Teens Get a Glimpse of Health Care Careers at Summer Camp

July 26, 2019

Sixteen Capital Region teenagers spent the week exploring careers in the health care field during the college’s first-ever Health Sciences Summer Camp.

“With the expertise of faculty and the availability to showcase these programs during the summer months, we thought this would be a great opportunity to help young people who may be interested in exploring these careers,” said Patricia Klimkewicz, the college’s interim dean of health sciences.

Faculty members and department chairs were on hand each day to provide an introduction to the careers associated with their programs and to provide hands-on training for the rising ninth and tenth graders. Campers, who also earned their CPR/AED certification during the week, received a stethoscope and blood pressure cuff, which they used throughout the week.

The students spent Monday exploring the field of medical imaging with faculty members Erica Cole and Lynne Florio as well as department chair Margie Ewart Zapp. Tuesday was spent in the nursing labs with department chair Marty Desmond and with Surgical Technology instructor Brian Barboza. On Wednesday, they visited the college’s dental hygiene lab, where they worked alongside department chair Tammy Conway and faculty members Jeff McMinn, Laura Tubbs and Jenn Walker.

Paramedic careers were explored on Thursday with faculty members Anthony Caliguire, Bob Philip and Brent Ricks. Friday found them back at the college’s 400 Jordan Road location, which houses the Cardiorespiratory and Emergency Medicine Department, where they discussed the new field of community health navigation with instructor Keshana Owens-Cody and got a hands-on introduction to the fields of polysomnography and respiratory care with department chair Patty Hyland and faculty members Michael Hyland, Amanda Nuccio and Dave Ten Eyck.

The college’s School of Health Sciences offers programs that prepare students for careers in the growing healthcare field. Graduates of the college’s health science programs have a reputation for educational and clinical excellence and find careers in the Capital Region health care workforce or transfer to a four-year college or university.