Grade 9 student Joel Fowke examines a standardized patient as part of Take Our Kids to Work Day.
Teens explore health careers at Bannatyne campus
Joel Fowke, a Grade 9 student at Glenlawn Collegiate, jumped at the chance to play the role of a doctor in a scenario with a standardized patient actor when he visited the Clinical Learning and Simulation Facility (CLSF) in the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences.
Fowke was one of over 40 Grade 9 students that visited Bannatyne campus on Nov. 14 for the annual Take Our Kids to Work Day, hosted by the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences. The full-day program gave students a hands-on look at careers in medicine, pharmacy, dentistry and rehabilitation sciences.
“It seemed realistic,” said Fowke, who noted his career goal is to become a surgeon. “I liked the training facility – it really interested me how they train you for all those odd situations you might come across. It felt like a real clinic.”
In addition to working with standardized patients, students had a chance to perform various medical techniques like ultrasounds and treating wounds on high-tech manikins at the CLSF. They also learned about cleaning teeth and creating dentures at the Dr. Gerald Niznick College of Dentistry, making sunscreen and lip balm at the College of Pharmacy, learned to use microscopes in the Max Rady College of Medicine, and received first-hand experience in the fields of occupational and physical therapy at the College of Rehabilitation Sciences.
St. James Collegiate student Renata Fiuza said she was already interested in a career in medicine, prior to visiting the campus. But following a physical therapy workshop, where she got to identify bones and test grip strength, she said she’s now open to other health-related fields as well.
“I liked learning about the bones and their names, and the types of things you can do to help people heal,” Fiuza said.
Take our Kids to Work Day is a Canada-wide initiative that allows students to spend a day at the workplace of their parent, relative, friend or volunteer host. The goal of the national event is to introduce students to the working world and make connections between their education and future careers.