HealthForce Minnesota

September 2011 Article from Brainerd Dispatch:

Scrubs Camp: A hands-on look at health care careers

By Renee Richardson Senior reporter

The chest of the patient rose and fell with each imagined breath. He coughed and said he was having trouble breathing and his chest hurt. Shawnee Mattinas pressed her fingers to the patient’s wrist to feel a pulse, which was strong. Remarkable for a patient without a real heart. The training mannequin serving as the patient was part of the hands-on Adult Scrubs Camp, giving adult students a chance to get real sense for health care careers.

Mattinas’ interest in becoming a registered nurse was strengthened by the course. She said there are not a lot of Native Americans in the nursing field and that is where she wanted to go. But she wasn’t sure where to start until she saw a poster for the camp, a health care career exploration program.

“It gave me some motivation to do it,” Mattinas said of the Scrubs Camp during a class session Wednesday. “It’s exciting, interesting.”

The Adult Scrubs Camp this week at Central Lakes College in Brainerd was offered through a partnership of area health and medical providers and Rural Minnesota Concentrated Employment Program Inc., with offices at the Brainerd WorkForce Center.

Amanda Roache, 32, Mille Lacs, said the camp allowed her to explore different career paths such as therapy, mental health and dentistry. She said the course was helpful in making a decision on what she wants to pursue and it was good to see the age diversity at the camp.

“I thought I was too old,” Roache said. “It’s never too late to go back to school and start again.”

Janna Johnson, 33, Brainerd, was interested in occupational therapy.

“I’ve never experienced anything like this,” Johnson said of the hands-on interactive experience. “It’s been above and beyond my expectations. You could experience the fullness of it.”

About 15 students were part of the class. Krista Czech, 22, Brainerd, is thinking about becoming a home health aide. “It’s very interesting to learn all the information about the different careers,” she said. For Vanessa Merrill, 22, Isle, being able to participate in the group setting and the ability to try things herself was an important part of the course. “I’ve always been interested in nursing,” Merrill said. “I love taking care of people.” But the course showed her other options beyond the doctor and nurse traditional career paths and may have changed her focus for study. “I never really thought about child psychology or dream studies until this class,” Merrill said. “I really enjoyed that.”

The event was made possible though grants provided by Rural Minnesota CEP, Essentia Health/St. Joseph’s Foundation, CentraCare Health Foundation and HealthForce Minnesota.

Beyond providing a look at health care career options and what the actual work is like, the multi-day course offered certificates in first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. A previous Scrubs Camp focused on high school-age students. The camps were a brainchild of the Rural Minnesota Healthcare Collaborative, which brought together business people, educators and work force development officials to look at ways to increase health care employment.

Facilitators for the Adult Scrubs Camp included Connie Frisch, Jean Mershon, Kateri Mayer, and Dawn Michel from CLC health care programs, along with expert guest speakers in radiology, imaging, lab tech, phlebotomy, pharmacy, chiropractic and massage. Professionals from St. Joseph’s Medical Center, Cuyuna Range Medical Center, and Rural MnCEP Inc. made presentations.

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