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Me and My Shadow - Students Follow Professionals to Learn a Trade
Canton
SMART DUMMY Mary Cook, assistant professor at Aultman College of Nursing and Health Science, talks with McKinley High School seniors (left to right) Sean Whited, Sarah Milligan and Raelyn Kendrick. The students, who are considering health-care careers, were three of about 40 students who took part in career shadowing Friday in a collaborative program sponsored by Canton Rotary and the city schools.
REPOSITORY MICHAEL S. BALASH |
Repository, Feb. 16, 2008 By G. PATRICK KELLEY, REPOSITORY BUSINESS EDITOR CANTON Sarah Milligan and Sean Whited both want careers helping people. They had an early glimpse into their future Friday at Aultman Hospital.
The two McKinley High School seniors are part of the city schools' Canton Scholar Program, aimed at broadening education for McKinley's and Timken's top students.
Milligan and Whited are two of about 40 in the program who spent Friday morning shadowing professionals in their career choices in a collaboration between the school district and Canton Rotary Club.
They spent half the morning in patients' rooms with hospital staff and students from the Aultman College of Nursing and Health Science. They ended the morning in the college's "patient simulation" laboratory, where a computerized mannequin can develop symptoms for nursing students to work on.
Milligan, who plays basketball and soccer at McKinley, plans to major in nursing either at the University of Cincinnati or Case Western Reserve. "I've always wanted to go into the medical field," she said. "I just realized how many opportunities there are in nursing."
NURSING SHORTAGE
She's right there. Joan Frey, director of campus community affairs and public relations for the college, said there's a nursing shortage now, and it's only going to get worse as baby boomers age and leave the work force.
Milligan volunteers at the hospital, helping with patients and other chores. "I just do whatever they ask me to do.
"I just like helping people," she said. "I think it (nursing) is a good field to go into, because you always get something out of it. You can see the results of your work every day."
Whited, who played center on the Bulldog football team, will attend Holy Cross near Boston on a football scholarship. He plans to become a doctor, and would like to take nursing, but Holy Cross doesn't offer it. He'll probably take psychology with a concentration on pre-med, he said.
"I've wanted to do it since I could remember," he said.
He was impressed with the computer-controlled "patient" in the school. "I think it's a really good opportunity for students to have a feel for patients in a safe setting," he said.
Most of the college's students come from the surrounding six counties, Frey said. About 220 are enrolled right now, and the Aultman system will retain about 75 percent of the graduates. In addition to a shortage of nurses, it's also difficult to find qualified teachers, who must have a master's degree, she said.
INVITATION AN HONOR
Pam Kraft, coordinator of gifted services for Canton City Schools, said Canton Scholars are chosen by grade-point average, and the students must have taken at least two advanced placement classes or college courses.
"It's an honor to get an invitation to join the program," she said. "It's a way to recognize the students for what they've accomplished."
Tim Fox of the Rotary Club and Kraft matched students with mentors for the day. "We try to honor their requests," she said. Students list their top three choices in career opportunities, and "We try to place them in their kind of business, match them with mentor in their top choice if possible."
The purpose of the day is to broaden the students' knowledge of the working world.
"They have the opportunity to gain firsthand exposure that broadens their education and heightens decision-making ability while they observe the world of work," Kraft said.
Reach Repository Business Editor Pat Kelley at (330) 580-8323 or e-mail: pat.kelley@cantonrep.com
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