Pikeville Medical Center introduces students to potential career paths

PIKEVILLE, Ky. (WYMT) - The recruitment team from Pikeville Medical Center just wrapped a program focused on bringing the future generations into the future of healthcare.

Pikeville High School students were part of an assembly Tuesday, during which recruiters from PMC dived into some of the open positions at the hospital facilities and how the job openings often look different than some might expect. Highlighting some of the certified positions, tuition assistance, sign-on bonuses and more, the assembly brought the students into the mix to hear what is possible through the regional employer.

“We push now that you don’t have to go into college. So not everybody wants to go into plumbing though; not everybody wants to go into electrical,” said future UPIKE student Kylie Hall, who is looking toward medical school. “So, it’s kind of like, ‘what are they gonna do?’”

She said it is great to see programs highlight the other career moves.

“Pikeville Medical having it to where you can get trained on site, get all your hours on site, and be paid while you’re getting your training. Then, go straight into the job and get a higher pay once you’re in the job? That’s big for the students here and I think in the county in general,” she said. “It’s really giving everybody a perspective on what’s out there for them when they graduate, because graduation’s right around the corner.”

Similar meetings were held across the PMC coverage area over the last few weeks, spreading the post-secondary discussion from Letcher County to Johnson County and the places in between.

Some students have been in the mindset of pursuing a medicine for years, like senior Alex Rogers who is looking toward an optometry careers.

“I had just recently moved here. And just seeing the different things of like what they need- and just knowing that there’s a lot more people than there are people that can help them,” he said.

But the pathway discussions show that the hospital hires positions they might not expect; from truck drivers to baristas.

“Them being able to come here and give them that information kind of, you know, nudges them in the right direction and lets them know that you know they’ve got options for you,” said Rogers.

Students were given a magazine full of information about jobs, salaries, training and education requirements and more. The students also registered their information to be shared with partnering schools and universities, to help connect them with their next steps.

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