Inspiring adolescents toward careers in health professions- a community & university intervention

An innovative summer camp, sHaPe – Summer Health Activities and Professions Exploration, provides Grand Rapids Public School students with the opportunity to explore careers in the health sciences, participate in hands-on activities that include laboratories and simulations, learn about personal health and fitness, and have a positive exposure to a college experience in a safe setting. The primary goals of camp include: educating under-represented populations about health and to encourage them to pursue careers in the health sciences within our local community.

The camp was designed as a community partnership for local 8th or 9th graders and Grand Valley State University. Since this is a key time when students are considering careers and preparing themselves academically for college, we recognized the lack of minorities represented in our health professions in West Michigan, also aligning with Healthy People 2020. Therefore this partnership is making a direct impact.

Both short-term and longitudinal evaluation measures have been implemented. Short-term include student and parent surveys, content pre/post-tests, and attitudinal evaluations. All have demonstrated significant changes in the students' outlook on considering health professions and attending college. In addition, reported longitudinal data will identify the camp's impact on students' future career choices through high school graduation. Four years of data will be reported to: 1. Describe sHaPe summer camp's partnership between Grand Valley State University and Grand Rapids Public Schools. 2. Explain experiences that students have while attending this hands-on, interactive camp approach to exploring the health professions. 3. Compare and contrast pre/post data from four years of camp outcomes.