There is an increased need for educational programs about health careers as evidence shows the number of American students pursing advanced degrees in science and healthcare continues to decrease. The Pennsylvania Governors School for Healthcare, a summer residential program for high school students, is designed to introduce participants to various health careers, teach students about the research process and the nature of scientific inquiry, facilitate project-based learning, refine critical thinking skills, and foster positive interactions with practicing physicians and other health professionals. Assessment instruments such as exit surveys and focus groups were developed and used to capture data on student satisfaction with the program, the influence of its curriculum on student knowledge, attitudes and awareness of various health careers and to what degree the program affected or changed student career interest. Results indicated that the majority of students felt the program increased their knowledge and awareness of heath careers and influenced their future career choice in a health profession. Student participation in healthcare curriculum, activities and interactions with health professionals provided them with a positive hands-on experience. Overall, students were highly satisfied with the program. The Pennsylvania Governors School for Healthcare significantly influenced the interest and future goals of its participants in their desire to pursue a career in healthcare. Research outcomes will be given to the Pennsylvania Governor's School for Healthcare as a program improvement tool for future programs. The relevance of public health in this thesis is to promote educational programs about health related careers as a viable method of successfully initiating and/or maintaining a students interest in the health professions.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PITT/oai:PITTETD:etd-04132007-212818 |
| Date | 26 June 2007 |
| Creators | Sponsler, Jennifer L. |
| Contributors | Martha Ann Terry, Joanne Nicoll, Kenneth Jaros, Robert M. Goodman |
| Publisher | University of Pittsburgh |
| Source Sets | University of Pittsburgh |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-04132007-212818/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University of Pittsburgh or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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