High school seniors Emily Linn, Katie Kite and Corrie Wilson watched carefully as Dr. Ty Smallwood and the Siloam Springs Veterinary Clinic began an emergency surgery on a large dog.
The girls stood near the operating table, listening intently as he discussed the types of stitches he was using and asking questions about what techniques worked best.
The three seniors are part of a new internship program at Siloam Springs High School that gives students hands-on work experience in fields such as medicine, marketing and engineering.
Currently 11 students are participating in the district's new internship program, working at the Siloam Springs Veterinary Clinic, Community Physicians Group, Brands and Blogs, Simmons Foods and two of the district's elementary school, according to Principal Jason Jones. The internship is part of the school's Career and Technical Education program, which encompasses six fields of study.
Jones said that in the past, high school seniors were able to sign out of school at noon to go work in the community. State laws now require them to have a full day of school. The internship program allows students to earn school credit and work experience at the same time, he said.
"We just had some kids that we realized we would be able to serve them better if they were out doing hands-on work," Jones said.
Students work 10 to 15 hours a week -- about two hours a day. Some hosts pay the interns while others do not, Jones said. In order to qualify for the program they have to have taken at least three credits in the CTE program, have a 2.5 grade point average and be in their senior year. They also have to fill out an application, write a justification about why they want to be involved in the program and in some cases even go through an interview process.
The students spent the first two weeks of the school year learning about soft skills and basic workplace expectations before beginning the internships, according to Ross White, director of the district's CTE program.
Linn, Kite and Wilson all plan on a career in large animal medicine. Most of their internship has been spent job shadowing, but they also get to help with tasks such as walking the dogs in the kennels, said Chris Whorton, clinic manager.
The students said they have learned something new everyday during their internship at the veterinary clinic. They talked excitedly about the surgeries they have observed -- citing examples such as a hernia repair on a horse, an eye surgery on another horse and a knee surgery on a dog.
"I compare it to Grey's Anatomy, like Dr. Yang is always rushing to a surgery," said Kite. "That's kind of how we are here. When we see something cool, we run to it."
The experience has also taught them how how the math and science they are learning in school applies to the real world, Linn said.
The internship experience is a great chance for students to see if they really want a career in veterinary medicine, Whorton said.
"By the end of this some of them may decide they don't want to be a vet, but you know it's a good time for them to figure out if this is really what they want to do or not," Whorton said.
The Siloam Springs Veterinary Clinic has a long history of supporting young people who are interest in a career in agriculture, according to Dr. Richard McCarver. The clinic supports agriculture programs in Siloam Springs schools, as well as schools in other communities in Northwest Arkansas, Oklahoma and Missouri. Each year, the clinic participates in the school's eighth grade job shadowing program, and also takes interns and job shadowers who are in college and vet school. They have even had international veterinary students from Spain, Romania and St. Kitts intern at their clinic.
"We actively try to support and promote an education in veterinary medicine," he said.
McCarver explained that the internship and job shadowing programs are a benefit to the veterinary medicine profession as a whole. He explained that the American Veterinary Association has identified a shortage of veterinarians in large animal practice, mixed animal practice and regulatory medicine -- which means working for the United States Department of Agriculture and industry.
McCarver estimated that the majority of veterinarians in Siloam Springs have either job shadowed, interned or worked at the clinic at some point. McCarver himself is a product of the clinic's commitment to encouraging young people. He started working at the clinic in tenth grade.
"Honestly, we have kids in middle school and high school come and spend a day with us and they will say 'This is interesting but this is not for me, I can't take the blood or I can't stand to see an animal suffer,' and then we have kids who have gone through and are now veterinarians," McCarver said.
CPG Internship
Hadlee Hollenback, who is planning on a career as a nurse practitioner, has been working two hours a day at the Siloam Springs Medical Center, one of the Community Physicians Group's clinics, since the beginning of September. Hollenback said most of her time has been spent job shadowing Dr. Scott Stinnett and his nurses. She also has been helping out by taking patients back to their exam rooms and taking their vital signs.
Hollenback earned her emergency medical responders license through the high school's program, which qualifies her to take patient's vital signs, she explained.
She hopes to spend time following several different doctors and working in the lab before her year-long internship is over.
Hollenback is no stranger to the medical field. Her mom is a hospital nurse and she spent the summer at a MASH (Medical Applications of Science for Health) camp, where she did some job shadowing. However, this is her first time working in the family practice environment. She likes getting to know regular patients and talking to the people who come in.
"This has really helped me solidify what I want to do because you know a lot of people say they want to do something when they graduate high school and then it's completely different when they get to college," Hollenback said. "I think this has really helped me see what (working in family practice is) really like."
Hollenback is the first year-long intern CPG has had in their clinic, according to Donna Reese, clinic manager.
"Hadlee has been a dream, she is great," Reese said. "She has always got a smile on her face and is eager to learn. We have just enjoyed having her here and I honestly look forward to being able to continue working with the school and the program, and like I said, investing in the future of our kids."
The doctors love the fact the school system sees a need for this type of program and are willing to invest in the students, she said. Getting real world work experience will also be a great advantage for students when they start looking for a job, Reese said.
"I hear people say all the time 'It's hard to get a job without experience and it's hard to get experience without a job'" Reese said.
General News on 10/11/2017