Having an
opportunity to “try out” a career is
part of the emphasis of the Gifted Mentorship Program.
Serving all schools in the Anchorage School District,
juniors and seniors mentor with a career professional
in their field of interest. Many students are interested
in the medical field. “Providence eagerly opened
their doors enabling me to receive a true experience
of the medical field,” said 2004 graduate Brenda
Cooper. The Gifted Mentorship Program appreciates
all its mentors and highlights one of our valuable
mentors this year.
Jane Noonan, RNC ANP, a leader at Providence Alaska
Medical Center’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
(NICU) has generously mentored one or more of our students
for the past eight years. Jane describes a mentor as, “Someone
who loves what they do and is proud to share their
experiences with others. It’s a mutually rewarding
experience. By teaching others, I learn myself and
I renew my enthusiasm for work. The students I work
with learn about my role and hopefully catch that enthusiasm
that helped bring a dream to reality.” And Jane
does deliver on passing on that enthusiasm and love
of career. “Jane and her amazing colleagues really
inspired and encouraged me to pursue a career in neonatology,” said
Service High School graduate Kelly Wiggs.
Students in this mentorship job shadow and observe
procedures, deliveries, emergency calls, and learn
about heath concerns and cautions. “I am currently
mentoring in the NICU,” says student Ivory Lira,
a Dimond High junior. “On my first day I had
the pleasure of watching a caesarean section. It was
really cool. One of the best parts about the NICU is
that it is really hands on. I had the chance to hold
a baby that weighed about one and a half pounds. She
was barely bigger than my arm. I have had the chance
to learn about all types of complications that babies
can be born with and what doctors do to try and make
life the best it can possibly be.”
Class of 2003 mentorship student Erin Wheat has this
to say about her experience. “Jane Noonan played
a pivotal role in my education and my desire to become
a nurse. I am now in my second year of nursing school at Montana State in Bozeman.
The nursing program here is tough. There has definitely been some times when
quitting would have been the easy way to go, but my desire to become a nurse
has always won out. I have this great desire because I spent so much time in
the NICU with Jane, Kathy O'Brien and the other nurses.” |
|
Jane assisted her students
in completing a variety of meaningful projects. Students
presented information on pregnancy and premature
babies at the Crossroads Program, made bulletin boards
with information for parents, and researched various
diseases. One student’s research project garnered
a summer research internship in Texas, leading to
her early acceptance in a pre-med program. Future
newborns and parents will benefit from at least six
gifted nurses or physicians in neonatal care as a
result of Jane’s fine mentoring.
Thank you to Jane and all the nurses and technicians
at the NICU at Providence that have made these experiences
possible, and thank you to Kathleen Barrows, Community
Partnership Manager (honored herself last year as
a SB Partner) for increasing the opportunities for
students seeking mentors in health services.
|
