Apprenticeships are an excellent way for students to better understand different career paths they want to explore while finishing high school and deciding on their next steps into adulthood. While a nursing career is one of the top fields in health care, students may not know the many different opportunities that are available and are crucial for a hospital to run as smoothly and efficiently as possible.
McLaren Greater Lansing’s Health Care Apprenticeship Program allows students ages 15 through 18 who have an interest in health care to explore the different career paths available.
“I wanted to be a nurse from a young age, but when I started working in a hospital, I was amazed by how many different career opportunities there are in health care,” said Amanda Lampron, MSN, RN, director of patient care services and clinical education at McLaren Greater Lansing.
High school students can apply for the apprenticeship program and if they meet the criteria, they may be offered the chance to participate in the four-day program. Over the week, students can pick certain jobs and shadow three to four different positions during that time. This includes areas such as nursing, surgery, obstetrics, pharmacy, oncology, wound care, case management, laboratory and radiology, physical/occupational therapy, sterile processing, and respiratory, among others.
“We also have several other activities that we provide during the week, including provider lectures, laboratory introduction that allows the students to learn more about different blood types including their own, as well as an opportunity to dissect their own pig heart and learn more about the inner workings of the heart from one of our cardiothoracic surgeons,” said Lampron. “It’s a very packed program, but we have a lot of fun.”
Students also receive 32 volunteer hours during this program. At the end of the week, McLaren leaders hold a celebration with the students and their family members.
“The students are from all different schools in the area, so it is also an opportunity for them to meet other people and build friendships,” said Lampron. “It’s been exciting to see how this program has evolved since we started it in 2018. We are now seeing some of our first students coming into the workforce and working here at McLaren,” said Lampron.
Abigail Perkins was one of the first students who went through the apprenticeship program and is now going to school for her nursing degree and will be working at McLaren Greater Lansing this summer as a nurse intern.
“I really liked the apprenticeship. When I was finishing high school, I expressed some interest in pursuing a career in nursing. The program allowed me to shadow several different positions and I was able to pick some different departments that interested me,” said Perkins. “After participating in the program, it helped me decide that this was the path for me and the one that I wanted to pursue a nursing career.”
This year’s apprenticeship program will be held July 22 through 25. Students can apply to the program; applications are due by May 1. The cost of the apprenticeship is $50 to participate.
To learn more about the apprenticeship program, students can contact Amanda Lampron at (517) 975-7187.
To learn more about McLaren Greater Lansing’s career opportunities, click here.