Students from six of the Island’s secondary schools have been given an invaluable insight into the range of NHS careers on offer during a two-day visit to St Mary’s Hospital, with two students going home with a little more than simply careers advice.
Reuben Lovell, 15, of Sandown Bay Academy and Chance Booth, 15, of Cowes Enterprise College, gamely stepped forward to play the role of the patient as Teresa Woolven, Advanced Nurse Practitioner in A&E, applied plaster casts during the group of 23 students’ final visit of the highly successful ‘Career in Healthcare Induction Programme’ (CHIPS).
The CHIPS programme has been running for several years at the Isle of Wight NHS Trust and offers Year 10, Year 11 and Sixth Form students the opportunity to find out about careers first hand from staff working at the Trust. The most recent programme saw students visit areas including the Pharmacy, ambulance station and A&E department at St Mary’s Hospital. Students were also able to ask questions and advice from a range of professionals including mental health workers, midwives and a junior doctor.
Reuben, who is hoping to become a Doctor in Paediatric Trauma, said:
“The event has given me a lot of information about different areas within healthcare and opened up the whole range of areas you could work in.” Meanwhile, Chance, who is aiming to study for a career as a family GP, said: “It has shown how things work around the hospital and what to do for each career path within the NHS. I think it could really help influence younger years and help with the national shortage of doctors and nurses.”
Accompanying the visit, Jodie Gibson, Alternative Provision Co-ordinator at Cowes Enterprise College, said:
“I think it’s been really inspiring for our students who want to work in healthcare.” Dan Fitzgerald, Work Experience Coordinator at Sandown Bay Academy, added: “It was really pleasing to see all the students fully engaging in this opportunity, lots of good questions asked and making the most of speaking to the professional staff on hand. Our thanks to the Isle of Wight NHS Trust team for providing such a positive experience.”
Mark Elmore, Deputy Director of Workforce, added:
“With over 350 career paths within the NHS, events like these can really help young people to explore the range of options available and how to reach their goals. We recognise that our future depends on attracting the brightest and best-suited students to the wide range of careers on offer. It is a pleasure to be able to open up our doors to what we hope may become the Island’s medics of the future.”
