Answering the Call to Growing Diversity in the Healthcare Workforce

As the Oregon Health Authority continues to measure the need for increased diversity in healthcare, MIKE Program is responding with customized programming for high school students to consider careers in the field. MIKE’s newest pilot program at David Douglas High School aims to address the underrepresentation of diverse populations by expanding pipelines to a variety of healthcare professions in Oregon.

The most effective way to introduce students to healthcare careers is bringing healthcare professionals to them directly. MIKE developed programming at DDHS to focus on guest speakers who represent a range of healthcare professions. Each week the guests visit the Health Science I classroom of teacher Julie Caverly to discuss information about career training options and offer insight on what it’s like to work in their career fields. The students have been enthusiastic about the visits, even pushing for more time with the guests to extend their conversations.

David Douglas High School, located in East Portland, is one of the most diverse public schools in the area. The school serves 2,775 students with more than 95% qualifying for free/reduced lunches, and speaking 44 languages, of whom 50% are Ever-English Learners. By reaching out to the students directly, MIKE is helping to break down barriers experienced by communities of color with opportunities for students to explore healthcare career options they might not otherwise consider.

MIKE’s speaker lineup covers a broad range of options for the students, including one area highlighted by OHA, behavioral health services. The guest speakers include MIKE Advisory Board member Kim Filla, a licensed clinical social worker and therapist in private practice, as well as the director of family outreach and community programs at Rosemary Anderson High School/POIC. She’ll describe her achievement of earning a master’s degree in social work from Portland State University (PSU), her work in providing services for youth in a number of specialties covering mental health and other community support efforts.

Another speaker focused on mental health careers includes Lisa Nguyen, a recent graduate of George Fox University with a master’s degree in social work. Lisa will share her work within the intersection of social work and public health.

MIKE’s Board of Directors member Amy Engilis, an associate professor of sports medicine at Warner Pacific University, highlighted her journey within athletic training, sports medicine and teaching. She previously served as a guest speaker with MIKE at De La Salle North Catholic High School.

Nickie Dane, a second-year physician assistant student at Pacific University, described her experiences and the opportunities within her chosen career field. Morgan Burdick, an acute care nurse at OHSU, shared her training and work perspectives throughout her career transitions from social work to culturally responsive care for immigrant and refugee communities.

For other careers highlighted in the results from the student survey conducted prior to launching the pilot program, MIKE invited Natasha Astrakhan to speak about her experience as a county health outreach worker and how she earned her degree in exercise science at Linfield University. Amelia Goff, a nurse practioner, spoke about her work in addiction medicine at OHSU. Victor Joseph Nyabute Omboke discussed his work as a certified nursing assistant at OHSU and his studies to earn a psychology degree program from PSU.

Another field the students were interested in was naturopathic medicine. Atara Jaffe, a nurse practioner who is studying at the National University of Natural Medicine, shared information about her career field and its outlook in public health.

MIKE’s longest-serving mentor, Sang Jimmy Mai, presented students with his journey to become a radiologic technician at the Portland VA Medical Center and his next stage in his training at Western University of Health Science, COMP-NW.

MIKE introduced the pilot program at DDHS in April and May. MIKE looks to expand programming at DDHS for the 2022-2023 academic year.