A group of Indigenous youth engaged in an immersive, hands-on learning experience at Niagara Health on Wednesday, exploring various hospital departments and discovering potential career paths in healthcare.
The healthcare industry offers a wide range of unique career opportunities, and finding the right path becomes much easier with the right support and guidance.
Aiming to inspire the next generation of healthcare professionals, Niagara Health recently welcomed a group of enthusiastic Indigenous youth for an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the Marotta Family Hospital in St. Catharines, providing them with a look at the diverse roles within healthcare.
"You can't be what you can't see. We have the opportunity to change the course of someone’s career trajectory just by introducing them to areas in the hospital they haven’t thought about or haven’t known about,” said Amanda Basilone, Manager, Recruitment and Volunteer Services.
Throughout the day, participants had the opportunity to visit various hospital departments, such as the laboratory, food services, operating rooms, medical device reprocessing and diagnostic imaging.
For many, the tour was eye-opening.
"I’ve always been interested in the medical field, and it’s good to know there’s such a wide variety of roles," says Jonathan Lefebvre from Soaring Eagles secondary school.
Participants met with team members in each department, gaining valuable insights into the career paths available and learning how to pursue those specific fields.
Orihanna Morrison, a student from Holy Cross Catholic Secondary School, shared her excitement about the Professional Practice session where they learned about Code Blue, which is used to indicate when a patient is going through cardiac arrest.
"The most interesting part was learning about CPR. It was really cool to learn how to help save somebody. I feel like I would like doing this stuff, helping people,” she says.
Participants visiting the laboratory department.
Participants learned how to provide CPR during a Professional Practice session.
The event was hosted by the Volunteer and Recruitment Services team and the Indigenous Health Services team, in partnership with the Niagara Peninsula Aboriginal Area Management Board (NPAAMB). Naomi Regolini-Curd, Youth Success Worker for St. Catharines with NPAAMB, explained the importance of these types of events.
"We’re trying to bring more awareness to the healthcare field," she says. "We have an influx of youth that have an interest in it so we thought why not give them hands-on experience to see the different aspects of a hospital and the different jobs that the hospital has that some youth didn’t even know existed.”
For some, the tour even shifted their career aspirations.
“I really enjoyed the experience I had today and hope I can work here sometime,” said Cheyenne Taylor, who will be attending Thorold Secondary School in September. She was initially interested in first responder roles such as policing or firefighting but is now considering healthcare.
"I loved the operating room and seeing where surgeries happen,” she says. “After today, I’m leaning more toward becoming a paramedic."
Members from our Environmental Services and Executive teams also visited the group to share their experiences working at Niagara Health.
"This is about instilling excitement and hope in the next generation to choose a career in healthcare, particularly choosing to work at Niagara Health," said Linda Boich, Executive Vice-President, Patient Experience and Integrated Care.
The youth were sent off with a traditional Indigenous travelling song performed by Shyann Jenkins, Indigenous Community Outreach and Engagement Specialist at Niagara Health. She reflects on a full circle moment while being part of the event: "I was once a youth with NPAAMB, learning about healthcare, and that’s how I got into this field. Today was so valuable, not just for me, but for the Indigenous youth in our community to see what’s possible and to be inspired."