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Camp Harbor View and Partners HealthCare – Leaders-In-Training program

Providing access to careers in healthcare

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Camp Harbor View and Partners HealthCare – Leaders-In-Training program
Pictured here outside the Codman Square Health Center from left to right are: Tim Galvin, Partners HealthCare; Daniel Awad, R.N. Codman Square Health Center; Avery Nicholas; Stephano Barros, Camp Harbor View Leaders-In-Training youth worker; and Maia DeBarros, Camp Harbor View Leaders-In-Training Youth Worker. (Photo: Partners HealthCare)

Two Dorchester residents have bright futures ahead of them. Both current high school seniors, Avery Nicholas and Bianca Glover aspire to someday work in the health care field and each had the opportunity to experience that work this past summer. Avery and Bianca are Leaders-In-Training at Boston’s Camp Harbor View. It is through their camp experiences that Avery and Bianca’s curiosity about health care has been further piqued.

Through a partnership between Camp Harbor View and Partners HealthCare, Avery and Bianca shared in opportunities that have helped to shape their visions of their future. Each summer, Partners hosts career fairs at the camp. Dozens of Partners HealthCare professionals travel out to the camp on Boston’s Long Island and share their expertise with the campers about their careers and their educations. The campers have the opportunity to talk with employees from across the system, do interactive health care related activities, and learn more about the many professional opportunities that exist within the health care field.

“The career fair is such a great addition to the camp’s Knowledge Is Power curriculum and the kids love it. Our partnership with Partners HealthCare and the career fair is a wonderful way to expand campers’ visions for their future,” said Cara Gould, director of Camp Harbor View.

The career fair proved to be a particularly exciting day for Avery and Bianca, as it inspired them to pursue internships developed through conversations they had during the career fair and with their camp leaders.

After the July session of camp, Avery began a two week internship at Codman Square Health Center, while Bianca spent two weeks working at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston.

Avery has been a patient at Codman since he was a baby, so the environment was familiar even as he experienced it in a new way. While working in internal medicine, Avery job-shadowed nurse Daniel Awad. Being in this professional environment greatly influenced Avery.

“It made me even more excited to pursue my goal of becoming a nurse and gave me a new understanding of what the job requires.”

Codman staff also felt lucky to have Avery. “It was a special benefit to have Avery at Codman. When there was a shortage of staff, Avery was able to step into a needed role and there was never a stop to the workday,” said Trudy Griffin, staff member at Codman Square Health Center.

Like Avery, Bianca also made a valuable contribution as an intern in the pharmacy department at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital.

“Bianca was a team player—she was willing to learn and get involved in any part of the pharmacy operations,” said Sami Kobeissi, Director of Pharmacy at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital.

Bianca loved having the opportunity to be so involved.

“I got to do everything I expected to do in pharmacy such as restocking medicines, packing and labeling medicines, and filling out charts of each medicine cycle and counting them.” The hands on experience was helpful for Bianca and reinforced her goal of pursuing health care in the future.

Partners has established its partnership with Camp Harbor View and offers the careers fairs with exactly this sentiment in mind.

“Expanding the economic and educational opportunities available to Boston’s youth is central to our mission at Partners HealthCare, as we know opportunity is critical to improving community health,” said Matt Fishman, Partners Vice President of Community Health. “We are excited about the contributions Avery and Bianca will continue to make over the course of their lives. They are both powerful examples of the impact effective programs and mentors can have on the life of a young person—everyone is looking forward to witnessing their future accomplishments!”

To read more about Avery’s story click here, and to read more about Bianca’s click here.

Bianca link

http://www.partners.org/Community/Health-Care-Workforce/Glover-Youth-Leadership-Profile.aspx

Avery link

http://www.partners.org/Community/Health-Care-Workforce/Nicholas-Youth-Leadership-Profile.aspx