Students gain hands-on health experience
Hands-on: a local secondary school students gets up close to a neonatal unit during a Hands-On Health day at Sale.
Forty-five senior secondary school students from Sale, Maffra and Yarram had a taste of working in the health sector when they took part in a Hands on Health day in Sale on 30 July 30.
Based loosely on a similar program at Monash University Clayton campus, the Hands on Health Workshop was put together by Ros Pearce and staff from the SRH East & South Gippsland in collaboration with Central Gippsland Health Service (CGHS) and local secondary schools.
It was held at the School of Rural Health’s Sale site, under the auspices of the Community Advisory Committee.
Senior students from Sale, Maffra and Yarram secondary colleges, Gippsland Grammar School and Sale Catholic College, interested in pursuing a career in health, attended.
They were given interactive experiences in their area of particular interest and well as relevant information. Areas covered were Occupational Therapy, Dietetics, Nursing and Midwifery, Physiotherapy and Medicine.
Ros said the students would hopefully benefit from the hands-on and relatively informal program.
“We have found that students are keen for information,” she said. “The objective is to give them an idea of the pathways to various careers in health; that t is not the end of the world if you don’t get the ENTER score you initially hoped for. We want to open their eyes to the various options available.”
A former SRH student, now a junior doctor at Sale Hospital, Paul Marosszeky, spoke to the students interested in pursuing medicine as did two Year 3 medical students. Other staff from Monash and CGHS Allied Health and nurse education areasalso conducted sessions.
Following informal group sessions, the students were given a tour of the hospital and also took part in some interactive scenarios.
They were asked to complete an evaluation at the end of the day to ascertain whether or not this is something that should be continued in the future.