Health Professions Day draws larger crowd

Registrations to the annual event were up about 50 percent over last year, as more than 320 high school students were on campus to hear presentations by health professionals and students. Some of the attendees came from hundreds of miles away.

“The word is out. This is the place to be,” said Brad Fillmore, CSC’s director of health professions.

Presenters provided information about more than a dozen topics, including health care careers in chiropractic, medical technology, dentistry, dental hygiene, medicine, nursing, optometry, pharmacy, physical therapy, physician assistant and radiography. Fillmore noted that CSC has developed a great relationship with the University of Nebraska Medical Center, and that more than a half-dozen of the presenters were from the eastern Nebraska-based institution. Just two weeks ago, 39 CSC students took a field trip to UNMC’s facilities in Omaha and Lincoln where they were given an idea of what to expect in professional school. They were joined by Fillmore, fellow faculty members Dr. Joyce Hardy and Dr. Tim Keith, and Jill Mack, health professions coordinator.

One of the highlights of Tuesday’s conference was a nine-student panel that answered questions from the aspiring teenagers. The high-schoolers presented the college students with a wide spectrum of inquiries, ranging from what courses were there favorites to whether or not they ever get “squeamish” at the sight of blood.

Much of the panel’s discussion centered around the Rural Health Opportunities Program, the initiative that addresses the needs of rural Nebraska’s health care industry by encouraging rural residents to pursue health care careers. If selected to the program, students obtain early admission to participating University of Nebraska Medical Center colleges upon completion of studies at CSC. The high school students were reminded that paperwork for those applying to the program is due Dec. 1.

During another session, Lili Bronner, UNMC rural health education coordinator, and Keith, chairman of the CSC Department of Physical and Life Sciences, presented information about RHOP.

Bronner said RHOP is achieving its mission as 52 percent of its graduates are practicing health care in rural Nebraska, and another 16 percent are working in the lesser-populated areas of other states.

As the two were summarizing the program’s requirements, Bronner encouraged the students to “shadow” health care workers in their communities.

“I think one of the ways that people figure out if you’re really interested or passionate about one area is if you’ve taken the time to shadow someone in that profession,” Bronner said. “That’s one question UNMC considers when reviewing applications: ‘Does this student even have an idea what a dentist, doctor or nurse does?’”

The students of the panel said RHOP’s early acceptance feature provides a great deal of security, because those in the program don’t have to worry about the rigors and uncertainty of applying to professional programs. However, despite RHOP’s positive attributes, panel members said CSC’s health professions courses are of high enough caliber that they expect to be prepared for professional school, regardless of whether or not they are in RHOP.

“If I hadn’t gotten into RHOP, I probably still would have come to Chadron,” said Nick Brening, a freshman from Scottsbluff.

Fillmore also said determined students can find success with or without RHOP.

“We send as many kids without it, as we do with it,” he said.

The students said CSC’s teachers are committed to students achieving success. And, they pointed out that, unlike many other regional colleges and universities, CSC students learn by using cadavers, bodies that have been donated to science, in their study.

Chuck Funk of O’Neill, a senior, said the use of cadavers during preprofessional studies gives CSC students a jump start on those at other colleges and universities who don’t.

“The first two weeks you go in, it’s tough, but then you get used to it,” he said. “The more experiences you have around them, the easier it is.”

Others who were members of the student panel are Kelli Bonnell, Casper, Wyo., sophomore; Tyler Dickey, Morrill, senior; Chris Green, Ord, junior; Allyson Malzahn, Sidney, junior; Joslynne Simpson, Alliance, senior; and Lea Wells, St. Paul, senior.