Learn about our newest summer high school internship programs with diverse eligibility criteria and how to apply at clevelandclinic.org/civiceducation. Apply by 4:30 p.m., Friday, February 3, 2012.
By Margaret Briller
Continuously recognized as one of the country’s finest health care institutions, Cleveland Clinic also views itself in a leadership role to prepare the next generation of health care professionals.
Rosalind Strickland, senior director of the Office of Civic Education Initiatives (OCEI), had this vision when she and her team launched a unique internship program in June 2005. It was a dream of hers to bring real world experiences to Northeast Ohio high school students in the hope of sparking a passion for careers in health care fields.
“The Office of Civic Education Initiatives links the classroom to the real world,” Strickland explained. “It is applied learning and job readiness. It is everything students are looking for in 21st century education. Today’s student is so much of a visual learner. Students emerge from the internship more focused on their careers and what they need to do to be academically prepared.”
According to Strickland, these students are engaged in opportunities that contribute to changing health care practices. “Our programs highlight the talent we have in this region. This is a chance to celebrate our students in a big way,” she said.
“Our vision was to give students who are interested in pursuing a health care career an opportunity to come inside the Cleveland Clinic health system for an internship experience that bridges classroom learning with the practice of medicine. Our programs are interdisciplinary and they are designed to strengthen six specific disciplines: math, science, health and wellness, the arts and innovation. The Office was created to support the role of K through 12 education in developing a pipeline of health care professionals,” Strickland said.
OCEI started with a science internship program and has expanded to several other programs that target specific student interests including nursing, medical laboratory technology, respiratory therapy, radiology, pharmacy, as well as creative learning, which marries art and science. A public health program was introduced this summer.
“We assess students according to their interests so students can ‘try the profession on’ and get to see what it is like to be a nurse or pharmacist if that is their career interest,” said Strickland. Students need to be at least 16 years old and entering their junior or senior year. Students get to see each a profession up close and determine if it is a career choice for them.
In 2005 OCEI started with 41 students and now has more than 800 students to date. More than 40 students are published in major peer-reviewed medical journals as a result of the research they have conducted at Cleveland Clinic.
The internship is a paid program that is nine weeks long and 40 hours a week. Students work alongside professionals where they can apply textbook learning.
“We wanted the internship to include students as members of the team and to guide their development of essential career skills - problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, teamwork – these are things we do on a daily basis.
“We have seen these internship experiences really cement career choices for students,” Strickland said. It is not uncommon to see students working alongside a medical student, a grad assistant or a research scientist and see individuals who are at different levels of their academic career, still close in age to the student. They learn the benefit of being mentored by them, working with them, and also learning what it takes to go into this field.”
Strickland says another benefit is that the students graduate knowing what they can do back in their classrooms to hone their academic skills.
In tracking OCEI alumni, Strickland has found that many of these students who have graduated from the program have elected to attend colleges and universities within the state of Ohio. “We find the program itself gives students the confidence because it confirms or denies that health care is for them.
The Office does outreach for underrepresented students. The students are recruited from the entire region from all of the schools in the Clinic’s footprint. Students from as far east as Youngstown and as far south as Galion, Ohio have participated in the program. Students need to have a grade point average of 3.5 and above and a strong interest in science.
“I believe that what we have created is a model in terms of where education is going,” Strickland noted.” I think education is critical to the economic development and growth of this region and our nation. And it starts with K to12.”
Learn about our newest summer high school internship programs with diverse eligibility criteria and how to apply at clevelandclinic.org/civiceducation. Apply by 4:30 p.m., Friday, February 3, 2012.
