North Shore-LIJ Careers
GREAT NECK, NY – The North Shore-LIJ Health System announced today that 31 teams of people across the health system will be informing high school students about various aspects of healthcare throughout the months of November and December.
These efforts are part of the new SPARK! Challenge program which was created by North Shore-LIJ’s workforce readiness division and involves a partnership of Nassau County, Suffolk County, Queens, Manhattan and Staten Island high schools and the health system. Starting on Nov. 3, students from different public and private high schools were matched with a facility and given the opportunity to shadow people from various fields for a day. A college representative will also participate to answer questions and gain career insight to better guide their students.
Some of the shadowing opportunities that will be taking place in November and December include:
Nearly 500 students will be taking part in these shadow days. After they have completed their visit at a North Shore-LIJ facility, they will create a video to show what they have learned with the help of a mentor from North Shore-LIJ. There will then be a video contest based on number of views and on the quality of video representing the careers they observed. A judging panel will select winners which will be announced at a Spark! Challenge celebration event on April 15, 2015.
“It is important to engage our high school students and show them what a career in healthcare might look like, ” explains Cheryl Davidson, director of North Shore-LIJ’s workforce readiness division. “There are a wide variety of opportunities in healthcare and exposure at this age will help these students make better choices for successful futures.”
The health system is a big proponent of educating local children about careers in healthcare. North Shore-LIJ is a co-steward, along with Brookhaven National Laboratory, of the Long Island STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Hub and has helped foster several healthcare career academies on Long Island and in New York City schools.
