Students attend a Pre-Health Fair.
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Carthage’s Pre-Health Program prepares students for a career in different fields throughout the health care industry. From optometry to athletic training to pharmaceutical work, students can follow their interests into whichever health care field they choose.

One way the Pre-Health Program works to provide exposure for students is through the annual Career Exploration Panel Series. These weekly online sessions highlight professionals from different health care fields. Students are able to ask questions of the panelists, learn about the field, and network.

Mandy Long “The goal of the Career Exploration Series is to help expose students to different health care opportunities,” says Mandy Long, career specialist for science and health and co-chair of pre-health advising. “Regardless of which health care pathway students choose to take when they leave Carthage, they will likely interact with every kind of health care practitioner at some point. This explanation series gives them the insight they will need into other fields.”

Carthage relies on engaged alumni in the health care field for support in programming and mentorship, such as Mitch Wright ’15 and Seth Storment ’14 who participated in the Career Exploration Series.

“We are lucky to have a wide pool of alumni who are willing to share their health care career pathways with students,” Mrs. Long says. “We’re proud to offer a wide variety of insightful opportunities for our pre-health students.”

A new way that the College is expanding students’ repertoire is through TeamSTEPPS, a training program and toolkit that has been shown to improve health care professionals’ attitudes, knowledge, and behavioral skills in order to increase patient safety.

Collaborating faculty in the Nursing, Athletic Training, and Allied Health Science programs received grant funding to bring TeamSTEPPS to Carthage. Professors Nancy Reese, Laurie Jensen, and Ashley Greenwood, as well as Mrs. Long, completed TeamSTEPPS Master Training in New Orleans.

Students practice assessing one another in an athletic training class.

“The overall goal of this training is to ensure patient safety,” says Mrs. Long. “But most health care onboarding training does not have time to include this training anymore. At Carthage, we’re bringing the training to students.”

Based on the program’s success, the Pre-Health Program plans to offer TeamSTEPPS training each semester to ensure that all aspiring health care workers enter the field with a focus on patient safety.

Learn more about Carthage’s Pre-Health Program.