Photographer: Christopher Beeth
Throughout the summer, Middle School and High School students in the area have a unique opportunity through Winona State University-Rochester and HealthForce Minnesota’s Summer Camps to trade in typical summer attire of beach shorts and sundresses for scrubs.
Three different Scrub Camps held throughout Southeastern Minnesota provide students, ranging in grades 6 to 12, both day and week-long camp opportunities to experience what a variety of different careers in the health sciences are like.
HealthForce MN’s Director of K-16 Partnerships and Outreach, Misun Bormann, helps coordinate the camps with employer and education partners. “Instead of listening to lectures, students get to ‘do’.” Bormann says. “They are actively using equipment, meeting and working with industry professionals as they share what they do, and visiting facilities to see things first hand.” For example, students in the anatomy course work with cat cadavers and a human cadaver. These different true-to-career experiences have many students leaving camp feeling inspired and motivated.
Bormann shares, “It is extremely important to have fun, engaging, educational opportunities like our Scrubs Camps for students; especially those from underserved communities and first generation college hopefuls, so that we can begin to ‘plant those seeds.’ Our future workforce depends on employers, educational institutions, and communities to collaborate to ensure we have a healthcare workforce ready to step in as baby boomers retire, and to be prepared to eliminate the gaps in workforce needs.”
The opportunities provided through Scrubs Camps help to introduce new career paths for students who haven’t been introduced previously, and solidify for others that may have had only a slight interest.
Online registration is currently open. For more information, contact Misun Bormann, or visit the Scrubs Camp webpage.
