Workforce Solutions Spotlight—Evangelical Community Hospital

High school students get first-hand experience with health care careers

August 04, 2023

As Pennsylvania ages, many health care professionals are reaching retirement age just as the need for health care is rapidly growing. Hospitals and health systems are leading the way in growing the next generation of health care professionals to care for Pennsylvanians and our communities.

Evangelical Community Hospital is preparing local high school students for success in health care careers through a unique internship program. Students get hands-on experience interacting with hospital staff and patients and learn a variety of patient care skills, including CPR certification, lifting and transferring techniques, personal care skills, taking vital signs, bathing, making hospital beds, and more.

“This internship provides students who have a desire to pursue health care careers the opportunity to ‘try it out’ before committing to further education in the field,” said Tiffany Clemens, training and development specialist at Evangelical. “For some it reinforces where their passions are and for others, it allows them to narrow down whether they want to pursue another direction. Either way, it is a win for the student and the hospital.”

This year, 17 students are participating from seven school districts. Students spend 24 hours in a classroom setting and 48 hours directly interacting with staff and patients, rotating through various clinical settings, including inpatient nursing units, imaging services, emergency services, therapies, outpatient surgery, laboratories, pharmacy, hospice, and the wound clinic.

HAP and Pennsylvania’s hospital community are committed to developing tomorrow’s health care workforce. In addition to their own initiatives and community partnerships, hospitals are advocating for public policies to grow and support the health care workforce.

Learn more about HAP and the hospital community’s workforce advocacy online.