Cailyn Greisen knows she wants to do something in healthcare after she graduates from Perham High School this spring, but she is still determining what. When she heard about the job shadow program between the high school and Perham Health, she jumped at it.

The job shadow program allows high school seniors to spend a trimester following and closely observing healthcare employees in various departments performing their jobs. Students gain an understanding of role requirements and job tasks.

The program allows students to shadow in various hospital, clinic, and nursing home areas.

Every morning from 8:15 to 10 a.m., Cailyn heads from the high school to Perham Health and the department she is to job shadow that day. The schedule allows her to shadow in each department around three times.

“I’ve been in the operating room watching surgeries and in the emergency department. I’ve observed in physical therapy, occupational therapy, pain management, radiology, pharmacy, wound healing, cardiac rehab, and lab. Any department you can think of, I’ve been in it. I follow the nurses, technicians, and providers around and get to ask questions,” she explains.

The job shadow program has allowed Cailyn to experience medicine up close. “I think the coolest things I’ve seen so far are a hernia repair, total hip replacement, and circumcision. I got to go into the OR and actually watch the surgery. That was super cool,” she says. “Connecting the things I learned in anatomy class last year to the human body is fascinating.” She’s also observed wound cleanings, colonoscopies, and blood draws.

Being in various departments has exposed Cailyn to areas of healthcare to which she has yet to give much thought.

“I have a new appreciation for the lab team. I don’t think the average person knows how much truly goes on in the lab and how much they do for patients. Almost every patient who comes into the hospital or the clinic at some point needs blood work or a urine sample. It seems like they are everywhere,” she explains.

She attributes the job shadow to helping her narrow her choices before college and medical school.

“This experience has guided me into where I want to go. Talking to doctors, hearing their stories and what they’ve done in the past, makes me want to be a doctor even more,” says Cailyn.

It’s also helped her learn more about her likes and dislikes. She’s learned that she likes obstetrics, the emergency department, and surgery and that forming connections with patients is important to her. Therefore, she isn’t as interested in behind-the-scenes jobs such as lab or pharmacy. She’s also learned that she likes working in the hospital better than the clinic.

She is grateful for the one-on-one time everyone has given her. “I am a huge fan of Dr. Brett Glawe. I’ve watched him in surgery and procedures, and he explained the various parts, how it all worked, and what caused the problem. He is a great teacher. He also helped me understand what his average day looks like,” she said.

“Dr. Illene Reed let me watch a procedure, explained everything she was doing, and let me peek over her shoulder. A lot of the providers have been good with teaching, and that has been super nice,” she says.

Going between the high school and Perham Health has been smooth. She heads to Perham Health in the morning, and at 10 a.m., she heads back to the high school. Her first class is an open hour, so if surgery is going long or something else interesting is happening, her teacher has been understanding.

She wants to encourage other high school students to do the job shadow.

“Do it. It truly allows you to see behind the scenes that you don’t get to see as a patient. It’s super fascinating, and you learn something new every single day. If you’re considering going into healthcare, it can help you narrow your choices. It also helps with job shadow requirements and is something you can put on your application. It’s been great,” Cailyn says encouragingly.

After graduation, Cailyn will head to the University of North Dakota, where she plans to major in biology with an emphasis on health science. After that, she plans to head to medical or physician assistant school. Her experience with the job shadow program has been a great learning experience for her and has started her path to success.

Learn more about the job shadow program. I don’t see anything about it on the website so not sure where to direct them.

About Perham Health 

Perham Health is a 25-bed Critical Access Hospital with three primary care clinics, a 96-bed nursing home, home health care agency, adult day services, memory care assisted living, and senior housing.  The medical staff consists of 24 physicians, a nurse midwife, 14 advance practice clinicians, and three chiropractors. Visit perhamhealth.org to learn more.