Tomorrow's Health Professionals points students in the right career direction
By Whitney Welch, coordinator of public information

Are you a student who wants to enter a medical-related field, but aren't sure what you want to do? Do you want to work with patients in a medical environment, but think nursing is your only option? Then the Tomorrow's Health Professionals (THP) program can help.

Tomorrow's Health Professionals began in the fall of 2005 and targets students interested in pursuing health-related careers. According to Jennifer Siemantel, biology instructor and THP coordinator, THP is modeled after CVC's Tomorrow's Teachers program.

Tomorrow's Health Professionals provides its members with resources to help them on the path to careers in nursing, pre-medicine, pre-dental, pre-pharmacy, physician's assisting, physical therapy, occupational therapy, patient care and certified nursing.

Because the program is still new, Siemantel and founding members are working hard to recruit students. The group has hosted a number of recruiting events including an information booth the first week of school.

"We handed out flyers and water bottles with our information on them," says Siemantel. "We were trying to get the information out there."

The benefits of joining THP are numerous. Members have special advisors to help in degree planning, as well as access to science faculty for coursework assistance. THP's site on eCampus includes a synopsis of health-related careers, links to various professional schools and tests that students can expect to encounter on their way to a degree. In addition, THP members are among a group of peers who are working on a similar degree and who share similar goals.

"I planned a class this semester with two other members and it has turned out to be very helpful," says Chad Tucker, vice president of THP.

The program also sponsors health-related speakers once a month. This year, THP has welcomed speakers in the fields of nursing, pharmacy, patient care, physical medicine and orthodontia.

"All of these speakers provided many great details of what is required to get where they are and some insight into what the jobs will be like," notes Tucker.

Although the primary focus of THP is to connect students with health-related career information, the group also participates in other activities. This year, members volunteered at the Lancaster Outreach Center and Granny's Attic, as well as sponsored a Thanksgiving turkey dinner raffle, Valentine's Day carnation sale and snack sale in March.

"The money THP raises in fund-raisers most commonly gets used to buy food for the meetings to entice people to come hear the speakers," notes Siemantel.

While the THP program is geared towards helping current CVC students attain their career goals, the program also plans to monitor the success of its members after they graduate.

"A database has been set up, so that once members leave Cedar Valley, we can keep track of students and see what their success rate is," says Siemantel.

For more information on THP, please contact Jennifer Siemantel at 972-860-8024.