Getting Experience

The following are ways you can explore your areas of interest:

• Career days, which include hospital tours;
  
  
• Shadowing experiences which allow juniors and seniors in high school to follow and observe a health care professional for a day. You can start out by job shadowing online at http://www.virtualjobshadow.com.
  
  
• Classroom presentations given by nurses and other health professionals will allow you to interact with, ask questions of, and get more information about education, training and job responsibilities of a particular career;
  
  
• Mentoring programs which match you with a professional and offer easy access to a person you can call with questions or concerns about your particular career path; and
  
  
• Medical Explorer groups, health career clubs and summer camp programs, such as the MASH Camp sponsored each summer by the NW Area Health Education Center in Enid. Connect with your area's AHEC and get information about hands-on experiences by clicking on http://www.ahec.okstate.edu.

To help students pay for their education, some hospitals are offering scholarships and assistance with tuition.

A variety of health care workers is needed to make a difference in the lives of Oklahoma's citizens — today, and in the years to come.