Allegheny Valley Hospital exposes students to health care profession during Career Academy

Deer Lakes junior Cori Baughman has known for years she plans to pursue a job in the medical field.

A hands-on career academy Monday at Allegheny Valley Hospital in Harrison solidified it.

“Since I was a kid, I’ve been interested,” said Baughman, 16. She already is enrolled in the nursing program at A.W. Beattie Career Center. “Being here, it shows me that I really like it.”

The one-day program was the first of its kind hosted by the hospital, said Kim Giovannelli, director of community services.

Rotating between nine stations inside the Carlisle Street facility, students were offered a glimpse into the breadth of potential hospital careers.

“We want to expose them to a lot of different health care job options,” Giovannelli said.

Students mingled with professionals from various Allegheny Health Network disciplines, including biomedical engineering, occupational therapy and laboratory sciences. The teens got a chance to engage in hands-on activities and demonstrations that included intubation, cauterization and patient safety.

They saw technology that can stop bleeding and met with staff from the biomedical engineering department, which cares for 5,000 pieces of equipment at the site.

“We hope they get an understanding of what all is involved in a medical career and that they see something that might intrigue them,” said Chelsea Kristopher, interim nurse manager.

She demonstrated for students the practice of intubation, inserting a breathing tube through a patient’s mouth, while, down the hall, other staff members showed how a Lucas device provides mechanical chest compressions.

Another station demonstrated use of a Posey bed, which looks like a tent with a netted enclosure. It is used to restrain patients who are high risk for falls or other injuries. Posey beds are sometimes monitored by a tele-sitter — an electronic arm with a camera that can alert on-site staff to hazards.

Students also toured the imaging department and met with the lab manager.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual pay for registered nurses in 2020 was $70,000. In 2023, it was $81,220 a year, or a little more than $39 per hour.

Highlands sophomore Natalie Petika said the pay is great, and she wants to follow her mom’s path into the medical profession.

“She’s very passionate about what she does, so I grew up seeing that,” said Petika, 15.

The teen plans to pursue a career as a pediatric psychiatric nurse to help kids in need.

“You never know. They might not have someone to talk to, and I think it would be rewarding,” she said.

Nationwide, employment of registered nurses is expected to grow 6% by 2032, faster than the average for all occupations, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

More than 193,000 openings for registered nurses are projected each year across the country.

Pennsylvania will need 160,000 registered nurses by 2030. About 9,000 jobs will need to be filled each year.

Across the region, there has been an uptick in students enrolling in nursing schools such as AHN’s West Penn Hospital in Bloomfield, which saw a 53% spike in enrollment from 116 first-year students in 2022 to 177 last year.

At the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing, numbers of first-year students have climbed from 191 in 2022 to at least 230 this fall. The UPMC Schools of Nursing in 2023 grew by 56%.

Twelve students participated in the event at Allegheny Valley.

Burrell senior Brady Colgan thought he wanted to be an architect. Monday’s program opened different opportunities for him to consider.

“I’m kind of interested in physical therapy, so I wanted to see what the field might be like as a career,” he said.

For some, the event helped to narrow down their focus.

Deer Lakes senior Ryan Cousley and junior Alexis Hoburg said they would steer away from the clinical side.

“I’m interested in science, but nursing seems stressful,” said Hoburg, 16.

Cousley said he is leaning toward the biomedical engineer sector to fulfill his curiosity about machinery.

Similarly, Deer Lakes junior Elizabeth Palmer said she always intended to pursue an engineering degree, but the idea of working as a traveling nurse has started to appeal to her.

“I wanted to come out today to get a taste of what it’s like,” she said.

Apollo native Lacee Morran, who serves as the director of professional practice and education, said the event satisfied the goal of providing a taste of hospital life.

“We wanted to give them a broad range of careers to look at,” she said. “We love doing this with the kids.”