Preparing Middle and High School Students for Careers in Science and Health: Partnerships from the Chicago Area (cont.)

A goal of the Science Careers Series is to improve transmission quality and expand the number of participating schools. This may include conducting multi-point conferences with two or three schools, which would bring the same quality of scientific resources to even more students. Another goal is to improve communication and awareness among all stakeholders, in order to capture impressions and feedback from students, teachers, and tech coordinators after each session. Project partners and educators can then evaluate these data and share the results with teachers, project coordinators and administrators, so that the best elements of the program can be preserved and improved.

The Other Side of the Stethoscope

The Workforce Boards of Metropolitan Chicago, a consortium of nine area boards, has done extensive research on current and projected skill shortages for a variety of healthcare occupations across the state of Illinois. Like the rest of the country, Illinois currently has a shortage in many healthcare positions, which is projected only to grow as nurses and other healthcare workers retire and the population ages and demands more healthcare services.

The research showed that one of the solutions to supplying skilled healthcare workers for the future is to introduce healthcare career awareness to students, their parents and teachers during the middle school years.With a coalition of partners (including the Chicago Tribune - News in Education, The Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council, the Illinois Hospital Association, The American Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration and the Chicago Public Schools - Chicago Math and Science Initiative), CWB developed an innovative set of healthcare career awareness materials for Chicago Public School seventh grade students called “The Other Side of the Stethoscope.”

The Chicago Public Schools require that in eighth grade, students and their families select which high school they will attend. Several of the high schools have Education-to- Careers programs for the healthcare field, which involve coursework in math and science to prepare for post-secondary training. So it is particularly important that students and their families understand at the middle school age the wide variety of promising healthcare careers that are available. This program enables families and educators to help students explore the healthcare field, plan their high school curriculum and research the educational and training requirements for different occupations.

“The Other Side of the Stethoscope” provides several resources, including a teacher’s curriculum guide and a student supplement to help develop reading and writing skills while learning about career opportunities in healthcare. In addition, each student receives a family activity sheet, along with eight deliveries of The Chicago Tribune to use as a resource to do research about the healthcare field.

In the materials, individual and group activities tailored to meet Illinois State Learning Standards link lessons in science, math and language arts to many facets of healthcare. Students practice using the same research, problem-solving and decision-making skills that Chicagoland healthcare professionals use daily to care for their patients.

“The Other Side of the Stethoscope” was used successfully by over 73,000 seventh grade students in the classroom during the spring of 2004. Classroom materials were accompanied by a campaign of radio, television and Internet advertising in which a diverse group of Chicago healthcare professionals talked about why they chose their careers, their educational background and why they love their jobs. These professionals, many of whom attended Chicago Public Schools, talk about the importance of their education, and the teachers and family members who influenced their decision to choose healthcare careers. Their positive message to students is clear – healthcare careers are rewarding, well paying and stimulating, and if we can accomplish this goal, so can you!

For more detailed information on the Science Careers Series, visit the project Web site at www.dep.anl.gov/sciencecareers/.

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