Quebec teens visited McGill this summer as part of Explore! Careers in Health, a free program offered to high school students who are interested in pursuing a career in health sciences.
McGill students currently enrolled in Medicine, Physical and Occupational Therapy, Nursing, and Dentistry organized a full day of immersive, hands-on activities and presentations to answer their questions and share advice about their chosen vocations.
Explore! Careers in Health is led by a team of students from the McGill Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences: Magalie Magier, Eden Walker, Jennifer Robert, and Lexxus Reid.
"2023 marks the first return of in-person activities at the Explore! Camp. We are excited to see these high school students again on campus. Thanks to the Steinberg Centre for Simulation and Interactive Learning and the Ingram School of Nursing, the students can get authentic experiences in health professions. We hope the participants will stay in touch and follow their passion to pursue a career in health professions," said Nicole Li-Jessen, PhD, Associate Professor at the McGill School of Communication Sciences and Disorders and Chair of the Widening Participation Committee. “We would also like to acknowledge Dialogue McGill for their financial support of this initiative.”
Exploring Careers in Nursing
At the Ingram School of Nursing’s Satoko Shibata Clinical Nursing Laboratories, the day began with a tour of the simulation lab on the 20th floor.
Volunteers Lidia Hachemi, Mathusa Thurairajah, and Sheena Doyle, third year BScN students, gave a brief description of nursing along with an explanation of the academic trajectory in the BScN program.
Afterwards, Explore students participated in activities such as proper hand hygiene, taking vital signs, blood drawing and wound care.
They also had the opportunity to interact with high-fidelity manikins by listening to heart, lung and bowel sounds and palpating pulses
Next, they headed over the Steinberg Centre for Simulation and Interactive Learning, an interprofessional centre of excellence that uses the latest medical simulation technologies to enhance the skills of health care students and professionals at McGill.
Exploring Careers in Physical and Occupational Therapy
Current McGill students Emma Kobelsky, Lexxus Reid and Eden Walker shared insights on what a career in both occupational therapy and physical therapy might entail.
The students paired up to evaluate their fall risk using the Berg Balance Test.
In the simulated apartment, they explored different types of equipment that can be used to facilitate patient mobility in a homecare setting, including adapted kitchen utensils and a walker.
The morning concluded with an interactive quiz.
Exploring Careers in Dental Medicine and Oral Health Sciences
Ashely Hah and Emily Levens, McGill students from the Faculty of Dental Medicine and Oral Health Sciences, led activities to familiarize our young visitors with the rewards and challenges that a career in dentistry offers.
Emily emphasized the role of problem-solving, teamwork, and patient relationships in dental medicine, and discussed the importance of oral health to overall wellbeing.
The group discussed a patient case to identify possible issues and propose solutions, learnt about the anatomy of a tooth and put their knowledge into action by sculpting models, and debunked some truths and fallacies of dental care.
Exploring Careers in Medicine
Medical students Ranuka Sivanathan, Arianne Racine and Justine Morin presented different pathways to medicine and shared advice on the importance of maintaining a healthy balance between studies and recreational activities.
They headed over to the Technical Skills Lab where they participated in two activities, intubation and suturing.
Student feedback was very positive!
Amazigh Loukkas was impressed with the importance of collaboration for patient recovery. “I had an idea that all the medical specialties worked together, but now I see that they are even more interconnected than I thought. It's like a net, a web if you like, that is made for your recovery. Each profession is so helpful for a patient to gain some recovery, and everyone works as a team to make sure the patient is at their best, to get the patient back home,” he said.
“It’s nice to know that there are professions made to better the both the physical body and day-to-day life activities,” added Mohammed Younes.
For Amelia Lee Mongrain, it was very interesting to hear the current dentistry students share their opinions about this profession. “I think it further deepened my interest in dentistry,” shared Amelia, who is considering a career in orthodontics.
“I've always wondered what the dentistry education path is like, and what possible careers it leads to,” added Cathy Zheng. The option of completing a Dentistry Preparatory Qualifying Year after CEGEP appealed to her as an interesting pathway into dental studies.
Thank you to Hena Kon and Anne-Laurie Beaubrun for providing the text and photos for the Exploring Careers in Nursing section.
