CTCA and Esperanza College Partnership Offers Students a Hands-On Experience
Esperanza College students stand out because they are lifelong learners seeking opportunities to grow. Always committed to faith, excellence, and integrity. With the same commitment to learning and excellence Professor Leslye Wood developed the unique partnership between Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) Philadelphia and Esperanza College of Eastern University’s Medical Assisting program and launched an externship program for Esperanza College students.
Professor Wood is the Manager of the Quality of Life Department at CTCA and teaches a 10-week externship program each semester at Esperanza College. During the 10-week course, the medical assisting students gain practical experience by working with CTCA staff. The relationships students forge through this partnership represent a new thriving Hunting Park as more Latino students gain access to experience in a field where they have traditionally been underrepresented.
The professor serves as a mentor to the students through the 10-week externship program. She provides them with hands-on medical experience to use beyond the classroom. The Esperanza College Medical Assisting program requires all students to complete dedicated clinical hours—an opportunity that CTCA provides at their Wyoming Street campus—easily accessible for students who want to work in their community.
The externship program is an opportunity to work alongside students and discover new and exciting opportunities for Latinos in the sciences. Typically, during the externship program, Professor Wood’s students get to know CTCA’s departments and learn from them, as well as how to manage the patient quality of life. Helping these students learn and grow has been extremely fulfilling for Professor Wood.
The CTCA partnership with Esperanza College helps students realize their potential and acclimate themselves to different career paths along the way. Students “want to go further than what they are now. Education provides that outlet for many students in the program,” says Professor Wood.
In the future, Wood hopes to offer additional opportunities for Esperanza students in cancer prevention and health cures fields so that more people can live in a thriving, healthy community.
CTCA joined Esperanza College as a returning sponsor and partner for the Second Annual Minorities in Health Sciences Symposium on October 12, 2018. Designed to expand the horizons of Philadelphia students and connect interested young people with practitioners in the field who look like them, Professor Wood believes this event helps her own medical assisting students to think, “maybe I want to dream bigger.” We are grateful for the continued partnership of CTCA with Esperanza College and their incredible investments in making Hunting Park a destination.
Esperanza College Brings Together the Next Generation of Diverse Health Sciences Professionals
Another successful symposium is in the books!
On October 12, the Esperanza College Minorities in Health Science Symposium brought together more than 150 high school students from the Greater Philadelphia area with professionals in the health field for a day of networking, conferences and science activities at Esperanza’s state of the art laboratories. Leaders from across Philadelphia, including presenting sponsor Jefferson Health’s Dr. Jack Ludmir, Senior VP and Associate Provost, joined us to celebrate the contributions young Hispanic women and men make in the #STEM fields like medicine, science, research, and innovation.
The symposium was a successful meeting of sponsors, partners, and students who learned about career possibilities in the sciences. Esperanza College hosted the event thanks to presenting sponsor, Jefferson, as well as supporting partners CTCA, Einstein, PCOM, Aetna Better Health, and Penn Hospital.
Keynote speaker Dr. Jack Ludmir, who has traveled to every country in Latin America and is now responsible for developing academic partnerships for Jefferson University both locally and globally, has worked in the sciences for more than 30 years. Dr. Ludmir stated he was, “very fortunate to stay in academic medicine for all of my life. But I never forgot my roots.”
In his keynote address, Dr. Ludmir wanted the students to know that “caring is the most important part of the business,” in health-related fields.
Vivian, a local high school student, stated after hearing speakers like Dr. Ludmir during the symposium that “It was very helpful, and it helped me stabilize my decisions and helped me get motivated even when I know it was hard.”
Students also engaged in professional networking with speakers and science professionals during the event. The high schoolers had the unique opportunity to engage in scientific demonstrations such as splicing DNA, prepared slides for reviewing cells under a microscope, saw firsthand a dissected brain and a fetal pig.
We hope you’ll consider joining us at our symposium next year!
Esperanza competes in Aetna Voices of Health Campaign for $20K: Vote now!
We’ve been given a great opportunity to create change for Hunting Park, the neighborhood we serve in Northeast Philadelphia. The Aetna Voices of Health competition gives organizations like us a way to improve our community by addressing social health issues. YOU can help us win $20,000 toward on-going sustainability programs by voting for us.
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