WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — Mia Birch and Alexis Stugart are learning how to sort medicine. Around 200 students from seven high schools in Lycoming County attended the UPMC medical career day.
"We are here as a group from our school to be able to come and see all the super cool careers we could go into and some of the colleges that offer the programs we could go into," said Mia Birch of Williamsport.
Medical professionals shared with Newswatch 16 the importance of the day and why it matters to the future of health care.
"They don't know what it is like to work in health care unless they get to talk to people like us," said Melissa Furman, an advanced clinical education specialist at UPMC. "These are my favorite types of events where we can hopefully inspire young people to join the profession."
UPMC, military branches, and local colleges set up booths at Liberty Arena in Williamsport. Students got first-hand experiences in a number of different medical fields.
Melody Rzeszotarski, a student from Montoursville, tried her hand at CPR.
"It is not necessarily a trade school that we are going to; it is a normal high school. So, opportunities like this don't arise every day," said Rzeszotarski.
The pandemic caused a shortage in health care staffing. This event is a way to get students excited about a career in health care.
"I went over to the paramedic station, and that really interested me. I didn't really expect to be interested in that," said Natalie Bennett of Montoursville.
"Finding out what different careers I didn't know about before and just like experiencing how different things are," said Alexis Stugart of Williamsport.
Students also learned about nursing, trauma, and pharmacy.