MedQuest 2023
Thirty-One Years of MedQuest!
Northeast Oregon AHEC's MedQuest Health Career Exploration Camps have ended for the 2023 season, and all four of the events were a huge success! Eighty-one students participated this year, each leaving with a better understanding about the wide variety of career paths available in rural healthcare.
As Camp Director Hailey Hulse describes, "MedQuest is...not just a week-long experience, it's something that helps connect students to resources to help their futures. I encourage all students to attend so they can decide if they are interested in healthcare or not. If nothing else, they can make new friends and be around other motivated students." Every MedQuest camp, whether it's in person or online, offers hands-on activities and presentations related to different aspects of healthcare and a chance to meet new people. The three in-person MedQuest camps provided just under 200 job shadows that were uniquely selected based on students' specific interests in healthcare. In contrast, Virtual MedQuest offered a glimpse into the day in the life of professionals in lieu of shadows.
In order to offer MedQuest for the most possible students, we ran four separate camps this year: Rural, Juntos, Frontier, and Virtual. Rural MedQuest is the original camp that has been running since 1992! It's held in La Grande on the Eastern Oregon University (EOU) campus, and this year we had 38 students from June 18 to June 23.
Our Juntos camp with 15 students took place in The Dalles from March 19 to March 22 and was intended to provide Latino/a/x and Migrant students from the Gorge with an opportunity to participate in MedQuest. Unlike the other camps, Juntos is held in the Spring to accommodate students who are busy during the summer. Feedback from The Dalles High School Juntos Club students and their program coordinator, Andrea Flores-Reyna, propelled NEOAHEC to create this program and partner with Juntos, an OSU extension, and One Community Health to offer Juntos MedQuest.
Frontier MedQuest had 13 students and was held near Burns, Oregon at Crane Union High School. The camp ran from June 5 to June 9, and began this year to provide another location to Rural MedQuest.
In addition to the in-person camps, NEO continued to hold our Virtual MedQuest camp, which began during the pandemic. The camp ran from June 19 to June 22 and had 15 attendees.
Camper to Counselor
Several of our 2023 counselors were MedQuest campers when they were in high school, which is just another way that our pathway programs keep participants involved past the span of camp. Marti Erice, a CNA at St. Anthony Hospital in Pendleton, has been a counselor for seven years after attending the camp in high school. Yessenia Garcia Sanchez, a recent graduate of the OHSU School of Nursing La Grande Campus, was a camper in both 2016 and 2018, and has been a counselor since then. She is also a student member of the NEOAHEC board. Emma Lowe, who is attending Blue Mountain Community College's nursing program, was a camper in 2019, and was a counselor this year. Hunter Nicols was also a MedQuest camper in 2019 and is involved in NEOAHEC's Pre-Health Society. One of the things that makes MedQuest so unique is the ability to be involved in several programs growing up, then to continue to use NEO as a resource throughout your career.
Job Shadowing
During the job shadows, students were able to learn about the huge variety of professions that come together to create the healthcare workforce, from search and rescue crews to dental hygienists to pharmacists. Students were given a chance to select their top choices for job shadows, which allowed students to get an inside look at multiple fields they are actively pursuing. Even the job shadows that the students didn't enjoy were valuable because it gave them an idea of what they don’t want to do. The shadows allowed students to learn about the different pathways they can take to get into the medical field, see day-to-day activities from filling out chart notes to performing minor procedures, and have honest one-on-one conversations with healthcare professionals about their careers.
Camp Highlights
Rural MedQuest
Highlights this year included the suturing activity with the Grande Ronde Hospital, simulation lab with the OHSU School of Nursing, hands-on activities with Search and Rescue, team building activities such as mini golf, rock climbing, playing cards, and the Sara Schumann Memorial Barbeque.
Sara Schumann Memorial Barbeque
On Tuesday of Rural MedQuest, NEOAHEC held the Sara Schumann Memorial Barbeque in honor of Sara, a 2019 MedQuest camper on the path to becoming a OB/GYN, who passed away tragically in 2020. Her family traveled from Salem to attend the event and honor Sara with us.
Sara had known she wanted to be in the medical field since she was a child. As a teenager she volunteered at Salem Hospital, and because of that, she was able to job shadow in the emergency room at 16 years old. She surprised them with her knowledge, eloquence, and insightful questions. Sara thought a lot about her future and decided to become an OB/GYN.
In 2019, when Sara was told about MedQuest by one of her teachers, she jumped at the chance to experience this amazing opportunity! She learned a lot at MedQuest, and she could not wait to apply to be a counselor when she was older. Sara was seventeen years old and on track to graduate from high school with her medical assistant certification in 2021. She was taking college credit classes for Linn Benton Community College and planned to finish her general education classes there before transferring to a university. Sadly, Sara's life was tragically cut short on August 7, 2020, when she was killed in a senseless car accident. She was only on this Earth for a brief time, but she touched a lot of lives. We hope her legacy lives on through the Sara Schumann Memorial MedQuest Scholarship.
Juntos MedQuest
Some highlights from the Juntos MedQuest include the Family Fiesta held on the first day and the talks by AHEC Scholars, Jennifer and Caroline, Camp Counselor Aldo, and Camp Director Hailey on their nontraditional paths into healthcare. A huge focus of this camp was growing the confidence of students. As Haily Hulse describes, "Second to providing job shadows, I believe that creating spaces for students to delve into their stories and use them in discussion for growth, through mock interviews, worksheets and small groups is the most important component in MedQuest to help influence their confidence and help propel them forward into college if they choose to go."
Frontier MedQuest
Highlights from Burns MedQuest included suturing with Oregon AHEC Director Eric Wiser, Vitals with Stethoscopes with Critical Care Nurse Amy Black, and the tour of downtown Burns. Students at this camp were blown away by how much they are learning about frontier healthcare and about how easy it is to develop new skills and advance your career rurally. Many of them were amazed by how branching healthcare is, and about how no matter what type of work someone is looking for, they can find it in health care, even if they don't want to interact with patients.
Virtual MedQuest
Highlights from the Virtual MedQuest include the orthopedic surgery and introduction videos with Dr. Bentz, the dental videos with Lex, and the several interviews with various people in the medical field, which served a similar purpose to the job shadows.
Wrapping Up
MedQuest 2023 would not have been possible without the support from our communities. Local businesses, organizations, and healthcare practices have shown to be acutely aware of the need for people to investigate a career in healthcare, and their willingness to support NEOAHEC in hosting these events was crucial to our success. We would like to especially thank the Supporting Creative Thinking - Roundhouse Foundation for investing in the expansion of MedQuest. Their mission to seek out innovative ways to develop rural communities is crucial to our vision of growing our own healthcare providers.
The best part about MedQuest is watching all the students grow over the course of the camp. Hailey Hulse, 2023 Camp Director notes, "My favorite part of camp is to see students' confidence grow every year. They learn a little about themselves, that they are just as capable or competent as the next person. I'm always more inspired by students than they could ever be by me. These kids are the future of healthcare. I sat in their seat, and this camp provides them a place to share their story and realize there's space for them." NEO's pathway programs are huge for the students that participate in them. Michelle Mudder, our new Program Coordinator reflects, "I was reminded to slow down and pay attention to our students. Each person is unique and will bring an impactful perspective in the healthcare field. By listening, it was obvious that MedQuest had a major impact on the campers' lives."
NEOAHEC plans to continue to provide MedQuest camps that serve our entire service area, and we can't wait for the 2024 MedQuest season. If you are interested in attending future events, please visit our website!