SAULT STE. MARIE — Several schools in the Eastern Upper Peninsula are teaming up with MyMichigan Medical Center Sault to help create a clear pathway for students to enter the medical field.
Last week, the hospital announced a new partnership with Sault Area High School, Bay Mills Community College and Lake Superior State University to help students achieve their dreams of becoming doctors or other medical professionals.
Through this partnership, the schools hope to bridge the gaps between education and employment.
The ultimate goal is to build a program where students of any experience level at any age will have the opportunities to begin their health care education and get real experience from a hospital program. Officials said this initiative will also help develop medical experts who live locally who can help alleviate staffing issues.
“The idea is that we are making a visible pathway for people to kind of jump in and jump out of medical education, and that we are not losing anybody in the cracks,” said Kathleen Moore, health sciences instructor at Sault Area High School. “The students know there’s so many ways they can go, so we are making communication clear so they know they always have a path. We’re asking ourselves how can we best support them to make them successful.”
Subscribe:Get unlimited access to our content
Students in high school can take courses to give them more experience in medical programs and follow the pathway after they graduate by transferring credits to LSSU or BMCC. This way, students will have an understanding of exactly which courses they can take at which schools to continue their education and be able to transfer accordingly.
The partnership with MyMichigan also means that students will have easier access to real world experience programs.
This pathway program has been in development for years, but this agreement formalizes existing educational programs and partnerships.
“Without having something like this in place, I think a lot of people kind of get overwhelmed or get lost, and this helps build some support for them,” said Moore.
— Contact Brendan Wiesner: BWiesner@Sooeveningnews.com