Energized Youth Attend Health Care Panel

Health care is an issue that youth in the Digby area have been speaking up about recently. The three high schools in the area were seeing questions emerge about volunteering and working in the health care field. Turning the Tide’s Youth Engagement Coordinator, Morgan Dunn, met with students in grades 10-12 at Digby Regional High School, Island Consolidated School, and St. Mary’s Bay Academy. There were 35 students that came forward who are interested and eager for opportunities to learn about careers in health care. 

Turning the Tide, Schools Plus, the Digby Area Health Services Centre, and the Digby Area Health Services Charitable Foundation came together to organize a Health Care Panel for interested youth.

The panel, held at Digby General Hospital in December 2019, was held to inform students and offer opportunities to ask questions from health care professionals working locally in the Digby area. In attending these sessions, students learned about different job opportunities, and motivation for exploring degrees in health sciences programs after high school. There was lots of excitement in the room at the first session. 

 “I learned that there are way more opportunities to work in the healthcare field than I thought. Also, I got an idea of the finances involved” – student participant 

Panelists included a nurse practitioner, licensed practical nurse, family physician, emergency room physician, medical student, and SchoolsPlus clinician. Staff from NSHA (Digby General Hospital) and Tideview Terrace nursing home, including their Volunteer Coordinators, shared information about volunteering, scholarships and incentives available for working in Digby upon graduation. Students also had the opportunity to sign up to volunteer on the spot. 

We will use the students feedback to plan our next session, and include students on our organizing committees – hopefully a student from each school will join us in the planning of future sessions. 

I am truly grateful to have this kind of support in our town, Digby. The panels were great as well as the healthcare workers who were able to make this event happen. I am interested in becoming a nurse practitioner and this session informed me very well on the different options there are to making my dream a reality. Thank you all so much! – Gemma Moore, student  

These sessions are linked to two of the Turning the Tide theme areas identified by the community (Health Care, Employment, and the Economy). There’s been a lot of energy from both students and professionals in our communities, and we’re hoping to facilitate more opportunities for youth in our community. We’re really excited to be involved in so much youth-driven work,and eager for what is to come in 2020 in this area. 

We are also aiming to address the issues that our community is facing of youth out-migration and a lack of Health care professionals in the local area. 

As the Co-op teacher, the panel was very beneficial and informative for students wondering about  Health Professions as careers. There should be more info sessions like these for students so they can make informed decisions.”– Geraldine Amirault, Co-op Teacher