Junior Health Sciences Academy launches Early Careers Online event

Pictured at the launch of the Junior Health Sciences Academy Early Careers 2023 at Limerick and Clare ETB’s head office were Thomond Community College student Peter Adamski with Spin South West presenter Valerie Wheeler, Health Sciences Academy manager Miriam McCarthy, Yvonne Moloney, Registered Advanced Nurse Practitioner (RANP), Diabetes, UL Hospitals Group and Bernie O’Driscoll, Emilija Miller and Grace O’Halloran from Thomond Community College. Picture: Brian Arthur

The Junior Health Sciences Academy invites transition and fifth-year students to its Early Careers Online event this February 28.

Students from across the Mid-West region gathered recently at Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board’s (LCETB) head office to help launch this year’s Junior Health Sciences Academy Early Careers Event 2023.

This virtual live event hosted by the Health Sciences Academy in conjunction with LCETB and Limerick Education Support Centre aims to provide information on careers and programmes of study in health.

Careers in healthcare will take centre-stage with an online event taking place via Zoom from 9.30am to 12.30pm on February 28th, 2023. The event is designed for transition year and fifth-year students who would like to learn more about a career in the world of healthcare.

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Miriam McCarthy, Health Sciences Academy manager, says there are a number of reasons why the event proves to be popular, “It’s virtual, so this event is hugely accessible to students all over the country, they can dial in through their classrooms with their teachers.

“Secondly, we host a wide range of healthcare professions, so students get to hear what it’s like to work in an acute hospital, a community setting in healthcare professions, both frontline and working in the lab, for example; radiography, nursing, midwifery, all across the board.”

“Thirdly, one of the most critical pieces we have is we can hear from students in the University of Limerick who are actually studying these programmes.”

Miriam explained the importance of having the students’ views is to learn “how they made these career choices, how they went about deciding which course they actually wanted to do”.

She noted that many programmes are post-graduate courses “so you don’t need to know when you’re 17 or 18 exactly what you want to do”.

“You don’t need to get huge points, there are lots of ways to get into programmes and we really want to highlight and show that today,” she concluded.

The Health Sciences Academy is a partnership between University of Limerick, UL Hospitals Group and HSE Mid West Community Healthcare. The Junior Health Sciences Academy is part of this partnership, aiming to support students in early careers, health promotion and leadership in health.

This year, students will hear from clinical staff from UL Hospitals Group and HSE Mid West Community Healthcare, as well as students from health sciences programmes at University of Limerick who will provide workplace and study insights, guidance on subject choices and career opportunities.

 Spin South West Presenter Valerie Wheeler said the initiative is “extremely important” and “absolutely amazing”.

“It took me a long time to figure out what I wanted to do, and it took me a long time to get there. But by being involved and hosting, and talking to students, talking about careers I can see how much of a wide variety of careers there are now,” said The Spin South West Presenter.

“I wouldn’t have known hat if I wasn’t involved, so it’s really interesting to see students have a wide-variety of careers they can get into,” she said.

The event will also feature the patient perspective, a ‘Business in Health’ segment, a Q&A session and special guest speakers. These will include an interview with Katie O’Brien, a qualified veterinarian and Para-rower who will share her story of sporting accomplishments and personal challenges and Jack Kavanagh, a pharmacist and inspirational speaker who will talk to students about his life-changing spinal cord injury.

The event is on Tuesday, February 28, and transition year and fifth-year students and their parents all over the region can register for free and explore the many pathways the Healthcare area has to offer.

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For more information on the event, visit here.