Undergrads get taste of health professions

Seventeen undergraduate students enrolled in either the Rural Health Opportunities Program or the Kearney Health Opportunities Program spent June 1 and 2 getting to know their future health professions professors and the UNMC campus during the annual RHOP/KHOP visit.

The RHOP and KHOP programs are designed to address the special needs of rural Nebraska by encouraging rural residents to pursue a career in a health care field. Students selected are guaranteed admission to UNMC in their selected health profession, as long as all stated requirements are met and their pre-professional studies are completed at participating institutions.

Students can apply to the RHOP or KHOP programs at the same time they apply for admission to their chosen college. Participating schools include:

  • Chadron State College;
  • Wayne State College:
  • Peru State College; and
  • the University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK).

Students attending represented Wayne State, Chadron State and UNK.

While at UNMC, the students sat in a LifeNet helicopter and learned what it is like to be a flight nurse and pilot; toured one of four SIM-NE trucks; and learned about the latest in health science technology with a visit to the iEXCEL visualization hub.

The students also had the opportunity to shadow a health professional in their chosen health career. The event was coordinated by the Area Health Education Center Program and UNMC Recruitment and Student Engagement