Future medical professionals get hands-on experience
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POLSON – Providence St. Joseph Medical Center opened the doors to high school students from Polson and St. Ignatius on Wednesday in an effort to interest them in the medical field.
“The fastest growing industry is the medical industry because of the aging population,” said Martha Robertson, program coordinator. “We need more people in the medical industry. Our goal is to get the students to come back and work in this area.”
Students arrived early in the morning, put on their scrubs and broke into groups to attend workshops in areas of emergency, radiology, physical therapy, surgery and clinic. Ten students were from Mission and 24 from Polson.
Junior Robbie Erickson of St. Ignatius discovered what he wanted to do in the medical field after attending the program a few years ago. This is the third year he has participated.
“I’m interested in the ER,” he said. “I like the pressure. At first, I thought I wanted to be a radiologist. Then, I came here. I saw the ER and that was it. I made the switch right there.”
Junior McKinley Colton of Polson is interested in becoming a brain surgeon.
“There is so much we don’t know about the brain,” she said.
Senior DeLancey Doty of Polson said she has worked hard to get good grades so she can become a trauma surgeon someday. Senior Josiah Gallatin of Polson wants to be a physical therapist.
“I just like helping people,” he said.
Students got to see how the ultrasound machine works, hear about what occurs in the emergency room and figured out how to operate a wheelchair.
“In case the door doesn’t have a wheelchair button, how are you going to open the door?,” physical therapy doctor Brian Wilson asked sophomore Mariah Durglo of St. Ignatius as she sat in a wheelchair.
Dr. Wilson explained to seven students in one of his workshops that a career was about more than just money.
“Helping someone get back into their life is really cool,” he said.
If students didn’t get a chance to attend the job shadowing program, Robertson recommends calling the hospital.
“We have programs for job shadowing and internships,” she said. “We are always willing to help.”
The job shadow event is one of Western Montana AHEC REACH programs. This year’s program is funded through the Innovations grant from Frontier Medicine Better Health Partnership.
