UNC Health Blue Ridge Partners with North Carolina School of Science & Math for Mentoring Program
Since 2023, UNC Health Blue Ridge is the place to be if you’re a student at the NC School for Science and Math and looking for a mentorship.
“We are the most popular organization requested for mentorship and receive numerous applications each session,” said Ashley Absher, Human Resources Specialty Services, and education experience coordinator. “A lot of the students come in thinking they want to be doctors, but we try to give them an overview of all hospital jobs.”
This past April, 16 seniors from NCSSM completed the mentorship program, all while balancing a full caseload alongside their research projects.
“We’re excited to offer these students the opportunity to learn more about the hospital,” Absher said. “These students are ideal for any process improvement or workflow projects any department may have.”
The mentorship runs from August to April, with students meeting twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1 to 4 p.m., working in pairs.
On Tuesday afternoon, the students meet with Campbell University School of Medicine students and participate in their didactic session. “This gives the NCSSM students a chance to ask the medical students about classes and what it’s like,” Absher said.
A few of the projects past students have completed for our teams include:
- Devising and Deploying Point of Care Ultrasound for Graduate Medical Education
- Developing a resource library for GME Faculty and Resident Curriculum
- Shadowing Experiences with multiple departments
- Participation in the Health System Science Curriculum
- Presentation of the HSS Curriculum to Campbell University SOM for participation.
- Participation in the Research Certificate Program
- Medication delivery time to new tower
- Impact of incident reporting and compliance for specimen collection on patient safety
- Created a communication plan for uninsured or under insured county residents regarding charity care
- Predictability analysis on patient accounts receivables.
Some departments participating this year included Accounting, Rehab Services, Human Resources, Accreditation and Patient Safety, Graduate Medical Education, Blue Ridge Medical Group and Data Analytics.
“My department has participated in the NCSSM mentorship program for the past two years,” said Jill Ryan, CPHQ, CPPS, Executive Director of Quality. “It has been both rewarding and energizing to engage with these bright, committed students. They’ve all been eager to learn about healthcare and explore opportunities to help us improve. After the research initiated by one of the students, we installed about 50 additional hand sanitizer dispensers throughout the patient care areas!”
This project, along with another on collecting lab specimens, was selected to be presented to the UNC Health Blue Ridge Board of Directors. “Their work positively contributed to a quality project for the organization,” said Dr. Gandhari Loomis, a member of the Board of Directors and Executive Medical Director of Blue Ridge Medical Group. “As the Chair of the Quality and Patient Safety Committee, I made sure they knew the impact of their contributions and that we appreciated their work.”
“I often say these students are the Nobel Prize winners of the future,” Ryan added. “And I look forward to watching their journeys!”
If you have a student interested in healthcare-related careers, visit our website for more opportunities: unchealthblueridge.org/careers/student-opportunities/.
