Central Victorian teenagers eyeing off a career in the health industry have been given some hands on experience to help ease their path into their chosen field.
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The second annual Allied Health 'Come and Try' Day was held at Bendigo Tech School on Thursday, August 17 and drew around 120 secondary school students.
That's a 50 per cent uptake on last year's event which is an encouraging sign among organisers keen to keep the youth in the region for study and work in the health sector.
The Year 9, 10 and 11 students from Catherine McAuley College, Bendigo South East College, Girton Grammar, DOXA School Bendigo and Highview College form Maryborough took part in the day.
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The day involved practical workshops which included everything from studying x-rays to dealing with foot issues.
It was all aimed at giving students a direct connection with allied health professionals to answer questions and give them an insight as to how to make their way into the industry.
Such was the case with Catherine McAuley College student Charlotte Teed.
The 16-year-old is looking at a career in physiotherapy and the 'Come and Try' Day simply enhanced the role's favouritism in her mind.
"I did work experience at a private clinic and sat in on a few gym sessions," Charlotte said.
She said the 'Come and Try' Day had helped a lot in learning more about the career and finding physios to chat to.
Fellow CMC student Jaclyn McNutt, 16, was grateful at being able to see all the different career options in allied health.
"It's opened my eyes to see how many different options there are," she said.
With 18 clinicians guiding the students through the day, their insight proved valuable to aspiring young minds.
"It was good to learn how they found their role," Jaclyn said.
"It wasn't straight out of school. They had to go through different stages to find their path."
Year 12 CMC student Ben Reid worked part-time in rehab at Bendigo Health.
He said the day offered an exciting glimpse into the future.
"It shows you what's going to happen in the industry," he said.
"Growing up you thought it was all doctors and nurses but ... today it was exciting to see where allied health is going in the future to keep people healthy and there's a rewarding career if you want to pursue it."
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Among the allied health pathways in focus on the day were radiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, physiotherapy and allied health assistance and social work.
The day was organised in partnership between Bendigo Tech School, Bendigo Health, La Trobe Rural Health School, Goldfields Local Learning and Employment Network (LLEN), Bendigo Kangan TAFE and allied health pracitioners.
Bendigo Tech School's head of programs Ember Chittenden said there would be considerable growth for central Victoria's health sector in the near future and beyond.
"Trough the 'Come and Try Day' we are providing students with an immersive opportunity to learn more about the skills required to meet the anticipated demands of the industry," she said.
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