By NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON — The Hutchinson Regional Academy is a paid internship program for a small group of Reno County high school students.
"We end up with ten students final, but we have a good, good response from the schools," said Carey Craig, Human Resources Director with Hutchinson Regional Healthcare System. "We go through an interview and selection process and it's tough getting down to those ten. There's a lot of sharp kids out there."
To be considered an applicant must live in Reno County, be at least 16 years old, have completed 10th, 11th or 12th grade by May 31, be enrolled in a Reno County high school and have an overall and science GPA of 3.25 on a 4.0 scale or 4.0 on a 5.0 scale.
"It actually runs Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday from 8 in the morning to 2:30 in the afternoon," Craig said. "It's a paid internship and it runs from May 31 through July 22."
This is the tenth year of this important initiative to help get the next generation of professionals for Hutchinson Regional Healthcare System.
"With the labor market, we have to grow our own," Craig said. "It starts in high school. It's an investment of time for us and we find generally, a lot of kids, when they think about hospitals, they think about doctors and nurses. This is really an opportunity to learn about the lab, learn about pharmacy and imaging and a lot of different opportunities. we find kids that will start out at the end of May with one thing in mind and come up with a completely different perspective at the end of the course."
Craig noted that there is one recent academy alum who is working as a phlebotomist while they are in school. The program ends with an opportunity for two of the students to receive scholarships in exchange for a commitment to work at HRMC for a year after graduation. The application deadline is March 23.