TAMPA, Fla. — A group of Tampa Bay area teens are getting a glimpse into different healthcare professions through a camp looking to inspire the next generation of physicians, nurses, and hospital workers.
"I honestly came here to see if I'd be interested in the medical field at all, just because I really don't know anything about it,” said Cora Woodard, a student.
This week, the St. Joseph’s Hospital career camp in Tampa is giving 9th and 10th graders a chance to learn firsthand about various jobs in the hospital.
"I'd always been interested in it since I was like a kid and stuff, and I knew I wanted to help people,” said student Carli Dimeler.
The students might not be sure what they want to do right now, but the hope is this might spark some ideas.
While they’re in camp, students do everything from listening to lectures to taking tours of different departments.
"It really shows us like what really happens in, not just you can guesstimate. It’s like you can really experience it,” said Zaria McKenzie, a student.
It also comes at a crucial time as the industry deals with a nationwide shortage of healthcare workers.
“We are currently in a shortage, and I think many of our colleagues are too. It’s not just nursing,” said Kristin Ellis, a nursing professional development practitioner with BayCare. “This is every healthcare profession right now is in a shortage, so exposing them now hopefully will foster that excitement in them so that as we build and rebuild our core team members and our core professionals that are out there, we just are furthering that path for them to continue to find their way to helping provide care for our community.”
Staff hope to provide a path for teens to discover what’s possible and maybe even inspire a new wave of workers.
"If you don't know what you want to do, you can definitely explore it, like I figured out what I wanted to do here,” said student Hannah Stiglic.
