Lewiston Regional Technical Center medical science students, from left, Ava Dionne of Lewiston High School, Madison Madore of Leavitt Area High School, Aubrey Wood of Lewiston High School and Adeline Burkhardt of Lisbon High School arrive Thursday at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston to job shadow medical professionals. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal
LEWISTON -- A new practical training program at the Lewiston Regional Technical Center sets students up with workplace experiences with local employers to hone their skills in a realistic environment.
Experiential Learning Opportunities has been gaining traction in the past two years, with more students enlisting and reporting favorable outcomes.
"The program was driven through the state because of labor shortages in the communities," said Marcella Lessard, program coordinator at the tech center at Lewiston High School on East Avenue. "They're trying to provide real-life workplace experiences and shadows and internships and opportunities for kids to try out to see if they like the job beyond the classroom."
"The program is open to students that have completed one full year of training in a field of their choosing," Lessard said. "Either welding, automotive tech, medical science, architectural engineering, culinary arts, you name it."
The tech center offers about 20 career and technical training programs. "During their senior year, kids can go and find a job in that industry and work," Lessard added.
According to Lessard, 46 students have received placements with local employers, from Maine Oxy to Hebert Construction and Central Maine Medical Center, all within the ongoing school year. Job sites are spread across five counties.
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Students clock in to work every other day. Some positions are paid, while some others are eight-week unpaid job shadows. "They have to follow all work expectations and requirements. They're like an employee. Out of those 46, I've got 35 that are paid," Lessard said.
"The goal is to get the information and word out into the community," Lessard said. "We hope that more employers will participate and want to work with and help train potential 'future employees,'" Lessard said. "Next school year, my goal is to have students from all 20 of our programs represented and working in ELO."
'It's really fun'
Aubrey Wood, a senior studying medical sciences, will be one step closer to her childhood dream of becoming a nurse at the end of her eight-week job shadowing experience at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston.
"I thought this would be really good for me to get my foot in the door and figure out what kind of nurse I want to be," Wood said. To be eligible for the program, Wood and her classmates had to be recommended by their teachers and maintain good grades and attendance throughout the year.
"It's really fun because I get to see every nurse's vibe," Wood said. "I also get to be with CNAs, doctors, and all health care professions across the board. But I really like being with the nurses because I get to experience all different types of specialties."
A changing schedule allows Wood and her peers to switch units every week. "Last week, I was on emergency department. This week I'm on T3 (a triage unit). They're completely different, but they're both really fun," Wood said.
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"I mostly just observe," she said. "I get to see them chart their patient records. I had to put on (personal protective equipment) the other day because I had a COVID patient and I got to observe how they were doing IVs and shots," Woods said.
"When I was down in the ER, I got to move patients from the ambulance bed to the medical bed. I've helped clean up when the CNAs weren't available," she explained. "I've been able to listen to some people's lungs so I can see what's good and what's not good."
For the time being, Wood is leaning toward becoming a pediatric nurse. She said she's looking forward to a visit to the pediatric unit.
Ava Dionne plans to become a physician's assistant. Dionne said her time at the tech center program has helped her narrow down future goals.
"The (Experiential Learning Opportunities) is really helping me narrow down what kind of specialty I would like to do," she said. "I want to be a physician's assistant, but I'm not really sure what specialty or what kind of health care facility I would like to work in, like outpatient or in a hospital."
Dionne said she appreciates the support from CMMC staff she gets to shadow. "All of the hospital staff are really awesome. They're really nice, especially in helping navigate the hospital and the different units and watching procedures," Dionne said. "Even if it's just routine patient rounds."
Within the same cohort, Madison Madore is working to become an anesthesiologist. Her time at the CMMC is widening her interests, she said. "Last week, I was able to job shadow a respiratory therapist and I thought their job was absolutely amazing."
"I was able to watch a patient be extubated and inner cannulas be cleaned out," she said of the procedure of removing a tube and another inside it from a patient. "It was just something that most people never get to experience and some people would think is not cool or anything, but I found it really fascinating."
More information about the Experiential Learning Opportunities program is available at lewiston.mainecte.org.
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