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Building the region鈥檚 future healthcare workforce is a team effort, and a partnership between the and the is helping lead the way by investing in the next generation before they even graduate high school. 听

The Health Career Exploration Camp, now in its second year at UNH, was held July 21鈥�25 at UNH Manchester and Aug. 4鈥�8 on the Durham campus and gave around 35 students, grades 8-12, a hands-on look at healthcare careers. 听听

Some students arrived with clear goals 鈥� nursing, medicine, pediatrics 鈥� while others were just curious about the field. For all of them, the camp offered a chance to explore career options, with experiences that could confirm, refine, or even change their aspirations, according to Felicia Brackett, project director for 听

鈥淵ou don鈥檛 know what you don鈥檛 know,鈥� Brackett says. 鈥淚f you think you鈥檙e interested in nursing and you get to come into this great simulation lab and play with fake patients and have a stethoscope, you can figure out, 鈥極kay, this is for me, this isn鈥檛 for me.鈥� If it isn鈥檛, what else could I do that鈥檚 still in healthcare?鈥� 听

Hands-On Learning, Real-World Skills 听

The UNH Manchester camp included students from that area and featured a day trip to Durham, while the Seacoast-area students spent the whole week in Durham at the and other academic facilities. 听听

Brackett says the camp grew significantly, as the first year had just under 10 students from the Manchester area. The goal of this year鈥檚 camps was to show the breadth of career opportunities available in healthcare. 听

鈥淚t originally started as nursing specific, and we expanded it to be inclusive of all healthcare professions, whether that be clinical, administrative, engineering, pharmacy, or dental,鈥� Brackett says. 听

Each day included different activities, including CPR certification and training in administering Narcan. Students also shadowed lab instructors, diagnosed patients in the simulation lab, experimented with medical tools, and took part in activities ranging from building a lung to touring research spaces. 听

Carli Hughes, program coordinator for Southern New Hampshire AHEC, says when working with students with varied interests, it鈥檚 important to nurture those interests while providing them with practical skills they can use, regardless of their chosen career field. 听

鈥淥ne student told me she鈥檇 taken a CPR class before where they just watched videos and practiced quickly. Here, we take the time, go more in-depth, and give them a chance to feel like they鈥檙e part of it,鈥� Hughes says. 听

Emily Loehwing, a sophomore at Portsmouth High School who wants to become an emergency room nurse, says the camp鈥檚 hands-on approach sets it apart. 听听

鈥淚 liked that they actually let us learn how to take blood pressures and use otoscopes, because other introduction-to-healthcare camps I鈥檝e taken were much more theory-based,鈥� Loehwing says. 鈥淗ere, it鈥檚, 鈥楬ere鈥檚 a thing 鈥� now you get to learn how to do it.鈥� My favorite part was the CPR certification class.鈥� 听

Freya Doshi, a junior at Portsmouth High School, is still exploring her career options and has already participated in multiple UNH camps, including one focused on regenerative medicine, DNA, and genomics. 听

鈥淭his camp felt very real. We were working in the lab on the same things as the nursing students, and it was very in-depth,鈥� Doshi says. 鈥淓xperimenting with camps like this is what helps you pick out what you like. You can鈥檛 just sit there wondering 鈥� you have to try it.鈥� 听

College as an Achievable Goal 听

Beyond career exploration, the camp is also an opportunity to give students a positive college campus experience. Both camps toured the campus, spent time outdoors in the green spaces, and dined at Holloway Commons. 听

鈥淭hey don鈥檛 realize how big the campus is and how beautiful it is,鈥� says Brackett. 鈥淲e try to focus on populations that don鈥檛 necessarily have the same opportunities to have those experiences. Just letting them know this is feasible for them, no matter their situation, if you want this to be what you want to do, you can get there.鈥� 听

Allie Bronson, a junior at Raymond High School interested in studying pediatric nursing, says the camp reinforced her future goals. 听

鈥淚 thought the coolest part of the camp was just being on campus, especially since I want to go to college at UNH,鈥� Bronson says. 听

Supporting the Healthcare Workforce 听

As New Hampshire and the surrounding areas continue to address healthcare workforce shortages, organizers says career exploration camps that engage students with the field early will continue to play a crucial role in sparking interest that could lead to long-term career commitments. 听

Both UNH and Southern New Hampshire AHEC听are interested in growing the summer camp while finding additional ways to collaborate. 听

鈥淲e鈥檙e always talking about expanding our camps, and what that could look like,鈥� Hughes says. 鈥淭his partnership with UNH is not going away anytime soon.鈥� 听

Dayle Sharp, clinical professor at the UNH School of Nursing, says she鈥檚 already seen the camp have an impact in its two short years. 听

鈥淟ast year, we had a few students who started the week unsure and were only there because their grandmother wanted them to go. By the end, they had developed an interest in nursing 鈥� they went from negative 100 to 100 in just a few days,鈥� Sharp says. 鈥淲e want to continue to build on AHEC鈥檚 philosophy: start them early, get them interested, keep them going, and keep them stimulated so we can build that workforce.鈥� 听

Sharp says she would love to structure a camp where the students come in as freshmen for an introduction camp and then come back as juniors for a more advanced camp. 听

As the effort grows, the key to its success will be interdisciplinary partnerships, according to Marcy Doyle, faculty member at the Institute for Health Policy and Practice and UNH School of Nursing.听

"That interdisciplinary approach was evident in this year's programming, which brought together professionals from nursing, social work, public health, emergency medicine, and community health workers," Doyle says. "We're excited to involve even more departments from across UNH and our NH partners as we grow."
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