CAMC attracts nearly 1,500 students to ‘Healthcare Career Showcase’ at Charleston Coliseum
By Matthew Young, RealWV
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The Charleston Area Medical Center (CAMC), on Monday, welcomed more than 1,200 students from 30 high schools to the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center for their annual ‘Healthcare Career Showcase.’ Now in its eighth year, the showcase is designed to educate students about the numerous medical-field career opportunities available within a hospital setting.
“We’ve had an amazing turn out,” CAMC Senior Talent Acquisitions Specialist Lauren Lane told RealWV during the event. “We’re really excited. We’ve invited 30 surrounding high schools, and we expect to have around 1,500 students before we’re done today.”
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Representatives from nearly 60 different departments at CAMC – including supply chain, human resources, IT, finance, law, and others – were on-hand for the event. Students had the opportunity to visit each department’s booth, and to learn about its role within the hospital. Also in attendance were representatives from several colleges and universities throughout the state, who offer the necessary educational-programs for many of the career-fields.
CAMC’s “Student Opportunities Booth” provided information regarding the many different financial-assistance programs that are available.
“When you think of a hospital, you automatically think of nurses and doctors,” Lane said. “We’re able to showcase that there are so many more careers outside of those clinical careers.”
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“We have accounting, human resources, legal, housekeeping – and then, of course, those clinical careers here,” Lane continued. “So the students are having a lot of fun, and actually getting to see what certain segments of our workforce does.”
“The (hospital’s) departments get more and more excited every year (for the showcase),” Lane noted, adding that this year’s event featured both an escape room, and an indoor mini-carnival.
When asked which department was her favorite, Lane laughed her way through a diplomatic answer, saying, “I’m human resources, so all of them are my favorites.”
As for student reaction to the showcase, Lane described it as “excited.”
“They’re loving the giveaways,” Lane said. There’s a sno-cone machine, a coffee bar – but they’re really excited to play with the ‘tools of the trade’ as well. They’re getting to actually be hands-on with the equipment used in that field.”
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For young people wishing to learn more about the many career opportunities through CAMC, Lane says, “Reach out to the Employment Center at CAMC.”
“There’s shadowing opportunities, and there’s volunteering opportunities within the hospital,” Lane added. “Try it out and see what type of fields you may like.”
For more information about the CAMC Employment Center, visit camc.org/careers.
