Clovis Medical University, Clovis High partner to prepare students for medical field

CLOVIS, Calif. (KFSN) -- A high school program in Clovis is bringing medical students together to share knowledge and learn about the field of healthcare.

There are 72 students in the Career Technical Course for patient care at Clovis East High School this year.

One of those students is Abigail Ilagan-Esponilla, who is a little less than two years away from graduating.

However, she said she doesn't feel any pressure about choosing a career because of the patient care pathway.

"I believe this pathway did show me that I do want to pursue nursing," said Ilagan-Esponilla. "I want to help people."

The high school junior was able to realize that after meeting and learning from medical students at California Health Sciences University.

Tuesday was the fourth time the two groups came together, with CHSU students teaching the Clovis High students.

"First of all, they're really bright, especially here in Clovis," shared Varsha Swamy, a CHSU medical student. "They pick up on concepts so quickly, and that's really amazing to see as the ones teaching them."

There's a huge focus on giving high school students hands-on experience to get a sense of what the career pathway includes. As they continue learning about the medical field, the students get to practice and demonstrate different medical skills on one another.

Dr. Kelly Eichman, who designed the patient care pathway, said showing students what career options are available to them can help relieve the stress some students start to feel closer to graduation.

"I'm all about enjoying your high school years, but graduating is right around the corner, and it's going to be timed pretty quickly to make some decisions," said Dr. Eichmann.

Many in the medical field are eager for more students to go into nursing as the need for healthcare workers becomes even greater.