Moraine Park hosts “All in One Shot” event
Moraine Park Technical College hosted an “All in One Shot” Career Fair on Friday, giving roughly 120 high school students from West Bend, Kewaskum and Hartford an up-close look at potential career opportunities in health care. (To view photos from the event, click here)
According to Kristen Finnel, dean of Health and Human Services, those opportunities are vast and growing constantly.
“Due to an aging population, we will see an increase in the demand for health care professionals,” she said. “For these professionals, the rewards of a health care career go beyond helping people but also allow for a lucrative career. In addition, many of our graduates are able to start their careers without a student loan debt.”
“All in One Shot” was held at the College’s West Bend campus and featured hands-on group activities in patient simulation labs. Nursing, surgical technology, health/wellness, medical assisting, EMT/paramedic, health information technology and more were highlighted throughout the day.
Kenneth Ludlow and Laura Jazwiecki from Froedtert Health were keynote speakers, as was Douglas Bystrek of Aurora. Both groups touched on the growing need to fill jobs and were cosponsors of the event.
Former Moraine Park graduates Ellie Mercado (Nursing) and Chad Braatz (Surgical Technology) also spoke to students and shared their experiences working in the health care field.
Alexis Reese, a senior at West Bend East graduating in January, found the opportunity to see health careers up-close beneficial.
“I like to touch things and do things hands-on, and figure out what it’s actually like, so this was helpful. I really liked it,” Reese said.
Reese is currently planning on going into the nursing field and is considering attending Moraine Park after graduation.
Skylar Donath, a junior at Kewaskum High School, is also contemplating a career in the medical field, and Moraine Park’s event on Friday helped bring those plans into clearer focus, she said.
“Seeing the nursing lab was cool. And doing the hands-on stuff, doing the IV, and listening to someone cough – before today I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do, but doing the lab stuff, it kind of secured me on what I want to do,” Donath said.
For those interested in pursuing health care career options, Moraine Park’s Career Pathways options serve as a great entry point, Finnel said.
“Many of the job openings will not require a four-year degree but can be obtained with a two-year degree or less,” Finnel said. “Our career pathway opportunities allow students to begin a health career at Moraine Park and then transfer on to a higher degree if desired.”
Beyond just nursing, health care is rapidly becoming one of the fastest growing sectors at the state and national levels. Wisconsin is forecasting an increase of almost 24,000 jobs within the sector between 2012 and 2022.
To learn more about Moraine Park’s health care career options, visit morainepark.edu/programs.
