By Renee Larr
Mallory Young, Abbey Grogan and Megan Nichols have been teammates on the softball field. But this summer, the three former Clay Middle School students are working together in the VolunTeen program at Eskenazi Health. The girls, who will be freshmen at Carmel High School in the fall, were selected out of more than 100 applicants.
“We thought it was neat that all three of the girls were on the same softball team at CMS. They go from playing softball together to being a teen volunteer together,” said Melissa Beuc Young, Mallory’s mother.
The elite program introduces teens to careers in the health care industry.
“The program is for 14- to 19-year-olds that have a strong interest in careers in health care. It doesn’t have to be a specific area,” said Scott Lawson, Eskenazi Health manager of volunteer programs. “Most of the kids that come to us have a strong interest in being a surgeon, nurse or physical therapist.”
The four-week course requires participation four hours a day for five days the first week. They learn CPR and meet with health care professionals.
“We try to give them a pretty good idea of the different areas of the hospital,” Lawson said.
During the final three weeks participants shadow medical professionals in various departments, with possible learning opportunities coming from watching in-patient care, viewing minor medical procedures and visiting the emergency department.
The application process can be lengthy.
“We ask them to submit their online application and to provide us with their most recent transcripts and a 500-word essay describing their interest in careers in health care,” Lawson said. “We look at all this information to get an idea of the participants and who really has a vested interest in exploring those careers.”
For more, visit eskenazihealth.edu.
