A pilot training program offers a window into medical careers for South County students.

With agriculture dominating the landscape of South County it’s a focus of the community, even in the South Monterey County Joint Union High School District where ag career programs are common. Greenfield High School Principal Janet Matos saw a gap however, when one of her daughters – both attended King City High School where Matos was once principal – said she wasn’t interested in ag courses. She wanted to learn more about medical careers.

Her daughter has since graduated, but the idea stuck with Matos, until she and others launched a program in the fall of 2019 training more than 30 students from King City and Greenfield high in basic medical skills. Once trained, they worked briefly as volunteers at the region’s only hospital, Mee Memorial in King City, starting in January 2020. It was only briefly because by March the volunteer program had to shut down due to Covid-19.

That so many students wanted to participate in a medical career program let the coordinators know that it was worth pursuing and even expanding once in-person learning resumed. In September they relaunched the pilot, called the Mee Memorial Healthcare System Student Volunteer Program, with 25 seniors from the two high schools meeting every Saturday in the King City High School Library. Through the training they’ve been able to earn certificates in topics like how to properly wear personal protective equipment, blood pathogens, first aid, CPR and infant CPR.

Greenfield senior Andrea Parker, 17, was inspired to apply because both of her sisters are nurses. “I kind of wanted to follow in their footsteps and I thought this program was a good step in that direction,” she says. For some students like Cipriano Mendoza, also a 17-year-old senior at Greenfield High School, and classmate Lizette Calderon, 16, being in the program is more of a try-out to see if a career in the medical field is for them. Cipriano says he’s learning things he never thought about, like how many regulations come with working at a hospital.

“The whole point is to expose the students to do something they’ve always wondered about,” Matos says.

Some will find it’s a great fit, others may decide it’s not for them. One student from the 2019 program volunteered over 100 hours at Mee Memorial in January and February 2020, and today he’s in CSU Fresno’s nursing school.

Students must have a grade point average of 3.0 or better and demonstrate that they can juggle school, family and other responsibilities to cut back on the number of students who drop out early, Matos says. The district provides students from Greenfield with bus passes to get to King City. It also pays for the students’ uniforms, class materials and hospital badges.

Students commit to 300 hours of volunteer work through May, although that will be dependent on Covid restrictions. Students may elect to work in a single department or rotate to gain exposure to a variety of fields. “I’m looking forward most to having a connection with the patients,” Parker says.

For Mee Memorial, it’s a way to introduce students “to how a rural health care system operates and support patients and the larger community as a whole,” says Elisa Moylan, chief nursing officer.

The pilot is just the beginning. The district plans on launching its two-year Patient Care Pathway at both Greenfield and King City in fall 2022. Matos sees other careers being added in the future. She regularly stops students on campus to ask what they’re watching on their phones, and often it’s how-to videos that could lead to careers. Students also express interest in internships and job training to become electricians, mechanics and other tradespeople.

“There are other things that kids are interested in that don’t necessarily require a four-year college degree,” Matos says. “Not everyone is going to be an engineer; not everyone wants to be at a computer all day.”

Daniel Dreifuss contributed reporting to this story.