In its fourth year, the Introduction to Health care event is a collaboration between Iowa Valley Community College District, UnityPoint Health, McFarland Clinic, Primary Care, Iowa Veterans Home and Iowa River Hospice.

According to Teri Hungerford, Iowa Valley Intermediary Coordinator, high school students from Grinnell to Marshalltown attend the event.

“It gives students a chance to explore the health care field a little closer,” Hungerford said.

One goal of the event is to expose students interested in pursuing health care to all phases. Another goal is to show students the field they are interested in chasing can be caught in their own backyard.

T-R PHOTO BY CHUCK FRIEND
A couple of students attending the Introduction to Healthcare event Saturday got to sit and strap into a UnityPoint-Methodist air ambulance helicopter as if they were flight attendants, while the air care nurse explains what they will be doing.

“Today the students are either going to come out saying ‘I really want to go into the healthcare field’ or they may change their mind and say, ‘This field is not what I had expected and maybe there is another career path for me to pursue.'” she said.

As intermediary coordinator at Iowa Valley, Hungerford’s job is to work with the school districts in Marshall, Tama and Poweshiek counties. She helps provide work based learning experiences and career-based learning opportunities for high school students.

“It is great to have our business partners allow students to come in on a Saturday and also have their workers come in on a Saturday to meet and talk with our students. This says a lot for our area healthcare providers and agencies,” Hungerford remarked.

During the morning sessions the students heard a guest panel tell of their career journey in health care. They then broke into two groups to get to experience work with insulin and accu-check stations and mental health issues at IVCCD or the wound clinic at Unity Point Medical Park South.

Afterward it was off to the Iowa Veterans Home to learn what a resident advisor does and have a one-to-one session with a veteran.

T-R PHOTO BY CHUCK FRIEND
Dr. Michael Miriovski shows a couple of BCLUW students how to correctly suture a banana during a break out session of Iowa Valley’s Introduction to Healthcare event.

The afternoon session was a series of breakout stations at McFarland and Unity Point Health -Marshalltown. At McFarland one group learned how a surgeon sutures by getting hands-on experience on a banana. The session was taught by Dr. Steven Van Buren, with help from physicians Thomas, Miriovsky and Oberdinrg.

The second group learned medication management from IVH, Primacy Care and Hospice personnel – led by Shelley Geocke.

At UnityPoint, students were able to tour a UnityPoint-Methodist helicopter and participate in lab exercises at the pathology lab.

“This day is very much a win-win situation for everyone. The students get to meet and ask questions of health care personnel and the health care personnel get to know that there are up and coming candidates for the field. Students find mentors and meet students from other schools that are interested in the same career,” Hungerford said. “Having something hands on is the key – students learn so much more by doing things hands on instead of just listening to things being told.”

T-R PHOTO BY CHUCK FRIEND
Marshalltown Community College nursing students Mana Mendoza and Cody Sicard teach area high school students the proper technique of administering insulin during Introduction to healthcare day on Saturday.