Take Our Children to Work Day
Students learn what a medical technologist does in a blood bank.
Take Our Children to Work Day took place at VA Western NY Healthcare System’s Buffalo site on Thursday, April 26. The goal of the event is to inspire the children of employees in grades 6-12, to open their eyes to new possibilities, and encourage future careers in health care.
“I am hoping this program will give some direction to these children in their careers and that they may choose to work at the facility,” said Sharon Shelton, Coordinator for the event.
Each year, “Take Our Children to Work Day” features a daylong itinerary of educational activities. For the first part of the day, the students participated in tours, including Sterile Processing Services, Nutrition and Food Service, Laboratory Service, Dental, the Emergency Department, Pharmacy and medical floors. A Buffalo fire truck and Metro ambulance were also on site for tours.
Students really enjoyed going on the tours and learning from professionals in careers they aspire to reach. “I really liked it and learned a lot. You could see a lot of places in the hospital, a lot of people don’t talk about,” said Julia Vicaretti, freshman at Frontier who is interested in pharmacy.
Parents had the opportunity to enjoy lunch with their children while a magician performed. The second half of the day provided a shadowing experience, a hands-on opportunity for the participants to focus on a particular career in health care.
Marianna Valdez and Julianna Roehner had the opportunity to shadow Alva Valdez, LPN in Primary Care. The girls learned how to take each others blood pressures and temperatures. Navia Wright and Julia Vicaretti had the opportunity to shadow in the Inpatient Pharmacy and help with various tasks.
A group of students who shadowed Carol Drayton, Head Nurse, had the opportunity to hear her speak about her experiences in the field and what it takes to be successful. Drayton told the students, “The more knowledge you have, the more well rounded you will be.”
