(engaging music)
- There wasn't a sense of connection between the community
and the hospital's workforce.
Ultimately, it would be important for the workforce
to be more reflective of the population.
And, for people in the population to see more
of themselves when they went to an appointment.
- They attend schools that, perhaps, are less resourced.
They live in communities that, perhaps, are less resourced.
And, many of them are future first-generation
college students so I think navigating
the education space and navigating
experiential learning opportunities is a tricky process.
- [Kate] The hospital had a need for more diversity
and students had a need for more access
to get into these careers.
When you have a need and a need, you put 'em together.
(engaging music)
MC Squared stands for the Medical Career Collaborative
and it is a health careers pipeline program
for students from underrepresented groups.
So our goal is to work with high school students
at the junior and senior level,
to engage them in hands-on experiences
in healthcare and ultimately propel them
into meaningful careers in this industry.
It's really fascinating to watch the growth,
the trajectory of our students.
They think there's like two routes in healthcare.
It's either become a nurse or become a doctor.
It's fun to educate them about all the breadth
of opportunities there are.
Regardless of what department
they're gonna be working in throughout
their MC Squared internship,
they're gonna be exposed to a variety
of career paths and sectors within healthcare
and hopefully open their mind
to what those opportunities could look like.
- (Jon) By the time they graduate, they have this sense
of confidence and comradery with my team.
When they leave, it's almost bittersweet.
- [Haley] We don't just send them out
into the real world and hope for the best.
We are truly trying to provide really efficient
and meaningful opportunities
for them to pipeline back into our workforce.
There is a fear they won't return.
You kind of cross your fingers and hope.
(gentle music)
When an alumni returns
it's the ultimate full-circle experience moment.
It truly feels like everything we set out to do,
we've done, and we've realized
the full mission of this program.
Been at this work for 20 years.
We're really at the cusp now of being able
to hit a tipping point so that we're making
a way bigger splash on our workforce.
- (Jon) We actually have a student radiology technologist
who went through the MC squared program
is now going through X-ray school
and I'm probably gonna hire him once he graduates.
And, the fact that what we showed them
motivated them to become one of us,
that's a good indicator that I'm gonna have someone
who's gonna be a great fit.
That's someone I want on my team.
- The program has actually emerged
within Children's as part
of a much larger educational outreach.
To be more inclusive and culturally responsive,
all of that, to me, is amazing
and really the highest hope
that I would've had for the project.