Teacher Training in Health Careers
South Central Kentucky AHEC Teacher Training in Health CareersHealth career recruitment is exponentially enhanced when classroom teachers understand and are enthusiastic about health careers. This can be accomplished through teacher academies or teacher training in health careers.
South Central Kentucky AHEC conducted a 2003 Kentucky Department of Education funded teacher academy for five days in June for 25 teachers of grades five through eight. The final figures from these teachers’ evaluations indicated that over 1800 students were exposed to health career curriculum through their classrooms during the 2003-2004 school year.
During five days in June, 2005 and again in June, 2006, South Central KY AHEC coordinated an AHEC funded teacher training for teachers of grades 5 through 12. The first three days of the academy provided a working knowledge of health careers, shortages and educational opportunities.
Through presentations and experiential activities, including job shadowing of health professionals, the participants were immersed into the world of health care. The teachers examined the knowledge base, skill requirements, roles, and responsibilities of a broad range of different health careers. T.J. Samson Community Hospital arranged shadowing with over 40 different health careers professionals for the teachers.
The fourth day focused on completing the 25 modules of the “Exploring Faces of Opportunities,” a curriculum developed and piloted by Southwest Georgia AHEC. Implementation was the focus of the last day. Possible barriers and solutions were explored as well as how the curriculum could be used to address the appropriate Kentucky standards.
One teacher stated, “The shadowing experiences were so beneficial. I can’t begin to write about the knowledge I gained while seeing these individuals in their working environment. I have a much deeper understanding of the many, many jobs that are in the health care field. This will allow me to perhaps get students interested in a health care career.”
Another teacher responded, “If you do not have a lot of money but want to be in the medical field of some form, there are a hundred options that students can do and then gradually work their own way up both by on the job training and eventual testing to push upward both educationally and financially.”
Still another teacher remarked, “In my experiences we were able to see behind the scenes – it was fascinating! The jobs we saw did not always deal directly with patients, but totally affected patient care. One fact that I can use in my classroom is to find an area you’re interested in, there’s a need for it or a related area in the medical field.”
Lastly, a teacher summed it up, “I feel the most useful resource I gained was the hands-on shadowing I did at T.J. Samson. My knowledge was greatly enhanced by personally observing and discussing with the staff as they went about their daily routine. This was great info that I can pass along to my students.”
