UNMC and Nebraska Medicine teamed up on April 4 and 6 to host 100 high school students from across the community to participate in CAREEROCKIT.
CAREEROCKIT is a new initiative from the Greater Omaha Chamber challenging local employers to provide 10,000 experiences to area students in one week. This initiative brings awareness of possible career opportunities, in an exciting, accessible, interactive and relevant way, to participating students from Bellevue West, Millard North, Millard West, Duchesne, Shenandoah and Creighton Prep.
Evelyn Grixby represented the med center on the CAREEROCKIT Planning Committee.
“We worked to challenge businesses to participate in the CAREEROCKIT to engage tomorrow’s workforce, offering career experiences that will educate, excite and inspire,” Grixby said. “The goal is to bring students and businesses together to provide pathways and opportunities that propel them into further career achievement after high school or college. This was not only an opportunity for students to learn about a career in health care and technology, but was also a way for us to support our community.”
Approximately 18 different teams from across the enterprise provided six hands-on, interactive stations for the students during the April event. Experiences included a visit to the iEXCEL Visualization Hub and the operating room simulation, where students operated laparoscopic equipment and learned about working in an operating room.
There also was a trauma scenario that included caring for two mock patients in the Biocontainment Unit and a mock code, which showed students how an interprofessional team responds to a cardiac arrest code situation, providing an understanding of the types of equipment, medications and teamwork required during a medical emergency and post-resuscitation.
One teacher called the event an amazing opportunity for students, adding that it opened the eyes of many students who were unsure of medicine as a career.
Grixby called the experience “simply amazing.
“Teaming up with Nebraska Medicine to create an innovative experience for students that will educate, excite and inspire aligned with our UNMC and Nebraska Medicine values,” she said. “The whole event reflected who we are and why we are here.”