As a high school counselor, you’re no stranger to economic data and the increasingly tenuous American job market. In addition, you’re likely also aware of the amazing benefits of working toward a career in healthcare which include stability, advancement opportunities, and competitive salaries.
This being the case, you can have an incredibly beneficial impact on the lives of students interested in becoming healthcare professionals. Specifically, you can aid these budding individuals by connecting them with ripe resources that help them learn more about their potential career paths and prepare them with the skills necessary to thrive.
Here are internships, volunteering, and other available opportunities to share with students interested in healthcare.
Discerning a Student’s Healthcare Interests
Before you start connecting students with different resources, it’s key to determine which type of career path they’re interested in pursuing. Healthcare is a broad field with a wide variety of differing opportunities. Each of these career paths requires a specific educational journey that can look different.
However, it’s more than likely that students themselves aren’t quite sure which career path is right for them. At this stage, there are many robust resources you can share with students to help them learn more about different professional paths.
To accomplish this aim efficiently for as many students as possible, it’s helpful to create a cheat sheet with a variety of healthcare career paths. This cheat sheet will include information such as the necessary education requirements to become qualified for the role and the average salaries of professionals in these positions.
This breakdown can include a variety of physician specialties, nursing specialties, healthcare leadership positions, and other related roles. Ultimately, this will speed up the research process and help students quickly understand which roles meet their specific criteria.
Connecting Students with Meaningful Healthcare Resources
Once you’ve determined which healthcare role or roles a student is interested in, you can start connecting them with robust resources. These will help students become more knowledgeable about healthcare professions and gain valuable experience.
Here are key healthcare resources you should have on your radar to connect students to.
Internships
Much like in other fields, internships are a great way for students to become more familiar with the healthcare space and the role of professionals within it. In addition, these experiences can help students grow their network and make connections that can later make it easier to land their first professional role.
For example, students interested in community health nursing should be connected to local organizations where these professionals work. By being able to spend time shadowing nurses and other healthcare professionals, students will gain valuable experience that informs their growth in this space.
Volunteering
Similar to internships, volunteer opportunities can help students become better acquainted with the healthcare space and the experience of being a healthcare professional. What’s great about volunteer opportunities is they’re often more numerous than internship opportunities, making them more accessible for more students.
Volunteer work is also a great way for students to grow their network and make meaningful connections in the healthcare field that can aid them later in life. From hospitals to clinics to rehabilitation centers, there are many different options available to students interested in volunteer work. As such, this is a great resource for students interested in exploring a variety of healthcare roles before deciding which one to pursue.
Mentors
While a mentor isn’t key for all students interested in healthcare while in high school, those who are steadfastly determined to work in this space can benefit greatly from this resource. To find mentors, it can be helpful for you to reach out to professionals from local healthcare organizations. In addition, it can be extremely beneficial to provide students with the tools to develop mentor/mentee relationships on their own.
These relationships are meaningful because professionals working in healthcare have in-depth knowledge and insights that can help students on every step of their journey. As such, students with lofty healthcare career goals should be connected with a healthcare mentor to help facilitate their growth as people and professionals.
The Internet
Though it may seem like too obvious of a resource, the internet abounds in free and accessible healthcare resources for students interested in this type of career path. These include webinars, videos, and even free elearning modules. It can be helpful to have a list of robust resources that motivated students can refer to in order to engage in their own research and learning.
These resources are also incredibly accessible, meaning even students who are only slightly interested in a healthcare career path can easily explore them. As such, these types of online resources should definitely be in your repertoire of resources as a high school counselor.
You Can Make a Difference in Students’ Healthcare Career Paths
As a high school counselor, it’s your job to aid students in achieving their career goals as effectively and efficiently as possible. When it comes to healthcare roles, there are many resources and opportunities you can connect students with to achieve this aim. By becoming deeply familiar with these different opportunities, you can aid students on their journey and jumpstart their professional development as healthcare experts.
