MAHONING TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- Some high school students from central Pennsylvania are not medical professionals, but in a few years, they may be. The next generation of doctors and nurses is getting an up-close look at what it takes to work in a hospital.
“We just learned how to take blood, put a tourniquet on. It’s pretty cool, we get to experience different things in the medical field,” Southern Columbia junior Jayden Toczylousky said.
More than 120 students from 15 different school districts participated in the "Aim High Program" at Geisinger Medical Center near Danville. The program is for students who hope to work in the medical field someday.
“Some of those careers are obvious, like doctors and nurses, but some are not so obvious like security, information system security, transportation,” Geisinger Director of Volunteer Services Tina McDowell said.
Instead of just sitting in a classroom, the students participated in some hands-on activities, like learning how to apply a tourniquet.
The students took part in the Stop the Bleed training program. They also used mannequins to learn how to give stitches and take blood.
“It’s really cool we get to get exposed to different things in the medical field,” Toczylousky said.
“Just being in the hospital and learning about the different jobs in the hospital and the different experiences,” Danville Area High School junior Gracie Root said.
“They leave with maybe some new ideas because they didn’t know some of those careers existed,” McDowell said.
Students tell Newswatch 16 this exposure will help them with their future careers.