Club Scrub is a fantastic way to “grow your own” health care professionals for the future!  This program is designed to expose 7th and 8th grade students to health care careers in a way that engages them and opens their minds to possibilities in career choices that they may not have considered, and to do so at an early age.

Students sign up to participate in Club Scrub and the hospital provides several sessions that highlight different departments. These departments offer hands-on activities to simulate the work they do, and a glimpse into what a career in that field might be like.  Studies from Experience, Inc., an organization who follows generation Y career paths shows that students who are exposed to experiential career opportunities as early as middle school are more likely to stay with that career choice throughout college.  Early hands-on internships open those doors early!

This tool kit is set up to help you get started.  It has everything you need - the forms, the letters, the lesson plans and the resources so that your group can hit the ground running.  Take what is here and customize it to your own hospital.  You could use this tool kit just as it is, but are encouraged to tap the creativity of your own professionals in coming up with new ways to engage the young learner!

You can spend a lot or a little on this program, depending on what you want to provide.  Decisions about the activities you select (some are free, some have materials cost to them), whether or not you provide transportation or have students provide their own, photos, prizes, end of program celebration, etc., all impact your budget.  A budget of under $2,000 can certainly provide a lot of good programming for students, with an in kind match of staff and volunteer time to coordinate the program.

How much time will you spend coordinating this program?  Again it depends on how far you want to take it.  If you want to offer a monthly program throughout the school year, you can expect as a coordinator to spend about 4-8 hours a month.  A few meetings to do some pre-planning with partners will take about another 10 hours at the beginning.  These are estimates; the good news is the program can be designed to fit the time and resources you have available.  Even offering a one-time program gets students into the building and offers something they can’t get anywhere else.

This “E-book” is ready for you to use.  There are two ways to download and save the entire program onto your own computer for easy reference.

• Club Scrub (MS Word document) Customize this document with your own logos and details.

• Club Scrub (pdf format)

Here is what's included:

1. Program Overview (some guidelines for getting started, tips for success)
2. Forms and Communications (all the forms and letters ready for you to customize)
3. Club Scrub Meeting Ideas, Website Information and Resources (even more!)
4. Lesson Plans for different departments (Lab, Pharmacy, Emergency department, etc.)
5. Club Scrub Cookbook (healthy snacks for hungry students)

For more information or assistance, contact: Wisconsin Office of Rural Health or Office@rwhc.com