Over 100 secondary school students attended Flinders NT Royal Darwin Hospital campus for a Health Careers to Try day in April 2018. This successful event provides students with an insight into healthcare career options in the Northern Territory (NT).
Allied health workforce shortages in the NT are problematic for health services, and students are often required to move interstate for training, increasing the likelihood that they may not return to the NT after graduating. By introducing students to local employment opportunities, they are encouraged to remain in, or return to, the NT for work.
The Top End Health Service procured a Youth Week grant to fund the day and health professionals from the Royal Darwin Hospital were asked to design an interactive station explaining their profession. Students spent 15 minutes at each station where they could touch, feel, ask questions and gain an understanding of the various disciplines. Additionally, Flinders University provided information about pathways to study the profession of choice.
All schools from within the greater Darwin region were invited to participate this year with a total of 108 students attending. 98 of these students from years 10, 11 and 12, indicated an interest in pursuing a career in health with 43 students requesting follow up information about specific courses of interest.
Feedback from health professionals, staff and students indicated that the day was a great success with outcomes ranging from increased awareness of healthcare career options to improved knowledge of career pathways and university access. It also provided an opportunity to showcase the diversity of the hospital services and build stronger relationships between university, local schools and health services.
Health professions included:
- Alcohol and other drugs
- Mental health
- Pharmacy
- Physiotherapy
- Midwifery
- Biomedical Engineering
- Oral Health
- Dietetics
- Nursing (operating theatre)
- Occupational Therapy
- Pathology
- Audiology
- Speech Pathology
- Radiology and Sonography
- Medicine / Flinders University
