Local high school students examine a simulation mannequin in Durham College's Simulation lab during a visit to campus to learn more about career opportunities within the health-care industry.
Durham College's nursing lab was buzzing with excitement on Tuesday, June 5 as more than 100 high school students from 18 local high schools visited the campus to learn about the health-care industry's career opportunities.
The students, impressed by the campus' high-tech nursing facilities, whispered to one another, "I can't wait to finish high school and come here," and "It looks like a real hospital here. I can't believe the dolls actually breathe!"
The career fair was jointly hosted by Durham College, UOIT, Lakeridge Health, the Rouge Valley Health System, the Durham District School Board and the Durham Region Local Training Board. It featured four breakout sessions on topics including mental health, geriatrics, acute care and community nursing as well as a keynote presentation from Anitta Robertson, director of Special Projects for the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario.
The sessions featured simultaneous presentations of each of the four topics, with students and teachers divided into four groups that moved from presentation to presentation. Students also learned about how Durham College's leading-edge nursing programs provide the theoretical and hands-on training required to succeed in this important and challenging field.
Key players of the event included Judy Robinson, dean of the Durham College School of Health and Community Services; Dr. Carolyn Byrne, dean of the UOIT Faculty of Health Sciences; faculty members from the college and university; Randy Fallis, director of Corporate Human Resources Services at Lakeridge Health and the Rouge Valley Health System; Rose Retsinas an employability skills facilitator with the Durham District School Board; and Rick Lea, executive director of the Durham Region Local Training Board.