CentraCare - Redwood's First Summer Career Exploration Program Intern Finds New Career Interests
Time spent working with a variety of departments gave Anistasia Smith a new outlook on direct patient care and increased awareness in career options.
When Anistasia Smith, an incoming senior at Wabasso High School, started the Summer Career Exploration Program, she was leaning towards a career in dental hygiene. But she credits her mom for guiding her to the summer internship program to open her awareness of different roles in health care.
"My mom said it would be a good idea," shared Anistasia. "I took this as an opportunity to learn about the many different career opportunities in health care."
And Anistasia did just that, shadowing 16 different departments at CentraCare - Redwood and the CentraCare Dental Clinic in Willmar.
After a summer of hands-on experiences with various teams, Anistasia's perspective on her future career began to shift.
Anistasia with Respiratory Therapy Manager, Lance Lothert
"My favorite departments I worked with were Home Health and Hospice and Rehab — including physical therapy and respiratory therapy," Anistasia said.
Although she enjoyed her time at the dental clinic, the diverse roles she encountered across the health care spectrum broadened her horizons and sparked an interest in exploring more career options in the future.
Instilling a Passion for Healthcare
For Anistasia, seeing the passion of staff caring for patients was inspiring.
"It was really cool seeing how well CentraCare works with its' patients," she said. "Here, I feel like the doctors and staff are understanding and really have a relationship with people. They are excited to come in and do their jobs, not just expected to show up and be there. They work so well with people, and it makes the patients less nervous to be here. They talk through everything, so patients understand. I thought that was cool to see."
Lab Tech, Tina Linneman, shows Anistasia one of the lab analyzers used for lab testing.
Anistasia enjoyed shadowing in every department, but quickly learned some careers weren't for her.
"I figured out some things weren't for me, but I learned how important every department's role is. Before I did this, I didn't realize housekeeping at the hospital was even an option for a career! It showed me that I want to be more hands-on and do direct patient care."
A Valuable Partnership
The 10-to-12-week paid internship was made possible through a partnership with the Southwest Minnesota Private Industry Council (SWMNPIC), with a goal to bring students and employers together and give high school students experience in a health care environment. The program not only benefits students, but it encourages staff to engage and mentor high school students to pursue careers in healthcare.
Carnie Allex, CentraCare – Redwood President, said working with the SWMNPIC on this new program was a great experience.
"Anistasia was the perfect first student for our program! Her positive attitude and willingness to learn was infectious," Carnie said. "She was always appreciative of the time staff spent with her and the experience she was able to gain. Working with students like Anistasia reminds me of why I choose to work in healthcare – to help others. It also allows me to give back to my community and help develop our future workforce."
Wendy Dahl, CentraCare – Redwood Education Manager, who worked closely with Anistasia and created her schedule, said she felt the internship went very smooth.
Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant, Sheila Hermel, shows Anistasia the muscles in the hand.
"Anistasia was very responsible, pleasant, and easy to work with and very appreciative for all the opportunities she was able to experience. Departments all enjoyed having her observe with them. I'm very grateful for the great team of managers in Redwood, they are always open to having student observations in their departments. The internship opportunity is such a gift to our hospital and to students, exposing them to jobs students really didn't know anything about can help guide them in their future plans and hopefully back to our small-town hospital."
Planning for the Future
As Anistasia begins her senior year at Wabasso High School, she is hoping to attend college in Rochester, MN, but is now more open to the idea of different careers.
"I was pretty set in doing dental hygiene and now I really need to think about it, because all of these departments are amazing," she said. "The experience I had to get and see the inside of what not everyone else sees was amazing. I have more than one option that I could see myself doing now."