HCCI encourages healthcare careers
(CNS Business): Health City officials are gearing up for round two of their summer student internship programme that teaches school students about the various healthcare professions available. After a successful first year, hospital officials said they have agreed to increase the number of students allowed in the programme up to 24 between June and August. Richard Parchment, Programme Manager and Business Development and Government Liaison at Health City, said he was pleased with how the first two terms of the programme had developed so far. He explained the summer intern programme focuses primarily on college medical student who are home for the summer.
“Our initial assessment of the programme internally and externally with our different stakeholders has produced outstanding results,” he said. “To-date, 175 students have participated in the programme.”
The student programme is run by a group of hospital members, who guide the students and teach them about the different aspects of life at the hospital. During the programme students will be assigned to a variety of departments within Health City, including cardiology, orthopedics, ICU/anaesthesiology, radiology, oncology, physiotherapy, laboratory, nursing, administration, marketing and facilities management.
Along with Parchment, programme mentors include Charles D. Bush, Manager, Mission Integration & Spiritual Care at Health City and Pastor Sethres Dixon. Parchment stated since the programme started, the news of the programme has reached a broad audience within the Cayman school system.
“We have received strong interest from most schools. CIFEC, Clifton Hunter High School, John Gray High School, St. Ignatius High School, Grace Christian Academy, Cayman International School, Triple C High School, Cayman Prep & High School, Hope Academy and Wesleyan Christian Academy are all either in the pipeline or are already participating in the programme,” he said.
Health City officials said they hope to continue to enhance the programme each year.
“With the support of the Minster and Councillor in the Ministry of Education, we have committed to almost double the numbers for next school year to 300 students and we are planning to work with the principals and schools to find a way to spread out their student numbers, and we are working towards having direct contact with Grade 6 primary school children, during the school year,” Parchment explained. “In addition, we will be considering ways of making the internship apply to students’ science grades in some way, for example via lab co-ops, Skype calls, field trips and in class discussions with a clinician.”
Parchment added they plan to modify the programme so the students’ time at the hospital was maximised and the clinicians were better able to spend more direct time with students.
“We will structure the programme from 9am-2pm, this includes one hour of lecturing and two hours of hospital department time,” he said. “There are specific assignments that each student has to complete in order to receive their certificate of participation.”
Health City Cayman Islands student interns and Dr Devi Shetty (centre), Minister Tara Rivers and Ministry Counsellor Winston Connolly
Category: Healthcare, Local Business
