Geisinger, Wilkes give teens experience in health care work

WILKES-BARRE — Kiori Lewis hasn’t ruled out a career in health care, though he’s leaning more broadly toward “Science” in general. But he still showed up at an “Aspirations in Medicine and Healthcare Initiatives” (AIM HI) program at Wilkes-University for a good reason.

“My mom is a nurse, and she is usually out for long hours,” Kiori said after volunteering to have his hand taped in a way that restricted his thumb movement. “I figured this would give me more of an understanding of what she does.”

The initiative was brought to Wilkes by Geisinger. For a few hours students from eight area high schools could get some exposure and hands-on experience in the fields of nursing, interventional radiology, community medicine, emergency medicine and athletic training.

It was that last one that had Kiori a little surprised at how restrictive what seemed like a simple wrapping could be to his thumb movement. But taping up joints is one of the most frequent jobs for athletic trainers, Geisinger Athletic Trainer Kaleen Cook told the students, because so many athletes either want to get back in the game or need to be at least partially immobilized before heading for more in-depth scrutiny that can’t be done on the field or court.

Along with an overview of the job and a chance to practice taping (and untaping) wrists and fingers, students in the athletic trainer session had the option to work with a shark tape cutter — designed to slide along the skin and cut the tape without risk to the patient — and get info on SAM (Structural Aluminum Malleable) splints, strips thicker and stiffer than tape but still flexible enough to shape around a joint or limb.

Geisinger describes the AIM HI program as “an entry level Geisinger Career Pathways program that provides local high school students the opportunity to explore health care-related careers by offering interactive and educational workshops.”