UNMC ‘Health Care Career Day’ takes place of campus tours

In early May, the UNMC recruitment and student engagement office held its first Health Care Career Day.

The event drew approximately 100 prospective UNMC students.

The office’s Health Care Career Day, which will be held twice yearly, will replace the walking tours formerly offered to high school students, said Sherman Petite of the recruitment and student engagement office.

“At this new event, the students got to see and hear about possible health care careers and learn about the new things happening on campus,” Petite said.

The event included presentations by the colleges of medicine, nursing, pharmacy and public health, as well as the School of Allied Health Professions.

“In the past, we held almost 100 tours from September to June.” Sherman Petite

The new Career Day allows faculty to be more involved with prospective students, Petite said. In the past, faculty might not be available during certain tours.

“In the past, we held almost 100 tours from September to June,” Petite said.

That many tours required faculty and staff to meet with many different students at many different times, he pointed out — times that were not always convenient for staff or conducive to informative presentations.

“Now, we’re only asking for faculty involvement twice a year,” he said. “It reduces the time commitment for faculty and staff.”

Charles Krobot, Pharm.D., associate dean for student affairs at the College of Pharmacy, felt the new approach was a success.

“(Students) can select their areas of interest and get a chance to find out more detailed information about those areas in a way that is hard to do with the campus tour,” he said.

Dr. Krobot also enjoyed interacting with the students in small groups.

“The students that attended my sessions were definitely interested, which is encouraging to me as I see them as our future practitioners.”

The next event, on Oct. 8, will be for high school seniors only. Petite hopes to make that the pattern — sophomores and juniors in the spring and seniors in the fall.

For a first event, Petite was pleased with the Health Care Career Day. Post-event surveys showed that students enjoyed themselves. Although Petite may make some changes in future career days, he called the inaugural event a success.

“It went very well and was very well attended,” he said.

Petite said that the recruitment and student engagement office is always looking for volunteers and speakers. Please contact the office if you are interested in assisting.