Today (Friday, 20 September), over forty local high school students will get a first-hand and hands-on insight into what a career in health could look like for them.

Hosted by the University Centre for Rural Health (UCRH) and presented in collaboration with Connect Northern Rivers, the UCRH Health Careers Day is aimed at handpicked senior students from Kadina High School, Summerland Christian School, St John’s College Woodlawn, St Mary’s Casino and Alstonville High School who have an interest in a career in health.

Frances Barraclough, Senior Lecturer and Coordinator of Interdisciplinary Education at UCRH, said the day is an important opportunity to support and nurture the health workforce of the future.

“We want young people from rural areas to see healthcare as a fantastic career option,” she said.

“We support and deliver education around an incredible range of health disciplines at UCRH so we’re able to showcase a real spectrum of options for the high schoolers.

“We’ll have university students who are on placement with us, studying medicine, occupational therapy, dentistry, physiotherapy and speech pathology, coming along to talk with the high schoolers and give them a sense of what to expect if they head in this direction,” she added.

The Health Careers Day will include a panel discussion with current university students and a discussion about what a day in the life of a clinician looks like. UCRH researchers will share their experiences on career pathways for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, and current medicine students will talk the high schoolers through the various exams required to study medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and health science degrees.

The final component of the day, and always the most popular aspect, will be the practical workshops led by medical and allied health students as well as UCRH’s team of high skilled clinical educators. Covering suturing, basic life support, clinical nursing skills and more, these workshops are fun but have serious intent.

“By sparking an interest in these talented young students, we want to inspire them to pursue careers in health,” Barraclough added.

“They could be the Northern Rivers’ future doctors, dentists, physiotherapists, nurses, so this an important investment in the next generation of rural health care workers.”