Southside Hospital Hosts Medical Career Days at East Islip, Bay Shore High Schools

East Islip and Bay Shore high school students got a glimpse of a variety of health careers with the help of Southside Hospital and Northwell Health employees in April.

Students were able to discuss the day-to-day work of about 30 different professions from 70 Northwell Health employees ranging from sky medic to marketing throughout the school day as well as listen to presentations about several career paths in the school’s auditorium and library. There were also interactive learning opportunities such as hands only CPR, bleeding control and automated external defibrillator training.

“During my presentation about becoming a surgeon at the East Islip Medical Career Day, I candidly talked about the hard work and efforts it took to get to where I am in my career and I hope that that information was helpful for these students who are considering entering this field,” said Lauren Licata, MD, surgeon at Southside Hospital. “Having a mentor and knowing what it really takes to make it in a certain career are both crucial to students who are getting to that crossroads of having to select a career path.”

Bay Shore High School students were inspired by the journey Harold Fernandez, MD, took to become a top cardiac surgeon. Dr. Fernandez, chief of cardiovascular surgery at Southside Hospital, was an undocumented immigrant from Colombia who – through hard work and persistence – graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University and went to Harvard Medical School.

“My story highlights that if you are determined to do something and work hard, great things that seem impossible become possible,” Dr. Fernandez said.