ADRIAN — More than 30 local students experienced the life of a medical professional at the Align Center for Workforce Development’s free Healthcare Careers Day Camp June 14 at Siena Heights University.
The ACWD event focused on five medical roles: infectious disease control, biomedical technician, phlebotomist, pharmacy technician and medical assistant.
Dr. Noli Mendoza, a former doctor and teacher who developed course work and lab work for youth in each of these professions as a consultant for ACWD, organized the day around a mystery students had to solve by performing tests on a fictitious Patient Zero.
“We want kids to know career choices and options,” Mendoza said. “We make it informative, educational, fun and motivational for them.”
Natalie Zietlow, seventh grader at Lenawee Christian School, said her favorite part of the event was the labs, which provided hands-on experience for the kids.
Students collected fake blood (water with food coloring) from phlebotomy arms. They were able to experience how diseases spread through glowing (powder under blacklight), how to type blood, how to test fake urine, look at substances under a microscope, take blood pressure and how pharmacists develop custom medication for patients using Play-Doh.
The students also heard lectures and were able to talk to individuals in these roles as well as representatives from the ProMedica Charles and Virginia Hospital, SHU and the Lenawee Intermediate School District about how to pursue these career pathways.
Mendoza is working on curriculum and labs for five more medical roles, including CNA/LPN, ward clerk, surgical tech, medical scribe, and medical billers and coders.
“The mission of these presentations is to introduce junior high school and high school students to health professions that typically do not require four-year degrees,” Mendoza said. “With either an associate’s degree or certification many people can enter the health care field in vital areas of need.”