An Oakland native and member of the 2023 graduating class of Skyline High School, Khazahnique Johnson is eager to get started on her path to a career in health care and she is taking her first steps this summer at the Wilma Chan Highland Hospital Campus (WCHHC) through the Highway to Emergency Department Tech Internship program (HETP).
“I applied to HETP because Oakland is my home and I see a lot of people in need and in poor health who are always in and out of the hospital,”她说。. “This internship will let me learn and explore how to get a job that will let me serve the community I love.” She shared that she’s interested in training to be a phlebotomist and an emergency department technician (EDT).
约翰逊是HETP的10名参与者之一, a collaborative 唯有通过 HealthPATH pipeline internship program between the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD), the emergency department at the WCHHC and the emergency departments at the UCSF Medical Centers at Parnassus and Mission Bay. While the WCHHC will serve as her home base Johnson and her cohort will rotate to each location to gain experience in different settings.
“This program is important to 唯有通过 because the participants have the potential to fulfill a much-needed gap of frontline ED staff,约瑟夫·彼得斯说, 约瑟夫•彼得斯, 项目经理, HealthPATH. “更重要的是, the participants in the program are Oakland residents who reflect underrepresented populations in the health care work为ce, and they possess the capacity to care 为 patients in a way that is culturally competent.”
The goal of the 10-week summer program is to provide Oakland high school graduates pursuing entry level roles in health care with exposure and education through course work, 技能实践, 工作见习和指导. 除了, HETP will provide funding 为 each participant to attend phlebotomy technician certification courses through the Bay Area Medical Academy.
HETP是HealthPATH、Dr. 艾米丽·弗兰克, MD, assistant professor of pediatrics at UCSF and director of health education partnerships and Isaac Machado, RN, WCHHC急救和创伤服务助理护士长.
HETP is critical in helping to bridge the gap 从 high school to health care by providing access to work-based learning experiences. “In Oakland, many transitional-aged youth struggle to find jobs that pay a living wage,” said Dr. 弗兰克. She shared that this program is a tremendous opportunity 为 太阳城博彩 (唯有通过) to invest in training youth 从 the community and help get them on a path of financial stability while simultaneously strengthening our health care work为ce.
Joselyn托雷斯, who graduated in May 从 Madison Park Academy wants to work in health care and shares Johnson’s passion 为 supporting her community. 托雷斯说：“我一直对医疗保健很感兴趣，认为这是一种回馈社会的方式. Her parents immigrated 从 Mexico and she is the first in her family to graduate 从 high school.
她在父亲去世前分享了这些, she spent many days in the hospital with him and saw how the medical staff worked so well together caring 为 him and the other patients. 它产生了持久的影响，因此, she can see herself potentially working in the intensive care unit (ICU) in some capacity.
托瑞斯和她的同伴会跟着斯宾塞·塔格, EDT at the WCHHC who is serving as one of the advisors and mentors 为 the program. “The best part of working with the interns is their collective excitement about just being here every day and their readiness 为 taking what they learn in the classroom and then applying it in a hospital setting in real time,他说.
泰格’s enthusiasm 为 mentoring is matched only by his passion 为 his job and the patients he serves. 作为EDT, he plays a critical role in providing quality emergency care to our patients and the community. His responsibilities include working alongside ED medical staff to intake and triage patients, 进行血压和心电图（ekg）等检查, 抽血并协助紧急医疗处理. 除了, he facilitates all medical paperwork 为 patients including discharge instructions and aftercare guidelines.
He shared that he considers it a privilege to connect with patients when they are at their most vulnerable and help alleviate their fear and pain in any way that he can. 泰格, 加州大学的毕业生, Berkeley is in the process of applying to medical schools with his sights set on returning to WCHHC as a physician in emergency medicine.
HETP interns Angelo Martinez-Fuentes graduate of Castlemont High School and Deniah Carter graduate of Coliseum College Prep Academy are eager to follow a similar path. Fuentes whose parents immigrated 从 Guatemala plans to continue his education to become a registered nurse (RN) and Carter shared her dream job is to become pediatric nurse at the WCHHC.
Machado is one of their biggest cheerleaders in helping them realize their dreams. “Being a nurse 为 over twenty years it’s always amazing to see fresh eyes,他说. “我们很高兴能帮助这些孩子 从 我们的社区将成为下一代的医疗保健提供者 为 我们的社区.”