INDIANAPOLIS— On Monday morning, high school students from across Indiana were starting their summer break at camp. About 100 of them are at Marian University's Healthcare Camp.
"Physical therapy, I’ve found an interest in that lately," said Gregory Powe, a participant and senior at Lawrence Central High School.
The week long camp is a hands on experience of high schoolers to learn about jobs in the health care field. This is Powe's second year here.
"You don’t really know what the options hold until you pursue them. I think that’s what this camp does. It bridges that gap, that knowledge gap of knowing something and actually doing it," said Powe.
Besides giving them a hands on experience, it could also fill a big gap in the health care field. Over the last few years, Marian University has been working to fill a shortage of healthcare workers.
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According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, by 2036 it's estimated the United States will be short 86,000 physicians.
It's an issue seen here right in Indiana. In 2021, Indiana ranked 40th in the country for primary care physicians by population with 5,503. Almost 60% of Indiana's 92 counties have a shortage of primary health care providers.
"There’s just a plethora of different fields so people coming in here may not know what they want, hopefully they can see what they like and don’t like," said Nathaniel Martine, a medical student at Marian University.
