Afton Student Explores Medical Laboratory at Tri-Town

Have you ever wondered what happens after you have a blood test or biopsy? One Afton student had the chance to find out by participating in a medical laboratory science job shadowing program offered through Bassett Healthcare Network and CNYAHEC. Amber Sypniefski, a sophomore, had the unique opportunity to spend fifteen hours at Tri-Town Regional Hospital, where she explored how the role of the laboratory impacts the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease.
“My favorite part of the experience was being able to see the difference between if a person has cancer and if they are healthy,” said Amber about her time at Tri-Town Regional Hospital. “I recommend the job shadowing program to others. It’s a great way to learn different things that most people may not know about in the laboratory. I enjoyed it all!”
 The medical laboratory science job shadowing program is an excellent way for students to learn about the exciting opportunities in this high-demand career,” said Rebecca Brooks-White, Laboratory Manager at Tri-Town Regional Hospital. “We encourage students who are interested in science, and love doing hands-on laboratory work, to apply for the program. Amber took advantage of the opportunity and was able to get an in-depth look at the blood collection process, how blood specimens are processed, and the microscope identification involved in certain types of medical tests.”
 In addition to gaining ‘real-life’ work experience in a local hospital, students also benefit from career counseling and guidance services that the program provides to those interested in pursuing medical laboratory science in college. The job outlook for careers in the medical laboratory is bright. According to the United States Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, the medical laboratory scientist job outlook is expected to grow 16 percent from 2014 to 2024, which is much faster than the average for all occupations.
 The program accepts applications from high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors. If you, or your student, is interested in learning more about the program, please contact Laura Cichostepski, CNYAHEC’s Program Manager at (607) 756-1090 or info@cnyhec.org. Interested students may download an application by visiting CNYAHEC’s website.

CNYAHEC and NAHEC’s HealthQuest Summer Camp: Where Are They Now?

HWapps offers various opportunities for students to shadow professionals and learn about health careers through our platform. Many students have participated, which in turn has expanded their knowledge and prepared them for future endeavors. One student in particular is Sarah Nelson. Nelson, now a second year graduate student working towards her Doctorate of Physical Therapy at Ithaca College, participated in CNYAHEC and NAHEC’s summer camp, HealthQuest, back in 2009. We were able to speak with Nelson about her own personal experience with HealthQuest and how this program helped contribute to her success leading up to today.

Sarah Nelson attended HealthQuest during her summer break while attending G. Ray Bodley High School in Fulton, NY. As an upcoming junior, she began to ponder what type of career she wanted to pursue post high school. For Nelson, this was an easy choice, as her family is heavily involved in the health field, both in nursing and pharmacy. However, narrowing down what exactly she wanted to study in the health field was a completely different story. That is when Nelson attended HealthQuest, a week long camp held during the summer months on Ithaca college’s campus. Nelson stated, “The HealthQuest camp allowed me the opportunity to get a sense of what else there was in the health field and to find where I would fit in with a career.” And through HealthQuest that is exactly what she accomplished.  Not only did she determine Physical Therapy to be her health career of interest she also connected to the college campus which she explains helped contribute to her applying decision and eventually attending Ithaca College two years later.

Nelson also added, “I learned a lot about health careers while I attended camp as a camper, but what has stuck with me since my time at the camp is the passion both of my chaperones had for their majors and the love they had for Ithaca. I wanted the opportunity to help someone find their passion as my chaperones were able to help me” and that she did. Nelson became a chaperone for HealthQuest during summer before her final year of school. She felt that her experience was so impactful while she attended as a high school student that she only hoped to do the same for someone else in that spot.

HealthQuest continues this summer beginning July 11 to the 15 at Ithaca college campus. Through HealthQuest, students will explore a variety of health careers, learn important skills for success from health professionals and college instructors through interactive workshops and get to experience dorm life and campus living during their time. This competitive program is now accepting applications and spots will fill up quickly as only 32 students are accepted in order to give the best possible hands on and personal instruction. For more information about HealthQuest or to apply please visit:https://www.hwapps.org/program/healthquest-at-ithaca-college/

A Medical Student’s Perspective: Why I’m Studying Public Health, Too

My name is Lizzy and I am currently enrolled in the joint MD/MPH program at SUNY Upstate Medical University, which means that I plan to graduate in 2017 with a doctorate of medicine (MD) and a master of public health (MPH) degrees.

Everyone knows what an MD is, but what about this public health business? Studying public health is quickly becoming more popular because it looks at the health of a community, instead of just individuals.

For example, traditional medicine might think about obesity as “This one person is overweight. He needs to eat less and exercise more.” But public health looks at the fact that obesity rates are high for a whole city and asks “Do the grocery stores sell fresh food? Are the fruits and vegetables affordable? Do people feel safe walking outside? Are there designated bike lanes for people to ride to work?”

In other words, public health tries to look at the root causes of health for a community. I chose to take an extra year* of classes and learn about public health because I think it is important to be aware of the bigger picture.

While medical school training is very important for learning how to diagnose and treat disease, public health taught me to think about how factors like education, income, race, neighborhood environment, and health insurance also affect our well-being. And the experience has fully met my expectations: I’ve learned to consider problems from a new perspective, to look at the world differently, and have also gained practical experience in program planning and health research.

Here are 10 of the greatest things that public health has achieved in the last 100 years. With my MPH training, I hope to add to the list!

  • Recognizing that tobacco is a health hazard
  • Decreased heart attack and stroke-related deaths
  • Vaccines
  • Safer workplaces
  • Motor vehicle safety (Seat belts)
  • Control of infectious diseases (Hand washing)
  • Safer and healthier foods
  • Fluoridation of drinking water
  • Family planning
  • Healthier mothers and babies

If you are interested in helping others to live healthier lives or in making a difference in your community through health initiatives, you should consider a public health degree. For more information about the Central New York MPH program and to see what graduates are doing with their degrees, check out their YouTube channel:

*Most MPH programs are a 2-year graduate program and MD programs are usually 4 years long, but Upstate’s MD/MPH joint degree is letting me finish both in 5 years.

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CNYCC Reaches Out to Larger Health Workforce Community

The Central New York Care Collaborative (CNYCC) is the Performing Provider System (PPS) designated for Central New York under the Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) program. Under DSRIP, over 200 healthcare partners across six counties will work together over the next five years to implement projects designed to reduce Emergency Department visits and unnecessary readmissions of the Medicaid population by 25 percent.  

CNYCC recognizes development of the workforce is an essential, cross-cutting element necessary to the successful transformation of the healthcare system. CNYCC has contracted with the Northern and Central Area Health Education Centers (AHECs) since the Fall of 2014.  The AHECs serve as the workforce vendor for CNYCC.  As such, they helped craft the workforce sections of the DSRIP application and implementation plan, and continue to assist with implementation of the workforce strategy.  The Workforce Workgroup of CNYCC has been meeting regularly since February of 2015 to provide feedback and insight into the Workforce Implementation Plan submitted to the New York State Department of Health June 1, 2015. With the five Workforce Milestones (see below) to be completed by December 31, 2015, we are now reaching out to the larger health workforce community for input and feedback with respect to workforce planning.

This email is being sent to you as a key stakeholder in the larger workforce community within the CNYCC region of Cayuga, Lewis, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga, and Oswego counties. If you feel you have received this email in error or wish to unsubscribe, please see the options below. The Central New York Care Collaborative (CNYCC) is the Performing Provider System (PPS) designated for Central New York under the Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) program. Under DSRIP, over 200 healthcare partners across six counties will work together over the next five years to implement projects designed to reduce Emergency Department visits and unnecessary readmissions of the Medicaid population by 25 percent.  

CNYCC recognizes development of the workforce is an essential, cross-cutting element necessary to the successful transformation of the healthcare system. CNYCC has contracted with the Northern and Central Area Health Education Centers (AHECs) since the Fall of 2014.  The AHECs serve as the workforce vendor for CNYCC.  As such, they helped craft the workforce sections of the DSRIP application and implementation plan, and continue to assist with implementation of the workforce strategy.  The Workforce Workgroup of CNYCC has been meeting regularly since February of 2015 to provide feedback and insight into the Workforce Implementation Plan submitted to the New York State Department of Health June 1, 2015. With the five Workforce Milestones (see below) to be completed by December 31, 2015, we are now reaching out to the larger health workforce community for input and feedback with respect to workforce planning.

This email is being sent to you as a key stakeholder in the larger workforce community within the CNYCC region of Cayuga, Lewis, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga, and Oswego counties. If you feel you have received this email in error or wish to unsubscribe, please see the options below.   

AHEC Helping to Build Local HOSA Representation

AHEC is working with the NYS HOSA advisor to build membership in New York.  The mission of AHEC and HOSA parallel one another and the Central and Northern AHEC offices are excited to promote this opportunity to our students.

HOSA is a national student organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Health Science Education (HSE) Division of ACTE. HOSA’s two-fold mission is to promote career opportunities in the health care industry and to enhance the delivery of quality health care to all people. HOSA’s goal is to encourage all health science instructors and students to join and be actively involved in the HSE-HOSA Partnership.

HOSA provides a unique program of leadership development, motivation, and recognition exclusively for secondary, postsecondary, adult, and collegiate students enrolled in health science education and biomedical science programs or have interests in pursuing careers in health professions. HOSA is 100% health care!

Click here to watch the HOSA 2014-2015 Membership Video