TAMPA, Fla. — This morning, a new way of facing the critical healthcare worker shortage head-on. St. Joseph's Hospital is working directly with high school kids over the next few days, hoping to inspire them to work in the field.
That's the goal of this career camp, showing the next generation of healthcare workers all the possibilities now, making sure the industry has the workforce it needs for years to come.
Twenty-five 9th and 10th graders are taking part in the camp and over the next few days will learn a little bit of everything.
Students will be getting some hands-on training in the following areas: respiratory care, labor and delivery, talking to doctors and nurses and child life specialists and even a little pet therapy.
Melissa Menke is the Manager of Clinical Professional Practice for Baycare. She says there's a shortage of workers in all jobs.
"Obviously nursing is a huge one for the hospital industry," Menke said. "We need our nurses in order to take care of our patients. But all of the supportive roles have had shortages as well. From our food and nutrition team, to our respiratory teams, to our surgical programs. They've all seen shortages over the last few years and we're really working hard to build up that workforce to help take the best care of our patients that we possibly can."
Menke says they chose 9th and 10th graders for this immersive learning experience because that's the age they really start to think past high school and about the type of future career they want to have.
St. Joseph's started this career camp last year and they hope to keep doing it for years to come.