WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — Career Camp at Winter Haven Hospital is not just about students exploring the healthcare industry; it also aims to build career readiness and address the shortage of medical professionals in the area.
For incoming ninth grader Kyleigh Strevels, healthcare has always been more than just an interest.
WATCH: Winter Haven Hospital Career Camp aims to build future healthcare workforce
“I’m really looking into pediatric oncology and cardiology,” Strevels said. “Helping people, making them feel better about themselves and really trying to get them the help they need is really important to me.”
She is one of 15 students at Winter Haven Hospital, getting a hands-on look at what it takes to work in healthcare.
“Being able to touch those types of things and seeing how they actually work, rather than just getting x-rays and stuff, it’s very neat,” said Madeline Crosman.
The three-day program is designed to introduce students to the wide range of careers available in medicine. The students get to tour various departments, including radiology, respiratory therapy, and labor and delivery. They are also participating in hands-on demonstrations and learning sessions with hospital leaders.
“It’s important especially to me because I knew I wanted to do medicine, but I didn’t know exactly what area in medicine. So, it’s important if you’re still trying to figure out what you want to do,” Angel White said.
Camp organizer and nursing professional development practitioner Kim Choate said the camp was created not only to inspire students but also to help build a pipeline of healthcare workers in Polk County.
"There’s a lot of shortages across healthcare in general and so we wanted to help guide those kids who might be interested in that type of career along the way and show them all the various ways. Sometimes people think healthcare just involves doctors or just nurses,” Choate said.
Choate says introducing students to healthcare careers early can help them take advantage of medical academies and certification programs while still in high school, with the hope that many will one day return to serve their own community.
“The goal would be that they would want to come back. We’re hoping in six years we get people to come back and say you know I wanted to be radiologist because we came to Career Camp and they showed me all these different things you can do with radiology and all the positive impacts you can have on people,” Choate said.
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