‘Very special to be here’: Rockyview General Hospital hosts Take Our Kids to Work Day event

Students got a feel for what it's like working in health care at Rockyview General Hospital on Wednesday, for Take Our Kids to Work Day.

Rockyview General Hospital invited staff members to bring their kids and extended family in for Take Our Kids to Work Day on Wednesday.

The hospital provided family members with clinical experiences in a variety of health-care settings.

“Take your kids to work day is an opportunity for kids to come with their parent or adults and get to experience a lot of the wonderful things that happen, here at the hospital,” said Suzanne Burgman, unit manager for ambulatory services and cardiovascular labs at Rockyview.

There were six stations kids could learn from.

In the e-simulation, students took a turn taking care of a patient that was a manikin.

At other stations, students learned what physiotherapists, occupational therapist, dieticians, speech language pathologists and social workers do.

There was also an operating room station.

Following in footsteps

Kyla Black works as a nurse at Rockyview General Hospital and brought her niece Marin Jorundson, who has expressed interest following in her footsteps.

“I’ve always felt like I’m in the right place doing the right work and feel passionate about my nursing background and my needs,” said Black.

“This day is a perfect opportunity for her.”

Black helped coach the 16-year-old through a nursing skills session.

“It’s very special to be here and to see what she does every day,” said Jorundson.

Dylan Bartley, 14, came with his mom, and is looking at potential careers.

“It’s really awesome to see all of the different things they do at the hospital and to get to see all the careers that are available,” said Bartley.

“Seeing what she does every day, I guess I’m surprised because I never knew what she did.”

Valuable experience

Take Our Kids to Work Day is an annual career exploration event.

“It’s just really important that we highlight how these initial early experiences can help young people on their youth employment journeys,” said Sharif Mahdy, CEO of the Students Commission of Canada.

Young people face an uphill battle trying to find jobs, with youth unemployment across the country sitting at 14.7 per cent, according to the latest data from Statistics Canada, with Alberta roughly in line with the national average.

Mahdy said the biggest barrier students face is getting experience to help get their foot in the door.

“No one is willing to give them the experience. Today is about getting that initial experience,” said Mahdy.

“Even one day starts connecting you to all sorts of partners and employers who will be part of your network and help you start to build that experience base for your resume.”