Students were able to visit a number of stations staffed by representatives from CVPH and High Peaks Dental to get an overview of the jobs of physician assistants, lab technicians, EMTs and IT technicians, as well as the fields of radiology, nursing, respiratory therapy, dental hygiene and pediatric dentistry.
The following article appeared in the Plattsburgh Press Republican on March 3, 2017
PLATTSBURGH — Katy Carron isn’t sure yet what career path she’ll take, but she knows she’s interested in the medical field.
The Plattsburgh High School junior got to learn about a variety of related professions at a health-care fair Tuesday at University of Vermont Health Network, Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital.
“It’s really cool,” she said of the event, hosted by the hospital and CFES. “They’ve had us do some different hands-on things.”
Carron was one of about 135 sixth-through-12th-graders from CFES member schools in Clinton and Essex counties to attend the fair.
Students were able to visit a number of stations staffed by representatives from CVPH and High Peaks Dental to get an overview of the jobs of physician assistants, lab technicians, EMTs and IT technicians, as well as the fields of radiology, nursing, respiratory therapy, dental hygiene and pediatric dentistry.
Also on hand were representatives from several area colleges that offer programs in these fields.
EARLY EXPOSURE
CV-TEC offered fair attendees information about its New Visions program, a medical-career immersion program for high-school seniors.
“New Visions is great to get people started on the medical field,” CFES College and Career Ambassador Elaine Dixon-Cross said.
Her organization wanted to give students early exposure to health-care career options as part of its second-annual STEM Week, which celebrates science, technology, engineering and math.
“The hospital graciously put this on,” she said of the fair, which was free for attendees.
Carron enjoyed visiting the respiratory-therapy station, where students got to blow into a device that simulated the lung capacity of a smoker.
“You got to experience what a smoker feels when they breathe after a number of years, which was pretty cool,” she said. “I’ve never seen that before.”
CAN MAKE DIAGNOSES
CVPH Physician Assistant Michael Hagadorn was among those at the event who talked about his career and the path he took to get there.
Unlike physicians, who must attend four years of medical school, physician assistants need only complete two years.
“It’s a medical school program that’s kind of compressed,” Hagadorn said.
Though PAs must always practice under a supervising physician and are unable to perform surgery, he noted, “almost every other thing, we can do.
“We can prescribe medications; we can make diagnoses.”
A LOT OF X-RAYS
Hagadorn works in plastic surgery, where he does initial screenings of patients with skin lesions and hand injuries and determines if they need surgery.
“I look at a lot of X-rays,” he said.
The PA had a number of such images on display at the fair, showing students what he calls “nasty fractures,” as well as the difference between pediatric and adult bones.
He has also worked in orthopedics, as well as in the emergency room.
While changing specialties as a physician would require completion of another residency program, he noted, that is not the case for physician assistants, who can switch specialties relatively easily.
“That’s kind of appealing to a lot of young people,” Hagadorn said.