Health care fair offers hands-on experience

Health-related professions remain a growing and highly competitive industry, which is why the eighth annual Health Programs Fair focuses on setting students on the path to success against their competitors.

The fair, organized by the Health Professions and Prelaw Center, is 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. today in the Indiana Memorial Union Alumni Hall, and about 700 students are estimated to attend.

“This is a chance for IU students to speak with representatives of a wide variety of health care programs,” said Rachel Tolen, assistant director of the HPPC.

Tolen explained that there will be more than 100 different programs, schools and student organizations related to a variety of fields, including medical, nursing, chiropractic and dental.

Representatives from medical schools and programs nationwide, including IU, will be present to discuss with students what they are looking for in the competitive market of applicants.

“The great number of students pursuing health care fields creates an even greater competition in which students must be prepared,” Tolen said, adding that volunteer work in health fields is often essential to admissions.

Sophomore Ryne Harding, who is applying to the School of Nursing this spring, said he feels this pressure of competition.

“At IU, it seems like a near perfect GPA is a must to get into the nursing school,” Harding said. “And they want a lot of shadowing and community service, but they like to see that this comes from more than one place.”

Organizations such as Bloomington Hospital and Volunteers in Medicine Clinic will be available at the event for students looking for volunteer opportunities or more hands-on experience.

Tolen also suggested that students exploring a variety of majors, or those unsure about the health care field, should attend this event for insight on alternative health care careers.

“There are many health care fields that students may not have heard of with a great shortage in employment,” Tolen said. “If you can get in these programs, you will have a job waiting for you.”

Freshman Jeff Thomas, a human biology major with a concentration in human disease and pathology, plans to attend the Health Programs Fair to learn about such career fields.

“I am pretty sure I want to go to med school, but I know how competitive it is,” he said. “I need to give myself other options in health care just in case.”