. We had a great group of campers this year. They seemed very eager to learn about the different facets of the healthcare field,” Woodruff said. “The success of the camp can be attributed to the many invested partners, including employees of Wake Forest Baptist Health and AirCare Critical Care Transport Services, Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital and Surry Community College, whom we count on year after year to provide engaging and informative experiences.”
Surry Community College offers a variety of programs in the medical field. Surry nursing graduates provide care at different points throughout a patient’s lifetime in a variety of settings. Practical Nursing is a one-year program that prepares students for careers as Licensed Practical Nurses after taking the examination leading to licensure.
Students can also choose to complete the ADN or Associate Degree in Nursing, which is a two-year program enabling them to sit for the examination leading to licensure as a Registered Nurse. Currently Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) can also choose to complete the LPN-ADN program, which is a three semester program enabling students to prepare for the examination leading to licensure as a registered nurse. The college also offers a two-year degree in Medical Assisting, Physical Therapist Assistant, Medical Office Administration, and a Sports Medicine Technology program.
For more information, contact Student Services at 336-386-3264.
CAMP MED participants pose with the AirCare helicopter and crew during an informative visit on Surry Community College’s Dobson campus. Local high school students participating in the camp learned about the many facets of the healthcare industry during this three-day camp held at SCC.
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CAMP MED participants pose with the AirCare helicopter and crew during an informative visit on Surry Community College’s Dobson campus. Local high school students participating in the camp learned about the many facets of the healthcare industry during this three-day camp held at SCC.
Submitted photo
Staff Report