In Polson, high school students are getting an opportunity that’s unique in Montana. It’s to spend a school year interning at the local hospital.
On Wednesday the 15 students who are interning at St. Joseph’s Hospital this year, and some of those who were part of the initial intern class last year, helped explain what it’s all about to Denise Juneau, Montana’s superintendent of public schools.
Juneau’s visit to Polson came a week after Governor Steve Bullock dropped by to hear about it. Both are Democrats running for Congress and a second term as governor, respectively. Job training and career opportunities for Montanans are important issues being emphasized by Republicans and Democrats in both races.
Juneau said she’d like to see more partnerships in Montana like the one between Polson High and St. Joseph’s.
"I think it’s a good program, something I’d like to see grow. That’s why I’m here, is to learn about what’s happening," Juneau said.
In March, Juneau’s office got a $100,000 grant from the JP Morgan Chase Foundation to develop a plan to expand healthcare career opportunities in 54 schools across the state. The program in Polson got started before the grant, but Juneau says it makes sense to try to duplicate it elsewhere.
"Because we know that it’s the fastest-growing industry in Montana. We know there are tons of open jobs in this career field right now," Juneau said.
Polson Schools Superintendent Rex Weltz says, after one year, he’s sold on having high school students intern in a hospital.
"Having kids come back to me and say, ‘Mr. Weltz, that’s the best experience I’ve ever had, thank you,’ that’s why we’re in this business. We want to touch lives and influence them and make their lives better than what we had."
Three Polson High seniors who interned at St. Joseph’s last year had nothing but good things to say about their experiences – like that it gave them a chance to find out if they really want to pursue careers in medicine, and that interacting with doctors, nurses and other hospital staff often forced them out of their comfort zones, making them more mature and building up their self-confidence.
Josey Motichka is one of the students. She said she got to have some very real, very grown-up experiences.
"I’ve seen a couple deliveries, an emergency c-section, and planned c-section."
Students like Motichka do rotations in several different hospital departments that include witnessing surgeries and being in the emergency room. While in the ER, Motichka saw the response to a fatal car accident.
"And I watched how it affected the patients, I watched how it affected all the staff that was caring for those patients," Motichka says. "And that was a huge impact on me in the sense that ... we got to see all the bright fuzzy things; babies being born, families excited, happy, people get better. And that was super exciting, but I also saw what happens when people pass away and when the bad part happens."
The idea of putting 16 and 17-year-old students in situations like that might cause some school administrators to shy away from trying to set up student experiences inside working hospitals. Polson Superintendent Rex Weltz says it shouldn’t.
"It’s really easy to say no, but, if we’re so afraid to ever get started, we really can't ever make something that's going to be great for kids. You got to jump in. You got to get out and get messy, and figure out what works and what doesn't and then continue on. Because if we continue to wait and see how to perfect the program without having kids in it, we'll never have a program. You got to jump in and go."
From the hospital’s side, having students hanging around in the middle of the everyday life-and-death work that happens within their walls can sound scary, too. But Ben Murray, director of clinic operations at St. Joseph’s, came to the facility a couple of years ago with previous experience. St. Joseph’s parent company, Washington-based Providence Health, had been providing educational experiences for high school students in Washington for at least six years already.
"Absolutely there will be challenges, especially you look at the emergency departments and some of the patients that come through surgery lab, there's some pretty dangerous equipment if it's used improperly. I think you have to put guardrails up so they'll have a good experience, be able to see what's being done, but keep them safe and also keep the hospital and the organization safe."
Taking on the risk is worth it, Murray says, because Providence has a community service mission. And it helps to grow a healthcare workforce that is currently too small. Hospitals across the country, and especially in rural areas, have a very hard time finding enough qualified staff. Murray says home-growing medical professionals in rural areas creates a workforce that is more likely to serve small town communities.
And, Murray says, there’s another upside for St. Joseph’s.
"We had 12 ambassadors that just became ambassadors for us. They're some of the most active students in the high school, so they were well-known in the community. Them spending time here, they really became part of our family and then they went out and became marketers or ambassadors for us and they told our story of the care that was provided here. It was a great opportunity, it was a great experience for us to hear them share our story and go out and do that."
Both the hospital and the high school say there is some expense involved in the internship program for high school students. St. Joseph’s has a staffer devoting a quarter of her time to it, and individual departments in the hospital also spend some time setting up rotations for the students. The high school has a teacher who spends two periods per day overseeing the internship. Both organizations say the investment is well worth what they, and the students, get in return.
