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Students in grade five have the opportunity to take part in an innovative health career awareness camp on April 20, 2012 at Oakes Community Hospital. With Oakes Community Hospital as the lead applicant, Oakes has been selected as the site of a Rural Collaborative Opportunities for Occupational Learning in Health (R-COOL-Health) Scrubs Camp.
R-COOL-Health Scrubs Camps aim to increase awareness, interest, and understanding of health careers available in rural North Dakota through creative and interactive activities.
The Oakes R-COOL-Health Scrubs Camp will feature tours of Tara’s Pharmacy, Dr. Rath’s office, Oakes Ambulance, and Oakes Community Hospital. Each entity will show the students what they do as health care professionals, and will highlight the opportunities available for medical professionals in rural communities.
“Research has shown that growing your own is an effective way of meeting rural health care workforce needs,” says Lynette Dickson, MS, LRD, program director at the Center for Rural Health. “These camps are great examples of how community organizations can work collaboratively to inspire local youth to pursue a career in health care.”
The current and projected shortage of health care professionals in North Dakota and across the nation is creating a critical demand for an increased health care workforce. Seven of the ten fastest growing professions in the nation are projected to be in health care by 2012. A national shortage of 100,000 physicians and 800,000 nurses is projected by 2020.
R-COOL-Health Scrubs Camps are taking place in nine different cities across North Dakota. This is the third year the camps are being funded by the Center for Rural Health at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Partnering with schools, health care facilities, and economic or job development authorities is a requirement of the project, in order to increase collaboration and awareness of the economic impact of health care in North Dakota.