College hosts seven schools for Dual Enrollment Visit Day

More than 20 instructors and administrators from seven area schools recently accompanied 142 students for a Penn College Dual Enrollment Visit Day. The purpose of this event was to introduce individuals to programs within the School of Nursing & Health Sciences.

Students from Dauphin County Technical School, Central Pennsylvania Institute of Science and Technology, Bradford Area High School, Upper Dauphin High School, Mahanoy Area High School, Seneca Highlands Career and Technical Center, and Montoursville Area High School took part in activities like the “PPE Contamination Challenge,” “Medical Equipment Identification Station,” “The Physical Therapy Experience” and “Identifying Interesting Things on a Radiograph.”

Jess I. Etzweiler, clinical director of surgical technology, administered “Beyond the Scalpel,” an interactive experience designed for a hands-on, fast-paced simulation that showcases the critical thinking, precision and teamwork required in the surgical technology program. She explained that students first learned how to properly don surgical gowns and gloves before participating in a 30-minute “Save the Surgical Case” challenge. Working in teams, they rotated through three stations: identifying breaks in sterile technique within a simulated sterile field, naming surgical instruments and explaining their functions, and completing a precision-based laparoscopic skills task.

“The goal was to immerse them in the role of the surgical technologist and demonstrate that this career is about far more than passing instruments; it requires vigilance, technical knowledge and the ability to think critically under pressure,” Etzweiler said. “Students were engaged, competitive and genuinely excited to take on the challenges. The hands-on format allowed them to experience the fast-paced, team-oriented environment firsthand, which made the career feel tangible and exciting, rather than abstract.”

Cody R. Pavlick, coordinator of secondary partnerships outreach, said energy levels and engagement of students and faculty remained high throughout the day.

“Students asked insightful questions and appeared to gain a clear picture of how dual enrollment of coursework translates into real-world, hands-on careers through Penn College,” he said. “This event would not have been possible without the passion and enthusiasm of our esteemed nursing and health sciences faculty, our secondary partners and all those who contributed to its success.”

Each of the four Dual Enrollment Visit Days that take place throughout the year focuses on a specific school or program area at Penn College. Rotorfest, which introduces students to the emergency management & homeland security major and provides an opportunity to interact with a wide range of emergency response professionals, is scheduled for April 8.

Penn College Dual Enrollment works with 71 secondary partners across Pennsylvania, allowing 2,100-plus high school students to earn nearly 7,900 Penn College credits. Most of the courses are technical in nature, providing a career pipeline for skilled technicians and technologists that are in demand by business and industry throughout Pennsylvania.