While the majority of students wait to start career training until college, 15 Parkway students received an early start when they signed up to take Parkway’s new medical class.
“These classes allow students to explore various health care and biomedical careers, while also learning fundamental knowledge and skills that will assist them as they pursue post-secondary programs in similar fields.
It is a great opportunity for students to see the application of their skills and knowledge in a real-world situation,” Ms. Jennifer Stanfill said, Parkway’s Coordinator of Career and Technical Education.
The class is taught by Ms. Cathy Smegner, a Registered Nurse hired by the Special School District of St. Louis County, who says that the class is beneficial for those who are undecided on their career plans.
“This class informs students about the education and personal qualities needed to become a successful member of the health care team and can help one make informed decisions about his or her future,” said Smegner. Her ultimate hope is for her students to “leave this class able to make well-informed decisions about what they would like to study further as they begin their post-secondary education.”
The original 15 students are compiled of 14 Parkway South students and 1 Parkway North student.
The class meets at the St. Louis Community Corporate College on McKelvey Rd. Job shadowing will take place at Barnes West County Hospital. Other educational opportunities are also available at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. Class size is limited to fifteen students per section due to restrictions on Health Sciences class / clinical group size.
The program provides a unique opportunity not offered by many others districts in the area.
“It is not often that students are able to shadow a wide variety of careers before being asked to pick an area of study in college. Students in this program are given the opportunity to see how classroom education is applied in the real world of work,” Smegner closes.
Yet, Central Students have not yet been involved in this new class of opportunity.
Sophomore Andrew Kaiser states his thought on the new classes, and his thoughts on the possible benefit.
“I would definitely be interested in taking a class that would lead me into a career with medicine. I think it would be interesting, and a possibly very rewarding and helpful class.”
Kaiser feels as though he, and many other students, missed out on the opportunity because they were unaware of the new class.
“I was disappointed that I was unaware of the classes, as they could help a lot,” Kaiser said.
The students who have been able to participate in the class have had nothing but great words to say about the experience that they’ve gained.
“This class helps prepare me for my future because I’m learning the general terms and abbreviations commonly used in the medical field and more details about the education involved. I feel this class will give the students part of it a head start when we go to college,” Jennifer Koestel, senior at Parkway South, said.
Koestel says that the format of the class has really helped prepare her for the future, including a possible trip to medical school.
“This class has had a lot of guest speakers that have gone through all the schooling most of us plan on taking, so they’re insight is a lot of help. Jennifer Wessels, MD, was someone who came to our class and told us step by step what medical school was going to be like and how much school was beyond it too. She told us things she wished someone would’ve told her, like all the standardized testing involved,” Koestel said.
Koestel has high hopes for her future, possibly a job in oncology, a field that has had a large affect on her personal life.
“Right now, which could change in a month, I plan on being an oncologist, which is a cancer specialist. Most of my family members have had cancer, and I probably will too sometime in my life. Even though oncology is a hard field with lots of sad stories, I plan on bringing the best with me when I get there,” said Koestel.
As students continue to try and get a leg up on others on their career choice and future colleges, Parkway’s new medical class lets them take their first step.