Healthcare Careers Discussed with 7th Graders

It's agreed--the health care profession holds much opportunity and future jobs for the upcoming generation.  In keeping with this, the Erie County Medical Center teamed up with the Buffalo Public Schools and the Buffalo Museum of Science yesterday to introduce more than 200 seventh graders to careers in health care.

The "Healthcare Professions Conference for 7^th Graders," ran from 9AM to 1PM and featured introductory remarks from Dr. James A. Williams, Buffalo superintendent of schools 

Mark Mortenson, president and CEO, Buffalo Museum of Science, and Rita Hubbard-Robinson, corporate training director at ECMC coordinated the program that involved students from eight schools.

The symposium involved professionals from ECMC in nursing, cardiovascular services, surgical technology, radiology, rehabilitation medicine, adolescent medicine, internal medicine, and hospital administration. D'Youville College, Erie Community College, Trocaire College, Rural Metro Medical Services and the Regional Resource Center for Emergency Preparedness of Western New York at ECMC provided hands-on activities about healthcare careers.

"The financial future of the Buffalo region will rely on three fields: education, finance, and health care.  It is critical to create important partnerships with healthcare providers like ECMC to prepare Buffalo Public School students to start careers in healthcare," said Dr. Williams. "We need to reach out to as many students as possible at a young age to introduce them to the incredible opportunities before them in an expanding and lucrative field. I am proud of this partnership and look forward to introducing the children of Buffalo to the possibilities of pursuing lucrative positions and careers in the healthcare industry."

Featured in the programs were Karen Ziemianski, ECMC's assistant director of nursing and Cheryl Nicosia, nurse clinician; Jacqueline Blackley, vice president of cardiovascular services; James Turner, VP of surgical services and Jeremy Hoover, administrative assistant for surgical services; Rose Marie Nadolinski, a senior radiologic technologist; Angela Duell, occupational therapy, Stacey Lenhard, physical therapy, and Heather D'Errico, speech therapy.

"ECMC is happy to provide this educational community service. Offering 12-year-olds a window into their future is important to their development and creates a truer vision of possibilities for success," said Ms. Hubbard-Robinson. "We hope that this conference, exposing youth to hands-on activities, will give them the 'aha' moment that says 'I can do this, I can be a nurse or a surgical technician.' We want the youth participating in this conference to dream big dreams."

The students were offered eight 15-minute break-out sessions with interactive aspects at the Science Museum. Lunch followed these, with keynote speakers Dr. Jonathan Daniels, adolescent medicine; Dr. Olga Klinkova, a second-year resident in internal medicine; and Dr. Norman McCullough, assistant to the president at ECMC.

"The Buffalo Museum of Science is thrilled to partner with ECMC on this event," said Mortenson. "This helps to showcase the science that is happening in our city and region and helps to increase awareness for the students about the educational preparation needed to pursue careers in the sciences."

Also involved is Dr. Denise Brylinski, a D'Youville chemistry professor; Pati Aine Guzinski, coordinator of the emergency preparedness center at ECMC; Rob Kasper, education coordinator, and Patrick Reagan, marketing coordinator, at Rural/Metro Medical Services; Linda Kerwin, Trocaire's program director of peri-operative nursing and surgical technology; and from ECC, Marcia Bermel, medical lab technology professor, Coleen Clark, Tim McQuade, Pamela Simmeth, nursing department instructors, and Marvin Herman, dental lab technology professor.

"This collaboration between the Buffalo Museum of Science, local colleges and healthcare agencies, and the Buffalo Public Schools is exciting," Hubbard-Robinson said. "The 7th graders of today are the workforce of tomorrow. The decisions that they make to stay in school, stay on task and excel in math and science, and plan for a successful career in healthcare, will keep the workforce plentiful and individuals employed in lucrative careers.  ECMC looks to do more to educate youth about the 300-plus job opportunities in hospitals and healthcare."