Sixty-four middle school campers will check out healthcare career options ranging from radiologic technology to veterinary medicine to medical device design at the June 12-13 Scrubs Camp held at Lake Superior College.
The LSC Scrubs Camp is part of a series of camps being offered by the Minnesota State HealthForce Center of Excellence around the state. The Scrubs Camps are intended to help build the healthcare workforce pipeline by getting more middle and high school students excited about the field, and introduce them to the wide variety of opportunities it offers.
Campers will get to interact with working health professionals and LSC faculty and learn through field trips, demonstrations and lab work what it would be like to work in a particular healthcare career field.
“It’s important to show middle schoolers many of the health care career choices available to them,” said Deb Amys, LSC director of nursing and Scrubs Camp coordinator. “This exposure and experience helps them plan and prepare for health careers before they graduate high school.”
Scrubs Camp Day One on June 12 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. will feature hands-on lab experiences in radiology, respiratory care and medical laboratory technician with Essentia Health professionals and LSC faculty; veterinary care with North Shore Veterinary Hospital; cardiac care with Essentia Health; speech therapy with University of Minnesota Duluth; medical device design with Medtronic and public health careers with St. Louis County.
Scrubs Camp Day Two on June 13 from 9 a.m. to 12 noon will feature St. Luke’s Health Care System professionals including home care, dietary, sports medicine and physical therapy/occupational therapy.
Students will also take an afternoon field trip on June 13 to the Seeds of Hope Youth Ranch to learn about working with children who have learning challenges or autism.
Since 2008, the ultimate goal of the statewide Scrubs Camp program through Healthforce Minnesota has been to get middle school students (completed grades 6-8) excited and interested in pursuing a career in the health sciences, and motivated about what they can do in middle and high school to prepare for that potential career.
Lake Superior College offers more than a dozen health career specializations, including nursing, dental hygiene, massage therapy, physical therapist assistant, medical assistant, respiratory therapy, radiologic technology, surgical technology and more.
LSC’s Scrubs Camp is a collaborative project between HealthForce Minnesota, Lake Superior College, St. Luke’s Health Care System, Essentia Health, North Shore Veterinary, St. Louis County Public Health, Seeds of Hope Youth Ranch and the University of Minnesota Duluth’s Speech Language Pathology Services| Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders.
