When high school students enter the Health Excellence & Academic Leadership (HEAL) internship program at Alameda Health System, we ask them what health career they are interested in pursuing. Most of the time they tell us they want to be a Pediatrician or a nurse. That’s no surprise since those are the two healthcare providers with whom young people most often come in contact. One of the main objectives of the HEAL program is career exploration. Through rotations in departments throughout Highland Hospital, HEAL interns are exposed to a broad array of healthcare careers, particularly those they may not be familiar with when they enter the program.
This summer interns had the opportunity to do one of their rotations in Highland Hospital’s Occupational Therapy department. For most students, this was their first exposure to Occupational Therapy, and many of them came away from their experience in the department with an interest in becoming an Occupational Therapist. That’s in large part because of the exceptional mentorship provided by Highland Occupational Therapists Meghann Dodge and Jessie Trupiano.
They allowed the HEAL interns to shadow them as they treated patients and took the time to explain what they were doing and why. Through this kind of up close observation, as well as conversations with Meghann and Jessie about their educational and career path, interns saw a future for themselves which they had never before imagined.
HealthPATH would like to thank Meghann and Jessie for opening up the Occupational Therapy department to HEAL interns this summer and for being so generous with their time and knowledge.