Due to the aging population, those actively pursuing a health care career are declining. Without people filling these important jobs, those seeking care see extended wait times and longer hospital stays. However, one of the OSF STEAM programs at Jump Trading Simulation & Education Center is building the pipeline for future health care workers.
Local innovation sparks opportunity
The medical career immersion program is for high school seniors to learn about various career paths that health care has to offer. This program originated in the Peoria area from a neonatal physician, Kamlesh Macwan, MD, when he saw a need for local schools to have access to information about health care.
Shortly after it was founded, the program came into the hands of Noel Adams, vice president of academic collaborations, and Katie Smith, innovation labs coordinator , who recognized opportunity to collaborate, formalize and grow the program through OSF STEAM.
Addressing workforce gaps and student fit
Smith said that not only are students learning about nursing and physician roles, but they are also learning about lesser-known and high demand careers such as lab technicians, respiratory care or even patient care technicians. Students are able to make more informed decisions on their future careers.
The program runs on the first and third Tuesday of every month during the school year. A new field is picked each session , so students can learn about various careers. Health care workers from the various fields provide insight into what it means to work in that career, things they like or dislike and the paths they have taken to get there. To conclude the session, students take a tour of the lab at the hospital and spend an hour with hands-on learning through tasks associated with that career.
“We picked the various careers based on what our hospital needs were here in Peoria. So, we found careers that we knew had some deficiencies in filling intentionally so we could fill those positions,” said Smith.
The medical career immersion program is not only working to intentionally guide students interested in health care toward programming opportunities here but also aiming to help students determine whether a health care career is truly the right fit for them. It provides students with the opportunity to find their passions faster.
Smith said, “Now we’ve exposed local youth to something that they’re going to be more successful in which helps both the student and us as an organization put people in roles they’re meant to be in and that they can better serve in .”
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Progress and future growth
Within the first year of piloting this program, out of 25 high school seniors, 24 of them are pursuing a higher education in health care career paths. This speaks volumes about the impact the medical career immersion program has on students.
Smith also notes that OSF collaborates with other respected health programs in the area, including Illinois Central College (ICC). Through this partnership, students have flexible pathways to achieve their health care career goals. Smith is grateful that so many collaborative educational institutes are supporting this opportunity.
Information about this program was provided to participating schools prior to summer break, but seniors will be able to register again at the beginning of the school year. In the future, Smith says that they are looking to expand the program to school districts outside of the Peoria area and even create a virtual option to make it more accessible.
Last Updated: September 10, 2025