Prime Highlights
- NMU hosts first-ever Future Health Leaders Camp to steer Upper Peninsula students toward healthcare careers.
- Hands-on education, career guidance, and health certifications are provided for a week.
Key Facts
- 36 grade 9 and grade 10 students attended, with day and overnight opportunities.
- Campers received CPR and First Aid certification and were introduced to a wide variety of healthcare careers.
Key Background
Northern Michigan University (NMU), at its Center for Rural Health, recently conducted the inaugural U.P. Future Health Leaders Camp. The camp, designed to expose local high school students to career opportunities in healthcare in the area, was for rising 9th and 10th graders. The hands-on, week-long camp was designed to stir interest in careers in healthcare in the area.
Organized on the NMU campus, the camp was a mix of hands-on training, health education, and first-hand interaction with healthcare professionals. Students were provided with exposure to a wide variety of medical specializations such as cardiology, radiology, speech and language pathology, audiology, surgical technology, and dentistry. Hands-on break-out sessions and actual patient simulation, in which students had freedom to experiment with different specializations, were part of the camp.
Another highlight of the camp was also providing CPR and First Aid certification to all participants. Students also learned about nutrition and mental health and were able to visit a local healthcare career fair. These sessions were created to not only build technical skills, but leadership skills, empathy, and communication skills as well—crucial skills for individuals looking at careers in healthcare.
Another besides the classes would be the mentorship factor. NMU biology and health science students served as camp counselors, passing on their academic experience and nudging the campers toward becoming professionals that could reach the unreached regions of the Upper Peninsula. Relatability and encouragement were lent by their presence to the young camps.
This program is a fulfillment of NMU’s vision for the future: developing a long-term talent pool of locally based healthcare leaders. By instilling seeds of curiosity and aspiration in students at a young age, NMU aims to see many of them return to the region as practicing physicians, nurses, and healthcare professionals dedicated to increasing access to healthcare for rural Michigan.
