HCA/TriStar grant helps Lipscomb offer hands-on health care experience
Kim Chaudoin |
Lipscomb University and HCA/TriStar have partnered to offer the Lipscomb-HCA/TriStar Healthcare Academy, June 11-15, introducing rising 10th- through 12th-grade high school students to a variety of health science professions. The academy is funded by a $10,000 grant from HCA/TriStar.
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“Reports published by the Bureau of Labor and Statistics show health care workers will continue to have more job growth than any other industry over the next decade. Ten of the 20 fastest-growing occupations are health care related. It is generally known that hospitals and other health care agencies struggle to fill positions as the number of elderly patients with increasing health needs continues to increase while a number of experienced health care professionals are reaching retirement,” said Roger Davis, dean of the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.
To help address this growing shortage of workers, Lipscomb University and HCA/TriStar have partnered for the last five years to offer a health care academy.
“We view this academy as an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others by exposing them to these careers. We hope to motivate students to start early planning to equip themselves for a health care career,” said Davis.
The Lipscomb-HCA/TriStar Healthcare Academy is in its fifth year of providing middle and high school students an opportunity to experience a variety of health science professions. The camp is presented by Lipscomb University’s College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences and the College of Arts and Sciences and builds on the long tradition of excellence in health sciences education in those colleges.
The Lipscomb-HCA/TriStar Healthcare Academy is designed to provide hands-on experiences related to pharmacy, nursing, nutrition and exercise science. The goal is to cultivate interest in the nursing and health professions and to create a desire for pursuing education, which would lead to a health care career. More than 30 students from Tennessee and surrounding states are participating in this year’s weeklong residential academy.
Students will visit Summit Medical Center and other healthcare operations in the city. They will have hands-on experiences and participate in science labs, including a dissection lab, a pharmaceutical compounding lab and an Integrated Biomedical Sciences drug dissolution lab, as well as instruction in CPR, basic first aid, EKG, AED and non-invasive measurements such as blood pressure and pulse. They will also have the opportunity to make “patient rounds” in the Lipscomb College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences patient simulation lab, where they can “treat” high-tech, lifesize manikins displaying symptoms of various illnesses and injuries.