SUNDERLAND pupils will be able to find out if a career in the health sector sets their hearts racing at a special event this month.
On Friday 17 March, Work Discovery Sunderland is giving year 8, 9 and 10 students the chance to find out more about career options in health and care with a day of sessions and workshops.
For the first time the Health and Care Sector Day will be held at the University of Sunderland’s Living Lab – a new and creative learning space for undergraduates studying to work in the fields of nursing, pharmacy, paramedic science and health sciences.
The Living Lab, which is part of the university’s £5.5m Sciences Complex redevelopment, is the perfect setting for the day, which will see young people meeting a range of practitioners from health and care agencies currently providing services to the city’s residents.
This will include representatives from a wide range of organisations including medical staff, pharmacy, occupational therapy, paramedics and all the support services.
They will also follow the interactive journeys of two ‘patients’; Edith,’ an 85-year-old with a series of health issues including diabetes and respiratory problems and ‘Danny,’16, who injures his ankle while playing football and is taken to hospital by ambulance.
The facilities at the Living Lab include a mock hospital ward and a pharmacy, giving the young people taking part the opportunity to experience working in realistic settings.
City Hospitals Sunderland is leading the event in conjunction with North East Ambulance Service, The Clinical Commissioning Group, Health Education North East, Sunderland City Council, Gateshead Health Foundation Trust and Church View Medical Centre.
The Health and Care Sector Day is one of a number of events taking place as part of the Work Discovery Sunderland programme, which includes guest speaker days and the annual Work Discovery Week event which this year will run from 26 – 30 June.
Paul McEldon, co-chair of Work Discovery Sunderland – now in its fifth year – said sector days such as this can play a vital part in shaping pupils’ career plans.
“They give young people the chance to find out about the wide variety of roles and occupational areas that exist within sectors such as health and care and really open their eyes to the options available to them,” he said.
“The Health and Care Sector Day will also bring them face to face with people who are actually doing many of these jobs, so they can find out at first hand what’s involved and how they can take those routes, should they wish.”
