Internship program at Bonnyville Health Centre helps Alberta high school students explore career choices

Frida Miller, a 17-year-old student at Bonnyville Centralized High School, understands how daunting it can be to try and choose a career path.

“I think the one thing students struggle with the most, especially in the Grade 11 and 12 years, is figuring out what you want to do in the future,” says Frida.

That is why when she heard about the Careers Next Generation program through a presentation at school, Frida jumped at the opportunity to participate. The Careers Next Generation program gives secondary students a chance to experience different in-demand employment fields like forestry, energy and health through paid internships with Alberta employers.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Bonnyville Health Centre, a Covenant Health acute care facility and continuing care community, had been participating in the Careers Next Generation program for over a decade. The program was renewed at the health centre this year with internships for two Grade 11 students, including Frida. The students spent six weeks at the centre, rotating between seven different departments — diagnostic imaging, rehabilitation, long-term care, emergency, cancer care, acute care and patient food services — and getting a behind-the-scenes look at healthcare jobs in action.

Liz Moon, unit manager for the emergency department and co-ordinator of the Careers Next Generation program at the health centre, says the program aims to engage students in health care in general and with the Bonnyville Health Centre more specifically. To foster a sense of belonging, it provides opportunities for students to work with staff as “part of the family.” They assist staff in various ways, including helping with patient and resident care, cleaning and stocking, completing secretarial tasks and participating in quality initiatives.

Liz is a proud advocate of the program. In fact, she took part as a student herself and interned at the hospital.

“The program is very near and dear to my heart because it brought me into health care,” says Liz.

She is pleased with how the internships progressed this year and believes the program benefitted not only the students but also the staff and residents.

In addition, Liz feels that the students’ curiosity helped to reignite staff enthusiasm about their own roles.

“It was nice to have high school students come in, looking at these careers and asking what makes you passionate about it and what keeps you interested in it,” says Liz.

Frida spent a good amount of her internship in the rehabilitation and long-term care units, where she and the other student intern were able to give residents extra care and attention.

“We did a lot of time in long-term care, which I thought was really nice because it was a laid-back and relaxing time just to get to know the residents,” says Frida.

As the co-ordinator, Liz is optimistic about the future of the Careers Next Generation program at the health centre; she hopes to expand the program for the next iteration by including more department rotations.

“We are definitely going to do it again because the feedback we got from the students and staff was so fantastic,” says Liz.

As for Frida, she is now planning her post-secondary education based on her experiences in the Careers Next Generation program at Bonnyville Health Centre. Her “dream plan” is to be a military medical officer.

“When trying to figure out my career, I was always between two options: either physics or the medical field. I thought doing an internship at the hospital would help me see exactly what that field was like, and it really did help me out in the end.”