| EASTON, MD – One hundred twenty students from five Eastern Shore high schools in Maryland will enter the operating room at The Memorial Hospital at Easton without ever leaving their classrooms. The students are participants in virtual job shadowing, a pilot program that the Maryland Hospital Association (MHA) and Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) developed to increase and expand students’ knowledge of health career choices.
The virtual job shadowing will take place on November 19 during American Education Week. It will be broadcast over Verizon’s Maryland Interactive Distance Learning Network (MIDLN), which provides live, fully interactive video and audio between educational sites, hospitals and museums throughout the state. With the aid of remote control cameras, microphones and computer-aided technology, the virtual career exploration program will allow 11th and 12th graders to observe, virtually, Dr. Myron Szczukowski performing a knee replacement surgery, and later meet the health care team involved in the patient’s care. In addition, about 20 health care professionals will be on hand to answer questions.
“The OR is somewhat of a ‘behind-closed-doors environment.’ Most people don’t know how the OR functions, or how the interdisciplinary team works as advocates for patients,” said Christopher Parker, RN, chief nursing officer for Shore Health System, of which Memorial Hospital at Easton is a member. “We welcome this opportunity to teach students about the many exciting professions available in the health care field.”
“Traditional job shadowing involves on-site participation,” said Katharine Oliver, assistant state superintendent of MSDE’s division of career technology education and adult learning. “By contrast, virtual job shadowing brings the experience to students live while they sit in their classrooms,” she said. “This program exemplifies the wonderful community partnerships coming together for our students and it is very timely to have the pilot debut during American Education Week.”
Eastern Shore Students Get Virtual Education in Health Careers – Page 2
MHA and MSDE became sponsors of the virtual job shadowing program to help reverse workforce shortages of health care professionals in specific fields. Data from MHA’s 2004 personnel survey showed shortages in nursing, respiratory therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, radiology, laboratory and pharmacy.
“We are excited about this particular program because large numbers of students can participate from different parts of the state,” said MHA Vice President Catherine Crowley. “Students are exposed to a variety of health careers in a unique and interesting way. If we can help students make the connection between the subjects they study in school – such as math, the sciences and technology – and relate these skills to the workplace, then we will have succeeded in putting health careers on their radar screen.”
During today’s program, student participants will view a 32-minute video that highlights a patient’s experiences from assessment through rehabilitation. Students will observe how patients are prepared for surgery – including diagnostic testing and patient-family education – and learn the importance of the health care team in the patient’s recovery.
Students then will interact directly with doctors, nurses, technologists, rehabilitation specialists and other health care personnel located at Memorial Hospital, the distance learning host site.
Susan Butta, Verizon Maryland’s vice president of public affairs, said “Verizon is pleased to provide the technology that supports such a worthwhile effort to prepare our future workforce. MIDLN uses a closed fiber-optic network to transmit broadcast-quality audio and video in real time. Fully interactive, the network allows participants at as many as four sites to be linked during a class, conference or other event. And, the facilitator literally can oversee students’ activities at each location.”
“Verizon has spent over $13.5 million to establish its distance learning network in Maryland, and provides 152 distance learning sites with classroom equipment and related services,” Butta added.
To enhance the educational experience, Memorial Hospital’s nurse support program specialist and the health careers coordinator of the Eastern Shore Area Health Education Center teamed up to conduct a classroom lesson at the five participating Eastern Shore high schools prior to today’s program. Students learned about knee replacement surgery and the role of health care professionals involved in a patient’s care. Plans are underway to conduct a second in-class lesson.
Students participating in the virtual job shadowing pilot program are from Caroline County Career Center, Kent Island High School, Queen Anne’s High School, Cambridge-South Dorchester and the Dorchester County School of Technology, and St. Michaels Middle/High School. Guests from local school systems, community colleges and hospitals around the state gathered at Verizon’s Hunt Valley and Frederick Community College locations.
Project partners include Verizon Maryland, Chesapeake College, The Orthopedic Center in Easton, and the Eastern Shore Area Health Education Center. This virtual job shadowing project is modeled after a program developed by the Hospital Association of Rhode Island.
For more information, contact Kathy Gallacher, MSDE, at 410-767-0185, or Catherine Crowley, MHA at 410-379-6200.
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