Abstract
Rural health systems and hospitals are foundational to the health and economy of rural communities. Although rural healthcare organizations face multiple challenges, one of the most significant is recruitment and retention of the workforce. According to the American Hospital Association (2022), rural areas account for nearly 70% of Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs). In addition, recruitment to a rural community can be difficult and retainment is even more challenging (Cosgrave et al., 2019). With these challenges in mind, an interdisciplinary and multi-institutional team collaborated to initiate a rural healthcare summer camp for rural high school students from the region at Sul Ross State University in rural West Texas, a frontier HPSA. The team established a free, multidisciplinary three-day camp to highlight the wide range of healthcare careers for 19 rural high school students. These students were selected because students from rural communities are 2.4 times more likely to practice in rural areas upon completion of healthcare training programs (Barreto et al., 2020). Students were housed on campus and given ample opportunities to learn about the diverse career opportunities in healthcare ranging from associate to terminal degrees. Camp counselors representing diverse professions were also incorporated. Presentations from multiple disciplines offered hands-on activities for students. This was essential as many rural students have not been exposed to the different healthcare disciplines as well as the latest healthcare technologies and equipment (Bodell et al., 2023). Moreover, active learning keeps students engaged (Coffman et al., 2023). The response from camp goers was overwhelmingly positive. While each discipline had an opportunity to highlight their profession, students were able to see the collaboration that must exist among various disciplines to provide high quality care all while gaining interest in healthcare careers.
Notes
American Hospital Association. (2022, September 1). Rural hospital closures threaten access: Solutions to preserve care in local communities. https://www.aha.org/system/files/media/file/2022/09/ rural-hospital-closures-threaten-access-report.pdf
Berreto, T.W., Estacio, A., & Winkler, P. (2020). The overlap between rural hospital needs and medical student goal in Texas. Peer-Reviewed Reports in Medical Education Research, 4, 18. doi:10.22454/PRiMER.2020.808983
Bodell, K., Fyfe, T.M., & Maurice, S.B. (2023). Recruiting rural youth to healthcare careers: A scoping review protocol. Canadian Medical Education Journal, 14(4), 153-156. doi: 10.36834/cmej.76269
Coffman, S., Iommi, M., & Morrow, K. (2023). Scaffolding as active learning in nursing education.Teaching and Learning in Nursing, 18(1), 232-237. doi: 10.1016/j.teln.2022.09.012
Cosgrave, C., Malatzky, C. & Gillespie, J. (2019). Social determinants of rural health workforce retention: A scoping review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(3), 314. doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16030314
Sigma Membership
Iota Mu
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
N/A
Research Approach
N/A
Keywords:
Workforce, Interprofessional, Interdisciplinary, Interprofessional Initiatives
Recommended Citation
Gonzales, Minerva; Billings, Adrian; Dijo, John; and Miller, Katie, "Growing Dreams: Enabling Rural High School Students' Healthcare Career Futures via a Summer Camp" (2025). Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE). 25.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/chwe/2025/presentations_2025/25
Conference Name
Creating Healthy Work Environments
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Conference Year
2025
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Growing Dreams: Enabling Rural High School Students' Healthcare Career Futures via a Summer Camp
Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Rural health systems and hospitals are foundational to the health and economy of rural communities. Although rural healthcare organizations face multiple challenges, one of the most significant is recruitment and retention of the workforce. According to the American Hospital Association (2022), rural areas account for nearly 70% of Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs). In addition, recruitment to a rural community can be difficult and retainment is even more challenging (Cosgrave et al., 2019). With these challenges in mind, an interdisciplinary and multi-institutional team collaborated to initiate a rural healthcare summer camp for rural high school students from the region at Sul Ross State University in rural West Texas, a frontier HPSA. The team established a free, multidisciplinary three-day camp to highlight the wide range of healthcare careers for 19 rural high school students. These students were selected because students from rural communities are 2.4 times more likely to practice in rural areas upon completion of healthcare training programs (Barreto et al., 2020). Students were housed on campus and given ample opportunities to learn about the diverse career opportunities in healthcare ranging from associate to terminal degrees. Camp counselors representing diverse professions were also incorporated. Presentations from multiple disciplines offered hands-on activities for students. This was essential as many rural students have not been exposed to the different healthcare disciplines as well as the latest healthcare technologies and equipment (Bodell et al., 2023). Moreover, active learning keeps students engaged (Coffman et al., 2023). The response from camp goers was overwhelmingly positive. While each discipline had an opportunity to highlight their profession, students were able to see the collaboration that must exist among various disciplines to provide high quality care all while gaining interest in healthcare careers.
Description
Rural health systems and hospitals are foundational to the health and economy of rural communities. Although rural healthcare organizations face multiple challenges, one of the most significant is recruitment and retention of the workforce. In an effort to combat a shortage of healthcare workers in rural west Texas, an interdisciplinary and multi-institutional team collaborated to initiate a rural healthcare summer camp.