Earlier this month, NYU Langone Health announced two programs that are aiming to prepare Brooklyn high school students for careers in health care. The initiative, which will expand the New York City Department of Education’s STEAM-based curriculum, will include mentorship and guidance from professionals such as NYU Langone faculty.
In the nursing program, juniors and seniors from Brooklyn South high schools will learn about various sectors in the field, such as ambulatory and maternity care, to understand the barriers that nurses face. Melanie Jay, an associate professor at NYU Langone, said that another cohort of upperclassmen students will learn about different clinical research jobs through talks by professionals and pay monthly visits to the NYU Langone Hospital—Brooklyn for hands-on learning experiences.
“Our hope is that by the time they’re done with this program, they have a better sense of possibilities and see research as part of their future career,” Jay said in an interview with WSN. “All the students are applying for college and starting to think about what they want to study eventually. Our hope is that then they’ll come into our undergraduate programs where they can really get skills training.”
The two programs are part of the DOE’s HE³AT initiative — which stands for Healthcare, Energy, Education, Environment, Agriculture and Technology — that aims to prepare public high schoolers from Brooklyn for the workforce through project-based lessons and access to mentorship experiences. The initiative was announced in 2019 in collaboration with Microsoft, New Lab and the New York City Economic Development Corporation.
Althea Mighten, senior director of nursing professional development and nursing recruitment at NYU Langone, said that there are 50 total students in both the nursing and clinical research programs. She added that students in the nursing program learn about the stages of becoming a nurse and what day-to-day life is like in the profession.
“Part of our nursing strategic plan includes creating a pathway into the nursing profession and attracting diverse staff,” Mighten said in an interview with WSN. “This is a great way for them to learn about the depth and breadth of the opportunities that are available in nursing.”
Jay described that the clinical research and nursing programs come after NYU Langone operated after-school programs for high school students over the last year to “raise awareness around research” and inspire teenagers to pursue careers in the field. The medical center also created research programs for undergraduate students, which Jay said carry “a very strong retention rate.” She said that she hopes students who participate in the new programs will also “want to then continue to work” with the university.
Last month, NYU Langone Health’s Sunset Park Health Council secured a $600,000 grant to expand anti-overdose curriculum in Brooklyn high schools. The money was allocated towards the Prevention Education Partnership — an initiative in which health care professionals visit schools to teach strategies for preventing and responding to substance abuse — and will be used to sustain the program for the next three years.
Contact Mariana Arboleda at [email protected].
