SPOKANE — High school students interested in the medical field are getting hands-on experience this week through MultiCare’s healthcare academy, known as “MASH” camp.
The program represents the second time MultiCare has held this academy in the Spokane area. The camp is designed to give students a head start by teaching them medical skills before they graduate high school.
“Our goal is to inspire future healthcare workers of Spokane,” said Katie Van Dusen, a recruiter on MultiCare’s workforce development team.
The camp features multiple skill stations where students rotate through different medical training activities. In one room on the first day of camp, students learned how to stop bleeding. At another station, they practiced triage techniques using stuffed animal patients. Students also worked on surgical skills using small cameras and practiced suturing techniques on bananas before potentially working with actual patients in their future careers.
Kylie Kimball, an incoming high school senior, said the experience has been valuable. Kimball had epilepsy when she was younger, an experience that sparked her interest in the medical field.
“Hearing what people are doing and seeing the roles they take and stuff is really interesting to show me what I am interested in or what I don’t want to do,” Kimball said.
For some students, this year’s camp represents a full-circle moment. After attending the camp last year, they are now studying medicine in college and have returned to volunteer.
“It feels really great to come back and kind of give back, because I’m really thankful I got to experience this,” said Rianna Skidmore, a nursing student and camp volunteer.
MultiCare plans to hold the MASH camp again next summer, and attendance is free for students.
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