The Eastern Shore’s growing healthcare system will need more than doctors and nurses. It will need EMTs, technicians, therapists, nursing assistants, laboratory workers, and dozens of other professionals, many of whom could come from the Mid-Shore’s own schools.
That is the idea behind Introduction to Careers in Healthcare, better known as ITCH, a nonprofit that introduces young people to the wide range of careers available in healthcare. Through hands-on Career Clubs, classroom programs, mentoring, shadowing, and visits with working healthcare professionals, ITCH is helping students ages 14 to 18 see career possibilities they might never have considered.
In this Spy long-form interview, ITCH leaders Dr. Judith Gieske and Ruth Ann Jones talk about what they have learned since launching the program and why early exposure matters. Their approach is practical: students learn by doing, whether that means examining a skeleton, watching a cast being applied, climbing aboard an ambulance, meeting an EMT, or talking directly with someone already doing the job.
With a new regional medical center under construction in Easton and healthcare employers already competing for skilled workers, Gieske and Jones see ITCH as both an educational opportunity for young people and a long-term investment in the Mid-Shore’s healthcare workforce.
This video is approximately 16 minutes in length. For more information about ITCH please go here.