BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Nearly three dozen pre-nursing students will soon gain hands-on experience alongside healthcare professionals in a hospital setting through an internship provided by Taft College.
- Officials from Bakersfield Memorial Hospital emphasize the need for more nurses in Kern County.
- This internship involves 33 students from Taft College, with 16 joining Dignity Health and the remaining 17 joining Adventist Health.
- The internship provides workforce opportunities and helps students discover their career paths in the health industry.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
This nursing internship with Taft College students is boosting job training in Kern County. It's creating healthcare opportunities here in a place that needs it.
“We need nurses and our community needs to build more nursing,” says Dr. Sheri Horn-Bunk of Taft College.
Building nurses of all kinds is the goal Sheri Horn Bunk, Executive Director of Taft Colleges wanted for this program. Now, 33 students from the college get workforce opportunities with Dignity Health and Adventist Health.
“What it serves to do is to give a number of college students that are tryna figure out what their career might be, introduce them to healthcare within a healthcare setting,” says Ken Keller.
Ken Keller, President of Bakersfield Memorial, tells me the community's need for nurses underscores the partnership with Taft College that wouldn't have been possible without funding from Bank of America, Chevron, Valley Strong Credit Union, and Aera.
Many students, like 19-year-old Dayanara Mendoza, shared her expectations for the internship.
“To go ahead and understand what we wanna do next in our life because I know a lot of people may feel lost or may feel like they’re very sure about what they want to do,” says Dayanara Mendoza.
She tells me it feels unreal to be one of the 33 students who have the chance to work alongside healthcare professionals, especially with only a few years of college experience-
“This is an amazing opportunity for me to figure that out and see what it’s like to work in a hospital and the healthcare community,” continues Dayanara.
The pre-nurse interns are set to start their internship on Monday, June 17th.
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