Key Highlights
- HOPE providing career pathways education to aspiring students seeking careers in healthcare.
- UW health organizing the TOCTWD program for children of employees to learn a variety of careers in healthcare.
- Medical professionals organizing HOPE for rural students and giving experience in the medical field.
- “There’s nothing more rewarding than helping those who can’t help themselves”
What is HOPE and TOCTWD Program?
Health Occupation and Professions Exploration (HOPE) provides career pathways education and guidance to students seeking careers in healthcare.
The United States currently faces a healthcare workforce shortage of more than 700,000 jobs nationwide.
Take Our Children to Work Day is also a part of HOPE which is being held every year! UW Health has hosted a TOCTWD event for many years, allowing children of employees to learn about the variety of careers in healthcare.
Now due to the sudden hit of Covid-19 Pandemic, the 2021 TOCTWD event has been redesigned the event for a virtual Take Our Children to Work Week.
Mission of the program
Career Pathways has two main goals:
- First, to support UW health in building and maintaining long-term diverse workforce pipeline;
- Second, to support youth by accessible pathways into healthcare careers, including experimental learning, mentorship, and meaningful employment opportunities.
HOPE for Rural Students
One such HOPE program is being held in rural areas to help students with proper guidance who wants to make their career in medical and healthcare.
FARGO- High school students from rural North Dakota, Minnesota and South Dakota are taking steps to potentially become life-savers.
They’ve been taking the Health Occupations and Professions Exploration Program, or HOPE Program at North Dakota State University, where medical professionals are giving students experience in medical fields like radiology, pharmacy, and Air Med.
A tour arranged by professionals on Tuesday, 15 June 2021 students got a chance to take a glance of an ambulance, on which students said that this helped them to focus on their career paths, or it gave them an idea of what they want to pursue after high school.
Looking at all kinds of options
“There’s nothing more rewarding than helping those who can’t help themselves, so that’s really why I want to pursue this (field),” says Jaxon Gronneberg, a senior at Griggs County Central High School in Cooperstown, N.D.
“I’m not really super sure (on what I want to do),” says Lesley Rinke, senior at Wheaton Junior- Senior High School in Wheaton, Minn. Further adds, “That’s why I’m at this camp, because you get a way better look at all kinds of options.”
The HOPE program runs through Thursday on NDUS’s campus.
