At the University of Virginia’s Northern Virginia campus in Fairfax, a unique summer program is giving high school students an inside look at the healthcare industry. Among the participants is 16-year-old Simran Zalavadia, who is eager to explore her career options in healthcare.
Zalavadia is part of a group of 21 teenagers enrolled in “From Curiosity to Care: Inside Nursing and Healthcare Professions,” a week-long summer camp. This program is one of several offered through Inspire, an academic initiative designed to help high school students gain hands-on experience, discover new interests, and explore future career paths.
“I currently want to get my bachelor’s in nursing and then go to a physician’s assistant school, but that’s subject to change,” Zalavadia commented. “So I signed up for this class to hear about healthcare fields and see if anything will change my mind.”
The course was developed by Gretchen Wiersma, a UVA associate professor of nursing, and Nathan Mart, a workforce development program manager at Inova. Wiersma also leads the Fairfax cohort of the UVA School of Nursing’s hybrid RN-to-BSN program, allowing registered nurses to earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing while working.
“The class is to help students understand that there are a lot of different healthcare careers that exist,” Nathan Mart explained. He noted that the program focuses on the two largest clinical areas: nursing and allied health professions, which include roles such as physical therapists, MRI technicians, radiation therapists, and pharmacists.
Students started the week with a career quiz that aligned them with three potential careers. They then conducted research and presented on how these careers interact within the healthcare system to provide patient care.
Gretchen Wiersma highlighted, “From the nursing side, we are focusing on teaching basic assessment skills, so that students can have a solid foundation on what it takes to start caring for patients.” She organized a patient assessment skills relay race to make the learning process engaging and competitive.
Seventeen-year-old Kieran Tierney expressed her excitement about the practical components of the course, particularly the use of Glo Germ, a fluorescent gel that simulates real germs. “The people who are running our class are very good at making it fun, while also educational,” she said.
Tierney was also intrigued by a visit to the simulation lab at Inova, where she observed a lifelike model simulating childbirth, offering a realistic glimpse into healthcare scenarios.
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