Nearly 280 high school students practiced hands-on skills used by health care professionals at the Singing River Healthcare Academy. The event featured nine stations covering phlebotomy, pharmacy, CPR and surgery skills.

Students participated in relay drills to put on protective gear and earned clinical hours toward Allied Health program requirements. The academy, which is hosting its third year of the showcase, now offers approximately 75 apprenticeships across six programs.

Workforce Development Manager Gayle Brown said the event shows students what a health care career looks like before they enter the workforce. Brown noted that the academy holds the event twice a year to give students a look at a pathway into the industry.

“We can’t get enough students from the health care... from the college systems. And so, they want to replicate it across the state, but we feel it’s a blessing and a privilege to have the academy,” Brown said.

Senior Sasha Mosley said the experience helped solidify her interest in labor and delivery.

“For me not being sure what I want to go into, I’m very sure what I’ll go into now. And it’s like, it’s going to be more of an open wide opportunity to, you know, kind of visualize what the field would be like,” Mosley said.

Senior Alexandra Illing said her favourite part was trying the skills herself, including using a vein finder.