CBHEC Health Careers Discovery Camp

It was a chaotic scene – a lab explosion. People were in shock, and injuries needed to be cared for.

Fortunately, it was just a mock emergency, part of the Texas A&M Health Science Center (TAMHSC) Coastal Bend Health Education Center Health Careers Discovery Camp. Now in its fourth year, the intensive, three-day camp provides middle and high school students with a rare chance to learn firsthand about various health-related careers.

Partnering with both professionals and educators from numerous health care fields such as dentistry, respiratory care, nursing, physical therapy and clinical labs, the camp allows these students to explore their future career options. The goal is to educate and engage them to pursue a health care career and return to the region to serve their fellow South Texans.

Putting the learned knowledge into practice, the camp closes each year with a live, interactive, mock emergency scenario. This year’s scenario centered on a lab explosion.

“After spending two full days learning all about what it takes to become a health care professional, it is an amazing opportunity for these students to see everything come together in a true-to-life situation,” says Cheryl Bullen, health education coordinator at the TAMHSC-Coastal Bend Health Education Center. “The moulage techniques used with the victims appears so lifelike it gives you goose bumps, and the students are appreciative of all we do to make the event as real as possible.”