REACH Career Chats
GSAHEC’s Career Chats are designed to provide middle and high school students with an exciting opportunity to learn more about a variety of healthcare occupations.
REACH Health Careers Camps
GSAHEC coordinates Health Careers Camps in partnership with local healthcare systems. Camps provide high school students interested in health careers a rare and unique opportunity to explore a variety of health occupations through visits with healthcare professionals, hands-on activities, and tours of healthcare facilities. These experiences help students learn from health professionals, increases their knowledge about healthcare, and motivates the students to develop effective short and long term educational and career plans.
“This [health careers camp] was really helpful and I really do advise all people who are interested in health fields to be apart [of this camp] because GSAHEC has people to come and talk about their careers and how they got to where they are now and it’s really fun and enjoyable.”
“I thought I knew where I wanted to take my future…but after this camp I feel like so many other doors have been opened. I am now more excited than ever to explore these opportunities.”
“The GSAHEC course I took with Mrs. Dixon greatly helped me with learning about my medical ambitions. I got to hear from many doctors and nurses, from the trauma center to even air medics. I enjoyed my time in the course, and recommend that any High Schoolers considering a career in medicine to take the course.”
“The Health Profession camp provided by GSAHEC was truly an experience. You get to meet with many different health professions and the path it takes to get there. I would recommend this camp to anybody interested in a health profession!“
“GSAHEC provided a very educational, professional, fun, and useful experience. I attended a Healthcare Career Camp and there were wonderful learning materials provided. Joan and Cindy are amazing. They have awesome partners. The event was very well organized. I learned from different healthcare professionals at Blake Medical, it was fascinating, and I now have more insight, knowledge, and inspiration to go into the medical field.”
“The summer camp this year was absolutely amazing given the circumstances. They did a wonderful job. I started this summer knowing nothing about where to start and what to do to get to my goal of being a professional in the medical field. Thanks so much!”
“I really enjoyed the Health Careers Camp! I appreciate the valuable information provided by all the guest speakers and coordinators. I would recommend this camp to anyone interested in pursuing a career in the medical field.”
“This program was really helpful and I would refer someone to apply. I am so happy I applied to GSAHEC Health Careers Camp; I learned things that I never would’ve known with the help and guidance of our guest speakers.”
“I really enjoyed doing this virtual career camp. It was very well put together and organized. It also really helped me to plan out my future for educational requirements to be a psychiatrist.”
REACH/HOSA Future Health Professionals Partnerships
GSAHEC partners with area high schools, assisting the HOSA Future Health Professionals chapters as technical advisors. Students benefit from GSAHEC’s monthly visits introducing the possibilities available in the healthcare professions, providing information on college admissions and financial aid requirements, and sharing information and resources needed to pursue a career in health.
For more information on Florida HOSA visit http://www.flhosa.org
GSAHEC available to provide technical and advisory services to HOSA Advisors in Charlotte, DeSoto, Manatee and Sarasota Counties.
REACH Intern Program
GSAHEC partners with academic institutions, offering a Public Health Internship which provides health professions students interested in working with rural and medically underserved populations a chance to use their public health knowledge, contribute their ideas and skills, and observe and assist with GSAHEC programming. The public health intern works with health professionals, students, and community and academic partners to ensure successful program experiences.
“I would definitely recommend [this internship to others]. As a high school student, I was exposed to a lot of conversations that I’ve never had before and it’s going to allow me to act more consciously of the world around me. Not everyone is privileged to have the resources to access proper healthcare and take preventative measures to protect their health and it’s important to recognize that. I’ve learned that I am passionate about helping those in disadvantaged areas and want to have a career that focuses in those areas.”
“As a REACH intern at GSAHEC, I learned so much about public health programming, health disparities, and tobacco cessation strategies. My work involved hands-on experience with programming, observing staff performing crucial health interventions, and networking with fellow public health students and professionals. This was all done with immense support from the GSAHEC staff. I am so grateful for the experiences to which I was given access as a REACH intern and truly believe it has made me a better student and future public health professional.”
“I am so thankful for the opportunity to serve as a Public Health Education Intern with GSAHEC this summer. This internship helped me
strengthen my organizational, critical thinking, and problem solving skills through the optional modules, meetings, and conference
sessions I had the privilege of attending. I was even able to add occupational Spanish to my career toolkit and I am confident this will
be of use in the near future. This internship also allowed me to expand my pre-professional network and support system to include
professionals from a variety of healthcare fields across the country. Through the vast amount of knowledge, community engagement,
and health professional skills gained, this internship has adequately prepared me for a future in public health education. I would
recommend this internship to all students, especially those seeking the tools, knowledge, and skills necessary to bridge the gap
between healthcare providers, patients, and our complex healthcare system.”
Florida AHEC Scholars Program
The Florida AHEC Scholars program is a free and unique interdisciplinary program that is part of a national initiative preparing students to become leaders in primary care and beyond. The Scholars Program provides students with inter-professional learning opportunities focused on building skills and competencies needed to transform patient care. It consists of 80 hours of experiential learning assignments and 80 hours of online modules over the course of two years.
For more information on Florida AHEC Scholars, or to apply for the program, visit https://www.flahecnetwork.org/ahec-scholars.
“The AHEC Scholars Program is an amazing program that…allowed me to participate in a lot of interprofessional opportunities that I would not have had the option to participate in otherwise. This program has also helped me with professional networking. Thank you so much!”
“The AHEC Scholars program helped strengthen my public health education. All the competencies covered tied in well with my MPH curriculum. This addition information helped me separate myself from the pack. I maintained a stellar GPA every semester. I am proud to have been selected for this opportunity!”
