At an end-of-year celebration held Thursday afternoon, Reading Hospital recognized six local seniors from Reading and Wilson High Schools who have completed the Reading Hospital High School Internship Program.
This year the interns, three from Reading High School and three from Wilson High School, worked in several departments including Children’s Health Center, Sleep Center, SICU, Central Monitoring/Virtual Patient Observation, R4E (Medical) unit, and T4 (Critical Care) unit.
The program typically runs the length of the academic school year but began in January this year. Students were assigned to their department Monday through Friday from 1 to 3 p.m. To be considered for the internship the student must be an incoming senior, have a GPA of 3.0 or higher, and have a good attendance and behavior record.
“From day one I started soaking in all the inside info I could get from the nursing world. I started to get more comfortable with the nurses and PCA’s. In the afternoon’s the nurses and social workers would gather in the conference room and speak about the evolution of each patient. I enjoyed this part because I learned about the various procedures to care for each patient” said Reading High School student Brittney Reyes-Avila. “I enjoyed my time in R3 East, and special thank you to my supervisor Emma Harris, the PCA’s and nurses for all of there kind words and support.”
The goal of the program is to expose students to the wide variety of careers in healthcare, both clinical and non-clinical, and provide them with hands-on opportunities to learn. The internship also teaches them skills such as financial literacy, resume writing, and interviewing techniques.
“I interned in the surgical intensive care unit. Throughout the past few months I have been shadowing both receptionist, completing day to day tasks like answering phones calls, preparing patient charts, restocking carts, cleaning rooms and more. During this semester I learned a lot about healthcare, and patient family care. I can honestly say that this experience has solidified my decision to enter the medical field in the near and far future” said Wilson High School student Melany Agosto.
“Through the past few months I have learned to carry myself with confidence and to never be afraid to ask questions. No one had expectations to high that were impossible to meet, it was just about putting in the work and effort to meet them.”
This year’s graduates include: Melany Agosto from Wilson High School will attend Alvernia University to study Nursing, Brittney Reyes-Avila from Reading High School will attend Alvernia University to study Nursing, Emily Imhoff from Wilson High School will attend Hofstra University to study Neuroscience, Breandha Saint-Louise from Reading High School will attend Alvernia University to study Biology, Victoria Pluviose from Wilson High School will attend Temple University to study Biomedical Science, and Jaylyn Talbot from Reading High School will attend Bloomsburg University to study Nursing.
“Reading Hospital is committed to educating future healthcare providers,” said Desha Dickson, Associate Vice President, Community Wellness at Reading Hospital.
“To date, 44 students have completed the internship program and 36 have gone on to college or higher education. Of those 36 students, 34 went on to pursue healthcare related careers. They are true members of the Reading Hospital team who provided support to their colleagues, patients, and the community and I look forward to seeing the impact in the health of the communities they serve.”
The Community Wellness Department coordinates additional student engagement opportunities, known as Pathways Programs, for high school and college students. Pathways Programs include Job Shadowing and the Community Connection Program Internship.
