Photo Credit: Kyle Bradshaw | Baxter Health
(Photo) The MHHS Senior Medical Interns receive their white coats from Baxter Health staff during the high school’s White Coat Ceremony in Dunbar Auditorium on August 28. Pictured: Staff Baxter Health as well as the 30 students who received their white coats.
On Monday, Mountain Home High School partnered with Baxter Health to host a white coat ceremony for high school senior interns in the high school’s at Dunbar Auditorium where 30 student interns received a white coat and stethoscope.
Through the Introduction to Healthcare Careers program at Baxter Health, student interns will receive a CPR certification and learn about radiology and x-ray technology by x-raying chickens from the butcher. In the simulation center, students will learn patient care through the use of a full-body robotic simulator, called a manikin. The manikins can simulate a patient aged from young adult to geriatric. Students will explore various patient settings with the manikins including critical care, surgery, labor and delivery, and medical surgical. Student interns will also use the skills they learn throughout the semester to take part in trauma drills. According to Baxter Health’s Director of Education, Sarah Brozynski, this year they will also incorporate smells – sprays created to simulate real scents encountered during patient treatment – to make the experiences even more real for the students.
Tenille Rauls, high school medical professions instructor and board-certified APRN, states by partnering with Baxter Health and Harvard Medical School, students at MHHS are recieveing an opportunity no other school in the nation is offering. Rauls says, “We are starting our second year of partnering with them to provide a rigorous curriculum via Zoom. It includes a simulated experience of taking care of a patient from the moment they enter the doors: taking a history, performing the physical exam, ordering and interpreting diagnostic tests, ruling the correct diagnosis, as well as coming up with a treatment plan.”
Baxter Health’s Vice President of Marketing & Communications Tobias Pugsley addressed the students directly about the need for healthcare professionals in our area. Pugsley states, “Did you know that according to The New York Times, one in four jobs in Baxter county is in healthcare? And today we get to honor you: our future healthcare workforce.”
Rachel Gilbert, Baxter Health’s Chief Nursing Officer said the students’ white coats symbolize a servant’s heart and serve as a reminder of the healthcare professional’s dedication to helping others. Gilber states, “Emotional intelligence is crucial when wearing the white coat. It means being aware of the impact your words and actions can have on others. It’s about connecting with patients on a deeper level, understanding their needs and providing the best care possible.”
Sarah Edwards, Executive Director of the Baxter Health Foundation, closed the event with some encouragement about the ways the community will support students entering the healthcare field through scholarships and healthcare training opportunities. Gilbert stated, “We hope to see you joining our Baxter Health family one day. When the day comes for you to embark on your career, know that we are ready for you – ready to invest in you.”
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