Live Oak Elementary School hosts medical career day for students

ALBANY – Some youths dream of becoming an astronaut, a ballerina or a firefighter. Officials at Live Oak Elementary School are hoping their elementary students aspire to go into the medical profession.

For the first time ever, the school hosted the Live Oak Elementary School Medical Arts Career Fair to give students a taste of what various career paths in the medical field would look like. The elementary school is the feeder for Merry Acres Middle School and Westover High School, which are the Dougherty County School System’s designated medical arts schools. Westover even has a Medical Arts Academy for students.

“If they decide to take a pathway in the medical field, they can attend these schools,” Tonya McDuffie, a DCSS professional counselor, said. “We want to give them the opportunity to see what it takes. If they decide to become a physician, they have some background knowledge from today.”

McDuffie orchestrated the career day, which involved every kindergarten through fifth-grade Live Oak student in activities that stretched throughout the entire school day. Ninety-five medical professionals from about 27 different medical organizations presented to the students. Inside the gymnasium, students got to visit different tables and learn from different organizations. Some Live Oak students wore tiny, colorful scrubs and stethoscopes around their necks. 

In one corner, they brushed teeth on denture replicas and heard from dental professionals from King Family Dental Care and Albany Technical College. In another corner, they played the game “Operation” at a table run by Tift Regional Medical Center.

Quontasha Glover, the Albany State University Health Science Medical Laboratory Technology director, said while she’s attended many student career fairs, she’s never seen one dedicated specifically to elementary students.

“With the younger ones, we feel like we can target them early and pique their interest,” she said. “You never know when talking to someone at a younger age, what might stick in their head.” 

Glover herself knew she wanted to become a medical professional after attending a career fair in high school and hearing from Darton College students.

“I knew I wanted to be in the program then,” she said. “Now, I’m the director.”

Glover’s booth was covered in tubes with mock blood samples and colorful petri dishes. 

“We wanted to make it more visual for the younger ones,” she said. 

Glover said she was surprised and overjoyed with the inquisitive questions the elementary students came up with. 

It was Danielle Mills’, a registered nurse for Phoebe at Piedmont, first time talking with elementary students about medical careers as well. At her table, students played with blood pressure cuffs. 

“Observation is important,” Mills said. “People have a tendency to remember experiences like that.” 

She said she loved working with the younger students.

“I feel the younger they are, the better you can get them into the system to want to be a medical professional,” Mills said. 

Nursing students from ASU made their way through classrooms, teaching mini lessons on hygiene, blood pressure and using a stethoscope. Students were eager to play health care-themed games like “Jeopardy,” showcasing what they’d just learned. 

Outside the school, students toured ambulances from Dougherty County EMS. They interacted with medical dummies in a mobile training vehicle brought by the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine South Georgia. 

McDuffie said she hopes students end the day feeling more inspired to go into the medical field, and she hopes the medical volunteers feel appreciated. She said she plans to make this an annual event and has already had interest from some of the medical organizations about returning next year. 

“Out of all of the career days that I’ve ever presented, this is one that is near and dear and true to my heart,” she said. “I’m so excited that everybody joined in and participated today. The greatest highlight is that the kids are excited and they’re enjoying it.”