UW Health is committed to cultivating the future health care workforce through a variety of educational and training programs and opportunities. UW Health’s Career Pathways Program proactively works to address projected workforce shortages, build internal and external pathways for specific health care careers, and build a more diverse UW Health workforce through strategic partnerships. 

One Career Pathways program is Health Occupations and Professions Exploration (HOPE), a one-day seminar that is designed to offer under-represented groups of high school students the opportunity to learn about more than 40 specific careers in health care with the guidance of a college mentor. Students involved in programs with local non-profit partners are invited to attend the day-long Saturday seminar.

During the sessions, students and their mentors hear from and have a chance to network with speakers from UW Health who are working in health care careers. Students and mentors also take part in hands-on and curricular activities to aid them in becoming familiar with the specific health care careers. The HOPE session concludes with the students completing a “road map” into the career in which they are most interested. The “road map” includes mapping out a current academic plan as well as a plan for post-secondary education and training.

After completing a HOPE session, students are eligible to sign up for a free CPR certification course, apply for job shadowing opportunities at UW Health and apply for summer internships at UW Health.