High school students learn nursing skills at MSJC camp

Christopher Alog, a Paloma Valley High senior, learns about inserting tubes during the Health Occupations Discovery Camp. Photos courtesy of MSJC

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Mt. San Jacinto College’s School of Nursing and Allied Health hosted its 4th annual Health Occupations Discovery Camp for local high school students on Jan. 7-8 at the college’s Menifee Valley Campus.

More than 200 high school students worked with about 60 MSJC nursing students in hands-on workshops that showcased careers in nursing and allied health. The two-day event was organized by the MSJC School of Nursing and Allied Health and the Inland Health Professions Coalition-Reach Out.

“The camp was designed to inspire the next generation of healthcare professionals,” said Dr. Peter Zografos, director of School of Nursing and Allied Health at MSJC.

The students participated in activities that gave them a taste of careers in healthcare, including registered nurses, nursing assistants, emergency medical technicians, diagnostic medical sonography and other related careers.

Mia Roberts, a senior at Paloma Valley High School, is in the biomedical science program at the school.

“It’s so neat to get the hands-on experience,” she said. “I was so excited to come here today.”

Christopher Alog, a Paloma Valley High senior, looks forward to a career in nursing.

“My family had told me to consider nursing, so it’s always been in the back of my mind,” said Alog, who is also in Paloma Valley High’s biomedical science program. “Today has been great. It’s totally different hearing the sounds. It’s just so hands-on here.”

Lena Servin, a 2008 MSJC Nursing alumnus, has worked as a flight nurse for REACH Air Medical Services for the past four years. She flew in via the REACH helicopter that students interacted with on Tuesday.

“I love it,” Servin said of the high-flying career. “You get to practice a lot of autonomy. It gives a wider scope of practice than you do in a hospital. But working in an (intensive care unit) is good preparation for taking care of the types of patients we take care of.”

For more information on MSJC’s Nursing and Allied Health program, please visit www.msjc.edu/Nursingandalliedhealth

Mia Roberts (top left) and Karolina Bolanos, seniors at Paloma Valley High, practice on an interactive robotic patient.