February 23, 2007

Job Shadow Day introduces students to the MGH

As groundhogs across America scrutinized their shadows Feb. 2, a different sort of shadowing was taking place across the MGH: the 12th annual Groundhog Job Shadow Day, in which students from Boston public high schools learn about careers in health care by shadowing MGHers for part of the day. The program is part of the MGH/Boston Public Schools Partnership, coordinated by the MGH Community Benefit Program. The project allows students a first-hand look into the world of health care, providing them the opportunity to ask questions of their hosts and even assist in some daily tasks.

This year, 41 students participated, 31 of whom came from East Boston High School. The others were from Health Careers Academy — a public high school in the Fenway — and were invited through a new partnership spearheaded by the Massachusetts General Physicians Organization and MGH Patient Care Services.
The students shadowed MGHers in many different departments, including Medicine, Patient Care Services, Human Resources, Information Services, Radiology, Pharmacy, and Police and Security. The Department of Pathology had eight student shadows, which Laura Listro, associate director for Staff Development and Operations, attributed to outreach efforts made by the department. Says Listro, "As our workforce matures and we see decreased enrollment in technical college programs, it is increasingly important to expose students to a variety of technical careers in order to spark their interest. Job Shadow Day is an excellent way to do that."

For more information about the Job Shadow Day program, contact Galia K. Wise of the MGH Community Benefit Program at (617) 724-8326.