Bay-area students learn about medical careers at occupational health fair

Alan Howell picked up a Craftsman hand drill, pointed the bit at a long bone, then leaned in as the tool squealed to life.

A nurse clutched the other end of the bone through a blood-soaked cloth as a surgeon looked on, nodding and offering directions.

While the operation wasn't real, health workers said, the lessons taught during a health occupations career fair Friday were.

Howell and hundreds of other ninth-, 10th- and 11th-graders from public and private schools in Mobile and Baldwin counties took part in the event Thursday and Friday at Mobile Civic Center Expo Hall.

"I didn't know they actually use real drills," said Howell, a Blount High School junior who said he's thinking of becoming a pharmacist.

Students also had opportunities to insert needles into rubber arms and hands, deliver and care for a baby in the first minutes of life and to learn the proper way to perform CPR on a dummy, among other things.

A project of the Bay Area Healthcare Coalition and Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce's Center for Workforce Development, the event was open to students interested in exploring health care professions.

Students followed "patients" from the scene of a mock collision through an emergency call and then on to a series of exhibits representing the hospital departments that a patient would likely see if admitted.

"This is a great hands-on experience," said Leida Javier-

Ferrell, director of the Center for Workforce Development , noting that students were able to watch health care professionals as they worked.

Javier-Ferrell said students also were provided information about salaries and training associated with different jobs.

Students who met academic requirements and other criteria and also showed an interest in health care careers were allowed to attend the event, organizers said.

Amber Sanders, a 16-year-old LeFlore High School junior, said she is considering a career in psychology with a focus on crime prevention: "I like to help people understand what's going on."

Participating organizations include University of South Alabama's Children's & Women's Hospital, USA EMS Education and Department of Cardiorespiratory Care, Providence Hospital, Bishop State Community College Health Professions, Thomas Hospital, Mobile Infirmary, Springhill Medical Center, Faulkner State Community College, Spring Hill College, Virginia College, Alabama Orthopaedic Clinic and AltaPointe Health Systems.