PLATTSBURGH — Approximately 200 North Country students attended the first ever University of Vermont Healthcare Network career fair Tuesday morning, getting a glimpse of a possible future in the health care field.
The career fair is a first, organized by the Network’s Talent Acquisition team with the goal to expose students to health care career opportunities.
“This event exposes high school students to diverse positions in health care. We have opportunities available right out of high school, or for anyone with a GED,” Katrina Stone, UVM Network Manager of Talent Acquisitions said.
“There are opportunities other than clinical as well, the IT department is here today, and there are clerical opportunities.”
LEARNING ABOUT RESOURCES
According to Stone, other opportunities include cyber security, as well as remote jobs for clerical or technical work.
Representatives from a variety of health care professions from University of Vermont Health Network – Champlain Valley Physician Hospital attended the event to discuss their careers and employment opportunities with students.
“I’ve had a lot of students asking about the requirements of the field, some even asked me what made me choose this,” Doris Ribe-Lacy, Speech Language Pathologist, said.
“One student talked to me about her dad, who has Parkinsons, and she asked about resources and ended up walking away with some services her dad didn’t even know about.”
FOLLOW YOUR PASSION
According to Doris, the career fair also serves as an opportunity for students to explore their passion and interests.
“There is a lot of pressure on kids to know what they want to do, and it is good to have exposure without the pressure of knowing,” she said.
“Sometimes one interaction can change that. Follow your passion, find out what really makes you tick and follow that.”
Some of these departments featured hands-on demonstrations for a closer look.
“It just helps them to get interested in something they might not have seen before,” Kiesha Holmes, CVPH ICU assistant manager, said.
“People come here not knowing about most of these career fields and then end up interested in a nursing program.”
PIPELINE INTO HEALTH CARE
The UVMHN Career Fair invited students in grades 10 through 12 to explore career possibilities within health care and the network, and the opportunity to grow professionally in the North Country and the options for those who are not attending college after graduation.
“The more you expose the students to these opportunities and resources, we can hopefully create a pipeline into health care for those students,” Stone said.
The Network comprises six hospitals, home health and hospice locations across Northern New York and Vermont with more than 15,000 employees.
“We are a network now, with such a wide variety for opportunities,” Stone said.
“Some people may want a smaller, slower paced hospital while others might want to be at the Central Vermont Medical Center.”
DEPARTMENTS
Departments represented during the fair included:
• Radiology
• Nursing (Various Specialties)
• Patient Registration/Patient Access
• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI)
• Laboratory
• Respiratory Therapy
• Accounting/Billing
• EMT/Paramedic
• Rehabilitation Services
• Security
• Information Technology
• Environmental Services
• Human Resources/Learning & Development
• Talent Acquisition
• Transport Facilities
The plan is to host another fair in Vermont next spring.