In a year that has been anything but normal, the Chester Memorial Hospital (MH) is continuing to push forward with its Medical Explorers program. Ever since August of 2019, MH has been hosting the program to offer a hands-on learning experience to students who are interested in pursuing healthcare careers.
Hospital personnel in charge of Medical Explorers are Post Advisor Brett Bollmann, CEO; Committee Chairperson Mariah Bargman, Marketing/Community Relations Manager; Executive Officer Susan Diddlebock,­ CNO; and Committee Member Apryl Bradshaw, Executive Assistant. Mariah Bargman is the primary coordinator who sets up the schedule, leads meetings, and performs logistics between the departments and students. The program is open to students from Chester, Steeleville, Sparta, Evansville, and Trico high schools, as well as high school graduates in Randolph County. Members from CHS are Abbigail Bollmann, Alison Venus, Amelia Shemonic, Ashley Griggs, Bethany Baughman, Camryn Luthy, Camrynn Howie, Elseah Congiardo, Emily Mehrer, Emma Eggemeyer, Hannah Blechle, Jordan Merideth, Kailey Hall, Macey Ludwig, Madison Kribs, Reese McCormick and William Sorto.
In a normal year, members would gather once a month at the hospital to observe medical procedures, hear from specialists, and gain an interactive learning experience. This year, however, the group has been unable to meet in person due to Covid restrictions. Instead, meetings have been being held virtually through Zoom calls. Every month, the meetings focus on a different aspect of the medical field and a speaker is brought in to give a lecture and answer questions. So far this year, the group has learned about medical school, several different nursing careers, and a few specialized careers. MH plans to continue these virtual sessions through April.
Bargman discussed how Covid has affected the program this year and how the hospital plans on moving forward in the future.
“This year has been more of a challenge to find creative ways to engage the students and immerse them in the medical careers available. During the previous year’s monthly meetings we would offer a short classroom introduction into the healthcare career field of focus for that meeting. Then the presenting department would follow up with a hands-on activity that placed the students in the department using the equipment or that involved using equipment provided in the classroom space,” she said. “Through this year’s Zoom meetings we have tried to incorporate videos and unique presenters to keep the students focused and help them get the most out of the program. We are still hopeful, especially now that the vaccines have arrived, that we will be able to welcome the students into the building again for job shadowing late spring or during the summer.”
Even though the program is drastically different than it has been in years past, it still is an excellent source of education and opportunities for students involved.