NIU to host high school sophomores interested in rural health careers

by Mark McGowan

Fifty high school sophomores who live in rural parts of northern Illinois will come to campus the weekend of June 10 to learn more about careers in health care.

By the time they return home, they'll have performed physical assessments, screened blood samples for lipids, learned sign language, conducted hearing exams, measured body composition and tasted modified foods.

The Health Careers Camp is part of a critical effort to encourage students from small towns to realize their potential and return to their hometowns after college to work as health care professionals.

Students from places such as Amboy, Belvidere, Dixon, Genoa, Huntley, Kingston, LaSalle, Morrison and Peru will get free hands-on experiences in clinical laboratory sciences, nursing, nutrition, physical therapy and speech-language-hearing in labs furnished by the NIU College of Health and Human Sciences.

They also will hear about dentistry, pharmacy and medicine, use a computer-based “career cruiser” program for feedback on their career ideas and learn about the college admissions and financial aid process.

A final event scheduled for Sunday, June 12, will simulate an accident: An elderly person has fallen. A medical doctor will diagnose the patient, order labs and interpret the results. A clinical laboratory specialist, a nurse, a nutritionist, a physical therapist and a speech and hearing rehabilitation specialist will discuss their roles in the trauma.

Parents of the campers will join them for the closing luncheon.

“These are youngsters who are taking the first few important steps in getting positioned for health professions careers,” said Al Ottens, a professor in the NIU College of Education's Department of Counseling, Adult and Higher Education. “We want them to know we think they're an important group – that they're special – and that we want to do what we can to enhance their interests and talents.”

The concept grew from a summit held last year in Rockford at the University of Illinois National Center for Rural Health Professions, a co-sponsor of the camp.

Other sponsors include the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Rockford 's Rural Medical Education Program, the NIU Colleges of Education and Health and Human Sciences, the Northern Illinois Area Health Education Center and the Illinois Rural Health Association.

The University of Illinois at Chicago 's School of Public Health and the Illinois Critical Access Hospital Network funded the camp.

“We want to make sure that rural Illinois is well-served when it comes to health care. When you look at the numbers, we just don't have enough, from doctors to pharmacists,” said Carolyn Brown Hodge, director of rural affairs for Illinois Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, whose office has funded previous camps and continues to support the initiative. “Rural students are more apt to go back home, and we want the young people to think big: ‘Hey, I can be a doctor.' That's real important.”

Ben Mueller, director of the Northern Illinois Area Health Education Center and the University of Illinois National Center for Rural Health Professions, said the camp will provide that revelation.

The 16 camp counselors “all are young people from a whole variety of disciplines who are in school now,” he said. Most are from rural areas, he added, and once had “misgivings about whether they could become doctors.”

“A lot of people in rural areas just don't have the exposure to understand how they might be able to ratchet up their operations – or have the kind of support systems you have in suburban and, often, metropolitan areas – to dream the dream of becoming a health professional,” Mueller said.

Ottens, who trains school counselors, said the camp organizers are depending on counselors to keep the movement going. They're also counting on the campers to form “health” clubs in their schools and to nudge their peers toward health care careers.

Also, the College of Health and Human Sciences will invite the campers back to campus during the academic year to attend classes in the areas represented in the weekend's five hands-on experiences.

“High school students are often intimidated by the thought of college-level classes,” said Alan Robinson, the college's director of outreach. “There's nothing like attending a class and finding out that you can handle college work.”

Counselors from DeKalb and Dixon will attend the camp to provide information on what courses students entering their sophomore year should pursue to build the foundation for health care professions. They also will discuss scholarships and other financial aid options.

“We see school counselors playing an important role in identifying youngsters for health professions, and we want to help counselors become aware of this need. They're on the front lines in identifying and encouraging students, and in getting them to return to their home community once they're finished with their education,” Ottens said.

“We're planning on getting more information in the hands of counselors in these high schools and developing relationships with them so they know we exist,” he added. “We know they're out there.”

6-6-05