PENCIL Partnership Introduces High School Students to Healthcare Careers

Sonia Zuzek
Director, Clinical Education
March 23, 2017

Hillsboro students in the simulation OR

In 1982, PENCIL Foundation—an alliance of business leaders and local school administrators—was created to provide new opportunities that promote achievement by young people enrolled in Nashville’s metro public schools. The Foundation’s PENCIL Partners program now includes more than 800 community-school partnerships that serve over 80,000 students.

As a proud member of PENCIL Partners, SpecialtyCare regularly hosts students from Hillsboro High School’s Academy of Global Health & Science to introduce them to careers in the medical field. The students in this externship spend time in our training facility and simulation operating room, which gives them exposure to field experiences and a sense of what it’s like to work as part of a surgical team. Our partnership with Hillsboro also gives our own trainees an opportunity to teach what they have learned so far, helping to solidify their learning in minimally invasive surgical support and autotransfusion.

Learning about laparoscopy

Our commitment to ongoing education and training is a key component of the SpecialtyCare culture, so it makes perfect sense to extend this learning opportunity to the young people of our community. The students are a joy to have onsite and it has been a real pleasure to customize an experience that helps them prepare for college and the workplace.

If your business is not already participating in PENCIL Partners, I encourage you to consider getting involved. It’s a terrific program and a great investment in our future—and just one more reason to love Nashville and all that it has to offer.

To learn more, visit www.pencilfoundation.org and follow @PENCIL4Schools and @HillsboroBurros on Twitter.

Photo credit: Melissa Stugart, PhD

LEARN MORE ABOUT MISS

LEARN MORE ABOUT AUTOTRANSFUSION

Sonia Zuzek

Sonia Zuzek is Director of Clinical Education for SpecialtyCare University. She is responsible for multiple education initiatives spanning all SpecialtyCare service lines. Sonia creates content, develops curricula, and manages the implementation of our Learning Management System and New Hire Orientation Program. Additionally, she designed and teaches the autotransfusion class for new associates. Prior to her current role, Sonia worked as an autotransfusion technician and then as a clinical manager, overseeing services at 14 of SpecialtyCare’s customer hospitals. Her experience also includes working as an instructor of English as a Second Language. Sonia earned a BS in biology from the University of Houston and a BS in education, with a double minor in philosophy and psychology, from the University of St. Thomas in Houston, TX.