OSU-CHS partners with TU’s STRETCHED Program for area high school students
Friday, April 19, 2024
Media Contact: Sara Plummer | Communications Coordinator | 918-561-1282 | sara.plummer@okstate.edu
More than 70 sophomores from Tulsa-area high schools recently got to spend the day on the Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences campus learning how to take a patient’s vitals, doing chest compressions, listening for heart sounds, touring the inside of an ambulance, and learning about osteopathic manipulative medicine.
The event was part of the University of Tulsa’s STRETCHED Program — Students Reaching Excellence Through Collaboration with Higher Education — which aims to increase the number of health care professionals from underrepresented groups by introducing high school students to careers in medicine and health care.
This is the first year OSU-CHS has partnered with TU on the program and hosted the spring 10th grade College Excursion on April 18 with students from Booker T. Washington, Broken Arrow, Nathan Hale, Will Rogers and Edison Preparatory high schools.
OSU College of Osteopathic Medicine students and emergency medical technician students from Tulsa Tech lead the six stations that high school sophomores rotated through during the event.
"There’s so many health care fields and things you can do in health care. The sooner
you know what’s out there, the better.”
“This is an incredible opportunity to collaborate with TU and inspire high school students who are interested in pursuing a career in health care,” said JuLee Wells, director of recruitment for OSU-COM. “By introducing them to different programs, we can empower them to make a positive impact on Oklahoma communities in the future.”
The high school students not only took part in some hands-on activities, but also had the opportunity to speak with medical and EMT students about their experiences in school and pursuing a career in health care.
Victoria McCalister-Jones, a first-year OSU-COM student, was one of the leaders of the heart sounds station and said it would have been great to have something like the STRETCHED Program when she was in high school.
“Finding out earlier what you do and don’t like is good. There’s so many health care fields and things you can do in health care. The sooner you know what’s out there, the better,” McCalister-Jones said. “We do have a health care worker shortage in Oklahoma. If we can find people who are passionate about it when they’re young, it puts us on a path to reduce that shortage.”
