Hundreds of students explore healthcare careers at travelling roadshow

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Students from School District 60 got a slice of what possible careers the field of healthcare could yield at a two-day event in Fort St. John.

Grade 10 and 11 students from North Peace Secondary School (NPSS) took part in the Healthcare Travelling Roadshow on May 26th and 27th.

Introduced in 2010 by Dr. Sean Maurice of the medical program at Prince George’s University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC), the event had a dual purpose for both the college and high school students involved.

The high school students got to see potential opportunities, while the college-aged undergraduates got a glimpse of the rural community they could be serving when they enter the workforce.

Maurice says the event focuses on kids from rural communities who face “more barriers” in their post-secondary lives.

“In a lot of [rural] places where there are a lot of blue-collar jobs,” says Maurice, “[where] you don’t necessarily need to have post-secondary education.

“[Then there’s] a lot of kids who have parents who aren’t familiar with post-secondary. 

“If you feel you need to go to Vancouver for university, it’s just far away. It feels very different. So we’re just trying to help get them over that barrier.”

Brian Campbell of School District 60 told Energeticcity.ca approximately 200 students from NPSS took part to see “what potential careers” they could consider after graduation.

Campbell is the district principal of careers and international education.

“The more that we can expose students to potential careers, the better they’re going to be able to make informed choices of what they want to do,” said Campbell.

“The healthcare field is so wide, [NPSS students] could talk to students who are studying in [that] field and get to try some things hands on.”

Students from UNBC demonstrated the opportunities available in careers such as medicine, nursing, psychiatric nursing, dental hygiene, laboratory technology, midwifery, kinesiology, biomedical engineering and respiratory therapy. 

“I think it’s really important for students to realize that they can have the opportunity to train in the north and stay in the north,” said Campbell. “That really helps build strong northern communities.”

The roadshow has made regular trips to Fort St. John since its beginnings in 2010.  It will also make trips to both Dawson Creek and Tumbler Ridge during the last week of May, according to a news release.

The Healthcare Travelling Roadshow was also funded in part by partnership with the Northern Medical Programs Trust, Rural Education Action Plan, Interior Health, UNBC, and University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine.

It has exposed more than 16,500 students to the wonders of the healthcare field, according to the release.

More details about the Healthcare Travelling Roadshow can be found on its website.