Connections: March 2024 - 8

Mt. Ascutney's Daring to Care program
Exploring healthcare careers in high school
How many high school students get a chance to spend a
day at a hospital learning how to splint a leg, perform CPR,
mix medications, and don and doff personal protective
equipment?
The answer is: all of the Upper Valley students who attend
one of the " experiential days " at Mt. Ascutney Hospital and
Health Center (MAHHC) in Windsor, Vt. It's one of the ways
MAHHC's staff education team gets the students engaged in
exploring a healthcare career.
If there's an interest, they can enroll in Daring to Care, the
hospital's 7-week summer student volunteer program. Students
receive 15 hours of education that includes simulation-based
training, basic life support, specialty speakers and immersive
learning from the patient perspective. They then rotate through
different departments, gaining hands-on experience.
Nurse educator Jayna McWhorter, MSN, RN, CEN, CRNI,
says the program is a win-win for both the students and
MAHHC. For students, it looks good on their resume. " When a
college is considering an applicant, this experience sets these
students apart from others. They've already shown they're
interested in and passionate about healthcare. " Plus, she adds,
some high schools require a certain number of volunteer hours
to graduate, and this program provides them.
For MAHHC, the program creates the possibility that the
students will enter the healthcare field and, ideally, will want to
Left to right: Daring to Care graduate Keronie Jones;
Jayna McWhorter, MAHHC nurse educator; and graduates
Kieren Giejda and Seamus Powers
work for the hospital.
" It helps improve our staffing, " says McWhorter. " And
because they're part of the community, it improves our patient
experience. They're being cared for by friends, family and
neighbors, a familiar face. "
Students are resourced to the units when they interact with
patients while learning skills to become a patient care attendant.
" It's really anything assistive that has to happen within the
hospital, " McWhorter says. " The students are also able to interact
with staff in the profession that they're interested in. So they
get to see providers, nursing staff, and our support services like
dietary, radiology and housekeeping. If there's anything that
piques their interest, they're able to focus on that during their
college years. "
After the Daring to Care program ends, the MAHHC staff
works to stay connected to the student volunteers. " Say, if
one of the program attendees lets us know they were notified
that they were accepted at college, we'll send out a note of
congratulations, " McWhorter says. " We always try to have them
keep us in mind. "
If you know an Upper Valley student who would be interested
in Daring to Care, they can apply here. The application deadline
is May 2, 2024.
https://www.mtascutneyhospital.org/careers/daring-care
Connections: March 2024

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