HealthForce Minnesota Partner News
Greetings from HealthForce Minnesota!
As summer ends and a new academic year begins, I find myself reflecting on our work with HealthForce Minnesota with a thankful heart. The work of the Center is a remarkable journey of partnership. Evidence of that is apparent in many of our projects. We do not do this work alone.
Since May, HealthForce Minnesota supported six camps and nearly 400 campers that accessed information on health careers. This year camps for students (middle and high school) and adults were offered in Mankato, Minneapolis, Rochester, St. Cloud, and Winona. A quick tally of the partner support includes a total of over 129 scholarships offered to the Scrubs Camp high school students. Many presenters volunteered their time and talents to come and share with the students about their professional journeys and careers, and campers were excited to hear about all the options available to them in health-related careers. As healthcare continues to hold its position as an economic driver in the Minnesota economy, it makes sense to engage our citizens in learning about this sector.
Our merger with the Healthcare Education Industry Partnership is complete, and we are delighted to have officially joined forces with Minnesota State University, Mankato and to welcome Richard Davenport, Valerie DeFor, and Elizabeth Biel to our Executive Alliance and staff ranks. We will be a richer Center with two state universities engaged. We look forward to hosting the Healthcare Education Industry Partnership Council under Valerie's leadership and continuing to lead clinical coordination in the state with Liz's vision and expertise.
HealthForce Minnesota will continue to focus on transforming education and advancing practice in our work with colleges, nursing programs, master's degree attainment in nursing education, clinical laboratory sciences, and our next round of grant funding. We look forward to seeing the two-year Health Sciences Broad Field degree advance its way into our campuses. These are big goals and they require many partners to accomplish measurable outcomes. We continue to look toward sustaining the Center's work in the future by working closely with current and future partners.
We wish you a fresh start in this new academic year. Our intent is that you continue to see HealthForce Minnesota as a resource for your own work as we together meet the many challenges before us.
Jane Foote
Executive Director
HealthForce Minnesota
Students Learn how Critical Thinking is Imperative for Real-Life Outcomes
Campers view results during a Labs and Epidemiology session at Urban Scrubs Camp
Believing it’s important to show students what’s available in the healthcare field so they can match their skills and interests, Nathan Kendrick, the State Laboratory Training Coordinator for the Public Health Laboratory Division of the Minnesota Department of Health, offered his expertise in public health and epidemiology to Scrubs Camp students at both camps.
With public health threats like influenza and potential biological and chemical terrorism threats being a continuous concern in the United States, laboratory science has a bright future, with growing job opportunities and a higher need for trained professionals. “My work includes encouraging laboratories to serve as training sites for new clinical lab science students,” said Kendrick. “Our hope is that some of the expertise at these sites can be passed on to the next generation.”
At Scrubs Camp, Kendrick taught students about public health and epidemiology through small groups where critical thinking was imperative. “Students performed dipstick urine analysis, observed how blood glucose levels are tested and conducted simulated blood gas, chemistry, hematology and coagulation testing,” Kendrick said about the public health portion of his session.
During the focus on epidemiology, students conducted a simulated food-borne disease outbreak investigation based on a model created by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and the Association of Public Health Laboratories. “Using four separate scenarios, each group of students identified what foods patients had in common, just as epidemiologists use case histories during a real outbreak,” said Kendrick. “Once the potential source was identified, each team tested different simulated food samples with a black light to identify the source of the contamination.
“Bringing the actual ‘tools of the trade’ for the students to see and work with allowed them to learn how important laboratory testing can be, not only in a clinical setting, but also from a public health prospective,” said Kendrick.
Not only were students engaged during the sessions, they also were entreated and eager to learn more. Questions about the job market as well as specific performance details of the job and what education is needed were interests of the students.
“It was really rewarding to give students the opportunity to work with the actual instruments I was talking about to get real results, and then interpret those results into real outcomes,” said Kendrick.
Hands-on Career Exploration Fuels Demand for Adult Scrubs Camps
Adult Scrubs Camp student intubates manikin
Interest in Adult Scrubs Camp continues to grow. In May, two Adult Scrubs Camps were held in St. Cloud and Rochester, Minn.
With most attendees being unemployed and dislocated workers, the camp was structured to have large group presentations in the morning followed by participant-chosen classes for the rest of the day. Sessions included chiropractic massage, anatomy and physiology, phlebotomy and many others.
The Adult Scrubs Camp held in St. Cloud, with an overall attendance of 80 people over the four days, met the organizers’ attendance goal. According to Wayne Anderson, a business services specialist at St. Cloud Job Services, the camp was considered a success in all regards. “For the first year of this camp in the St. Cloud area, everyone involved was very pleased with the turnout,” he said.
Adult Scrubs Camp gives adults the opportunity to learn about healthcare careers without having to register and pay for courses at a college or technical school before knowing if they will really like and be able to see themselves in the field.
Anderson describes one such story from a camp participant. “She came to camp signed up and ready to go for fall courses at the local technical school in a specific medical program,” Anderson said. “After attending the session on that particular program, she knew it wasn’t a fit for her. The next day I saw her on the phone with schools trying to get into classes for another specialty she discovered she liked after attending a different session.
The Adult Scrubs Camp in St. Cloud also offered First Aid and CPR certification from the American Heart Association with the help of instructors from the St. Cloud Community and Technical College. “We were able to have 67 students certified in both First Aid and CPR,” Anderson said. “That was beyond our original goal of having 50 students certified.”
“People typically think about doctors, nurses and certified nursing assistants when they think about a career in healthcare,” said Deb Long, a career counselor for Workforce Development Inc. in Rochester. “This camp opened participant’s eyes to many other choices that are available in healthcare.”
“We had 45 participants for our three-day camp,” Long said. “Although we didn’t meet our goal, the smaller class sizes provided more hands-on experience and one-on-one time with the instructors. Several students stated that they discovered through attending this camp that a career in a medical field is an achievable goal for them.”
Although neither location has set dates for their next Adult Scrubs Camp, both received a lot of positive feedback from participants and instructors alike. “Many people worked very hard to make this camp a success, and a big thank you goes out to all of them,” said Long. Partnership and teamwork played a big part in allowing for these camps to take place. “The right partnerships is key,” said Anderson. “Bringing healthcare professionals together to help members of the community is what allows for participants to walk away feeling a sense of accomplishment.”
Other communities are seeking Adult Scrubs Camp partners or donations, but need your help. If interested, contact Ardell Haberer at AHaberer@winona.edu for more information.
Scholarships Give Students the Opportunity to Attend Camp
Urban Scrubs Camp students, counselors and staff
Scrubs Camps were a success not only because of their popularity with students, but also because of the large outpouring of support from organizations throughout the state.
Financial support helped sponsor students and fund their five-day healthcare camp experience. “A grant also was awarded to the camps,” said Jane Foote, executive director of HealthForce Minnesota. “The Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF) awarded Scrubs Camp a grant that was used to help develop the public health and epidemiology sessions. The grant also supported 13 students with scholarships to the Winona State Scrubs Camp.”
During hard economic times it may be difficult to find the extra funds to support the youth, but it’s the “hard economic times that allow for a better focus on the future,” said Foote. It’s important to acknowledge the significance of education, especially math and science,” said Foote.
Partnerships are a key factor in each of the camps success. Rallying around a common cause, like sending students to camp to develop their future as well as encourage and ensure them that college is an obtainable goal, is what brings help and support together to share a similar reason for giving.
“This year 129 scholarships were awarded between the two camps,” said Foote. Recipients wrote their sponsor a thank you letter and shared what they learned from coming to camp as well as where they saw themselves in the future. “These thank you letters are very powerful,” Foote said. “We think this is a great way for students to show their appreciation and gratitude to those who helped give them an opportunity they may not have otherwise had.”
If you’re interested in getting involved and bringing a Scrubs Camp to your community, contact Ardell Haberer at AHaberer@winona.edu or visit our donate page.
Mock House Gives Glimpse into Public Health
Students participate in Public Health inspection at Mock House
Winona State University (WSU) Scrubs Camp students had an opportunity to observe a staged performance showing a public health scenario at Maxwell Hall in the Child Advocacy’s Departments Etta Angell Wheeler Mock House. Two actors inside the mock home played the roles of Charlie Brown, who has a public health nurse for post heart attack treatment, and Lucy Brown his loving, yet confused wife.
The students approached the front of the mock house with Cindy Bork, presenter and WSU associate professor, where a neglected green front lawn and the sounds of an arguing couple greeted them. Charlie answered the door and welcomed the group inside, but warned them not to touch his treasures. The actors provided a serious enactment of what a public nurse may encounter on a home visit to a client. Afterward, students categorized a list of items as safe or needs improvement.
In the past the mock home was used for criminal justice forensics courses, but now the Nursing Department is also utilizing it for Public Health courses and simulating social work scenarios according to Cindy Bork.
“Students need to be aware before they go out into the field that the homes they visit are not filled with perfect families, but they are actually very complex and can be very troublesome,” said Bork. “It is better to have dealt with mock scenarios of how shocking a home life can be.
“The Public Health Nurse course provides many useful lessons and tips to students such as how to identify potential issues and problems in their surroundings and to pay attention to the small details and clues that can give away essential information about the client’s lifestyle and habits.”
Editor’s Note: The National Child Protection Training Center (NCPTC) in Maxwell Hall is the only national organization with a published plan and objective to end child abuse in the United States. Since NCPTC began they have trained more than 40,000 child protection professionals from all 50 states and, in partnership with CornerHouse, assists in the development and maintenance of forensic interview training programs.
Partner Stories
Ridgewater College and SimLab L1 Prepare for Special Delivery
By Sam Bowen, Ridgewater College
Ridgewater College has earned a reputation for outstanding healthcare education through the use of simulation technology. Beginning with the college’s Nursing program, students found great benefit in practicing their skills with the life-like simulation manikins. It was difficult for the college to expand their simulation training expertise to the existing workforce, however, given that the simulation labs were located on campus in Willmar and Hutchinson. That workforce training need, however, resulted in the development of SimLab L1, the college’s mobile simulation unit.
On the road for over a year, SimLab L1 has travelled across the upper Midwest, delivering state-of-the-art simulation training to dozens of healthcare facilities and hundreds of individuals. In addition to developing specific training scenarios, Ron Flannigan, SimLab L1 training coordinator is also learning about additional training needs. Through partnering with healthcare providers for training utilizing SimLab L1, he consistently heard a need for level one labor and delivery simulation sessions.
Thanks to a $50,000 grant from HealthForce Minnesota coupled with support from the Ridgewater College Foundation, Ridgewater College is once again prepared to address a specific training need utilizing simulation technology. The grants have enabled the purchase of level one simulation equipment, including the manikins Noelle (mother) and two babies. Noelle is a highly interactive OB simulation manikin that has multiple birthing scenarios that can help prepare healthcare providers in emergency childbirth. The equipment has been integrated with SimLab L1 and training scenarios are being developed and delivered across the region.
The equipment purchase has enabled a new training program with a goal to evaluate evidence-based labor and delivery team needs and facilitate innovative solutions. Working together, the SimLab L1 physicians committee, nurse’s committee, and staff will develop labor and delivery training scenarios. This work includes the development of processes, procedures, common practices, objectives, equipment, environment, benchmarks, outcomes, and ongoing evaluation.
To date, this team has developed objectives and templates for labor and delivery complications, written study guides, quizzes and scenarios. Beta training exercises have been completed with Nursing programs from Northwest Technical College in Bemidji and Northwest Iowa Community College, as well as staff from four regional hospitals.
The trainers have used the birthing simulation technology to present the OB Team Leadership Program to approximately 170 nursing students, as well as 4 hospitals with 105 Doctors and Nurses. Team dynamics, leadership, delegation of responsibilities and communication have been common threads of discussion. Several strategies have been found to address each with facilitated discussion.
Flannigan, along with fellow SimLab L1 Training Coordinator Jim Bode, are excited about the possibilities for training utilizing Noelle and her babies. We all benefit from a quality healthcare system, and thanks to the vision and teamwork of organizations such as HealthForce Minnesota and Ridgewater College we can continually work to that end.