“These experiences outside the classroom are huge motivators and allow (students) to see what’s possible,” said Abbie Cook, high school principal of Butler Tech’s Bioscience Center.
The U.S. Department of Labor has projected that by 2018 the U.S. will have more than 1.2 million job openings in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and math), including scientists, doctors, software developers and engineers.
Occupations and industries related to health care are projected to grow 10.8 percent — or by 15.6 million people — between 2012 and 2022, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
There are four programs moving into the new bioscience building once it opens in August in West Chester — the existing health technology and dental assisting programs, and new offerings of exercise science and biomedical science through Project Lead the Way, Cook said.
She said there are 270 students enrolled from grades 11 and 12.
“We have a huge cross section of students, some with plans to graduate with their STNA (State Tested Nursing Aide) and get to work and others want to be doctors, scientists, physical therapists and will go onto college,” Cook said.
Local school districts begin offering STEM curriculum as early as elementary school.
Ross Local Schools introduces a STEM lab to all seventh and eighth grade students, as well as robotics programs at both the middle and high schools, said Superintendent Greg Young.
“We also have STEM courses at the high school focusing on engineering and manufacturing,” Young said. “We don’t have much in the area of health care curriculum with the exception of AP biology, AP chemistry, and anatomy and physiology.”
Over the past three years, West Chester Hospital has had 500 students from 13 different schools complete internships and job shadowing programs, said Tom Daskalakis, vice president and chief operating officer at West Chester Hospital.
“The U.S. has the perfect storm brewing heading into a severe shortage of health care workers,” Daskalakis said. “We want to establish a relationship early on, a mentorship … so we have a better ability to retain (them).”
The demand for health care workers, Daskalakis said, is only increasing as the population is growing, a projected 13 percent by 2035, and aging (over 70 million at age 65 or older by 2030).
He added the average age of a health care worker now is 51, and fewer students are opting for medical school due to the high level of debt accrued.
“These are all negative things we have going,” Daskalakis said.
Daskalakis said programs for high school students and recent graduates expose them to the over 200 different job descriptions at West Chester Hospital.
“It allows students to hone in (on their interests),” Daskalakis said. “These discussions are very valuable for these students.”
Butler Tech is one of those 13 schools that’s sent juniors and seniors to West Chester Hospital to job shadow or earn clinical hours. Students can also earn clinical hours at the Butler County Care Facility, as well as go to Fairfield and Monroe schools to work with the building nurses on vision and hearing screenings.
“It gives them a nice introduction experience with children,” Cook said, for those considering careers involving children.
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center offers several competitive internship opportunities for high school seniors and college students.
Ross Kaufhold, 18, of Ross Twp., is one of 19 students in the Cincinnati Children’s summer internship program. He gets to job shadow and conduct research for eight weeks before starting his college career at Case Western University.
Kaufhold said he’ll be pursuing a degree in science and would ultimately like to work as a medical researcher.
“In high school I always enjoyed science class and I want to use science to help a lot of people at once,” Kaufhold said.
Sandra Oñate, 18, just graduated from Hamilton High School and is also at Cincinnati Children’s this summer. She was one of only five students selected for the Biomedical Research Internship for Minority Students.
Both Kaufhold and Oñate have the same mentor this summer, Melinda Butsch Kovacic, PhD, an asthma researcher at Cincinnati Children’s and associate professor of pediatrics and environmental health at University of Cincinnati.
The college-bound students are helping Butsch Kovacic with her community-based research into how young people (seventh and eighth graders) perceive the environment and pollution and its impact on health.
Oñate said she’s inputting the survey results of 180 children and will later help analyze the data. In the meantime, she also has weekly seminar lunches where different speakers share their career and educational paths. She’s also hoping to job shadow in areas of psychology and gynecology.
“I’m using this program to absorb as much as possible from the different areas and career paths,” Oñate said, who’s attending Northern Kentucky University in August.
Kaufhold said the interns get to pick from 16 different areas of the hospital to shadow. He’s already seen the genetic testing of rats, and hopes to shadow the emergency department and Craniofacial Center that works on head or facial abnormalities.
“This is a great place for them to explore,” Butsch Kovacic said.
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