WHS students attend University of Nebraska Medical Center Career Day
Program introduces teens to health profession opportunities
Launch the media gallery 1 playerThe University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) Student Association for Rural Health, the Rural Health Education Network, and the Nebraska Area Health Education Center Program held the Eleventh Annual SARH Rural Health Career Day at the UNMC campus in Omaha on Tuesday, September 16, 2008.
Over 200 high schools in rural communities within a three-hour drive of Omaha were invited to participate in the UNMC Career Day this fall. This event was an excellent opportunity for counselors, teachers, parents, and students to learn about health profession programs offered through UNMC. Tyler Brunsting, Carolyn Nabity, Joseph Nabity, and Kirstin Nervig, along with WHS Anatomy Instructor Steve Shannon, represented Wahoo High School at this year’s career day.
This program was put together so that high school students can learn about the health profession programs offered through UNMC. Each student was given the opportunity to choose three areas to learn more about within the following UNMC health profession fields:
* Clinical Laboratory Science
* Dentistry / Dental Hygiene
* Medicine
* Medical Nutrition
* Nursing
* Pharmacy
* Physical Therapy
* Physician Assistant
* Public Health
* Radiation Sciences
Students attended seminars on the areas they chose and were able to talk to medical students in those given professions to get advice on what requirements each area had for admission into the UNMC programs.
Another focus of the UNMC career day was to inform students of the RHOP (Rural Health Opportunities Program) offered by UNMC, in association with Wayne State College (WSC) and Chadron State College (CSC). The program addresses the special needs of rural Nebraska by encouraging rural residents to pursue healthcare careers. If selected, students obtain early admission into participating University of Nebraska Medical Center colleges upon completion of studies at CSC or WSC.
The following is a listing of pre-professional programs at each college:
Chadron State - College Programs
Medicine, Pharmacy, Nursing, Dentistry, Dental Hygiene, Clinical Lab Science, Physician Assistant, Physical Therapy, Radiography
Wayne State - College Programs
Medicine, Pharmacy, Dentistry, Dental Hygiene, Clinical Lab Science
Applications are available from the RHOP office at Wayne and Chadron State Colleges. Students must submit an application for admission to one of the state colleges along with the RHOP application. All materials are due to the State College no later than December 1 for application consideration the following academic year. Students are encouraged to apply for a specific career program and may only apply at one institution.
RHOP Applications can be downloaded at http://www.wsc.edu/schools/nss/rhop/.
RHOP was designed for rural Nebraska students, traditional and non-traditional, interested in practicing in small communities throughout Nebraska. The criteria for selection include:
* Academic potential
* Commitment to practicing in the rural areas of Nebraska.
* Special consideration is given to students from counties of less than 25,000 or communities of less than 10,000.
An interview and final selection of students will involve representatives of CSC, WSC and UNMC.
As of the fall of 2007, 508 students are currently enrolled or have graduated from UNMC through the Rural Health Opportunities Program.
If you have questions about RHOP, please contact Ann Kraft at (402) 559-3398 or e-mail her at akraft@unmc.edu.
For more information, please click HERE to view a pdf brochure about RHOP.