Banner Estrella Medical Center hosts event for students to ‘test out’ careers in health care
PHOENIX, Ariz. (Oct. 25, 2010) – It will be anything but a typical high school day for some Valley teenagers. Instead of greeting their friends on campus, more than 100 junior and senior high school students will be hopping aboard a medical emergency helicopter while others suit up in surgical gear as part of a Career Exploration event hosted by Banner Estrella Medical Center from 7:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 8.
Students will start out their first hour visiting with emergency responders from Air Evac, the Avondale Fire Department, Phoenix Police Department and Southwest Ambulance. They will get a behind-the-scenes look at a medical helicopter, police car, fire truck and mobile intensive care unit (ICU).
The high schoolers will also get to gown-up in surgical attire and try out their nursing skills by changing a wound dressing, drawing blood and using a balloon pump on patient mannequins. And although the event features the medical side of hospitals, it is also designed to show students that you do not have to be a doctor to care for patients.
“We want to show students that hospitals are not just filled with doctors and nurses,” said Julie Ellison, RN, student nursing coordinator. “There are so many jobs in health care that are not directly patient care-related, but that still make a difference in people’s lives. We want to expose students to these opportunities as they seek direction for their future careers. They can be anything they want to be.”
Medical professionals representing several specialties within the hospital, including: laboratory, pharmacy, security, medical records, food service, patient relations, case management, respiratory and administration will be on-hand to answer questions during a Q-and-A panel. In addition to nursing, general surgeon Sandy Gladding, MD, neonatologist Michael McQueen, MD, and emergency medicine physician David Cohen, MD, will share their experiences as physicians.
The day will end with a tour of the 214-bed hospital, complete with a trip to the morgue. Media is welcome to join students on this interactive tour. Please call Public Relations for additional details.
About Banner Estrella Medical Center
Located on the southeast corner of the Loop 101 Freeway and Thomas Road, Banner Estrella Medical Center is a 214-bed full-service, non-profit hospital offering general surgery, orthopedics, women and infants services, a full cardiac program with open-heart surgery, emergency services, and medical imaging services. Banner Estrella is part of Banner Health, the leading provider of health care services in the Valley with 11 hospitals. In 2010, Thomson Reuters named Banner Health one of the Top Ten Hospital Systems in the U.S.
###
Contact
Tiffany Tcheng, (623) 327-7168 or Rainey Holloway, (602) 839-4193
Public Relations
Banner Estrella Medical Center
