On February 2 and 3 nearly 70 high school students from Alcovy, Eastside and Newton high schools participated in the second annual Healthcare Science Careers Job Shadow Day.  

Local health and medical professionals and practitioners opened their doors and invited students to ‘get acquainted’ with various careers within the health and medical professions by shadowing individuals as they went about a normal day on the job. 

Healthcare Science Job Shadow 2010 is part of an effort to enrich the lives of students byacquainting them with the world of work through on-the-job experiences while underscoring school curriculum that ties academics to the workplace. Through job shadowing, -students are given the opportunity to go into places of work and shadow “career mentors,” volunteers whodemonstrate and discuss their careers and the education and skills necessary to do them. Theeffort helps young people understand how what they learn in the classroom leads to success in the workplace.  

“We are pleased to be able to provide job shadow opportunities to students who are wanting to explore career options and to make the connection of how success in the classroom relates to future success in the workplace,” said Greg Richardson, Human Resource Director for Newton Medical Center and Chair of the Healthcare Science Business Engagement Committee who is the sponsor of the annual event. 

“Several of our students participated in the event last year and could not wait to explore yet another area of healthcare this year,” said Joyce Dieringer, Alcovy High School Healthcare Science teacher and member of the Business Engagement Committee. Joyce further added, “My classroom activities are expanded to include real life experiences in medical and dental offices, labs, assisted living facilities and our local hospital. We truly appreciate the involvementand generosity of our community professionals.” 

Job Shadowing encourages young people across our system to explore their futures through career awareness and mentoring provided by trained professionals who serve as mentors and provide insight into the specifics of various occupations and careers. Job Shadow is anacademically motivating activity designed to give students the unique opportunity of an up-close look at the world of work and provide the answer to the commonly askedquestion, “Why do I have to learn this?” 

Healthcare Science Job Shadow Day is sponsored by the Healthcare Science Business Engagement Committee in collaboration with Covington area healthcare professionals and Newton County Schools’ Career, Technical and Agriculture Education, Work-based Learning and Youth Apprenticeship programs