February 2010
Welcome to Pathways!
HCC officers
Our goal is to serve as a resource for you as you navigate the pathway through school and, ultimately, to a health career. Each month, you'll receive career and college planning tips, advice and resources to help you make your health career dreams a reality.

News from NC-HCAP...

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NC-HCAP now has a home on Facebook. Stay connected to NC-HCAP and all the resources and activities we offer to help you make your health career dreams a reality.
In This Issue
News
Motivational Minute
Health Careers 101
Spotlight on Success
Strategies for Success
Resources
Join our Mailing List!
About NC-HCAP
The North Carolina Health Careers Access Program (NC-HCAP) is located at UNC-Chapel Hill. Additional campus-based centers are located at Elizabeth City State University, North Carolina Central University, and the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.

Established in 1971 by Dr. Cecil G. Sheps, we work to increase the number of underrepresented minorities or economically and/or educationally disadvantaged students who are educated, trained and employed in the health professions.

For more than 35 years, we have provided thousands of students with a variety of programs and activities to raise their awareness of opportunities available within the health professions and to increase their competitiveness as health professional school applicants.

We're always here to assist you. Simply contact us at:

(919) 966-2264
[email protected]

http://nchcap.unc.edu
Motivational Minute

"It is clearly not the journey for everyone. People succeed in as many ways as there are people. Some can be completely fulfilled with destinations that are much closer to home and more comfortable. But if you long to keep going, then I hope you are able to follow my lead to the places I have gone. To within a whisper of your own personal perfection. To places that are sweeter because you worked so hard to arrive there. To places at the very edge of your dreams." 

-Michael Johnson, 4-time Olympic gold medalist and 8-time World Champion
Health Careers 101

We've all gone to the pharmacy to pick up medicine when we're under the weather. But have you ever considered pharmacy as a career?

Not only do pharmacists help people get well, but they also get to work directly with patients in a variety of settings from colleges and schools to hospitals and the pharmaceutical industry. Better yet, they are in high demand -- and in today's economy that's hugely important.

Pharmacist
Pharmacists prepare medicine prescribed by a doctor and teach people how to use medicine safely. They act as a link between patients and physicians to ensure that proper medical therapy is chosen and carried out in the best way possible. In addition to working in a drug store, pharmacists can also work in hospitals, clinics, or labs doing research and development.  

Salary: $96,627


Education: You will need at least two years of undergraduate study followed by four years of pharmacy school. Graduation from pharmacy school will earn you a Doctor of Pharmacy degree (Pharm. D).

Hot Link: Visit www.aacp.org org for more information. 

Source: NC-HCAP Health Careers Information & Enrichment Workshop manual
Spotlight on Success

ernest grant"Mr. Burn Center": Nurse Extraordinaire

Esteemed nurse got start at North Carolina community college

By Clarke Morrison

Growing up the youngest of seven children in a poor Swannanoa family, Ernest Grant was determined to be the first one in his family to get a college education and a job in the health care field.

 

After high school, Grant attended Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, where, in 1977, he graduated from the practical nursing program. He later went on to earn his BSN degree at NC Central University and his MSN degree at UNC-Greensboro.

 

Grant has worked 21 years at the N.C. Jaycee Burn Center in Chapel Hill, teaching emergency burn management to paramedics, EMTs and hospital personnel who transfer patients to the center. He also serves as an ambassador for the center, conducting fire and burn safety classes across the state, and sits on several national committees that explore fire and burn issues.

 

Dressed as Sparky the Fire Dog, the burn center's mascot, Grant teaches fire safety to hundreds of elementary school children. "He's so well known through the state and parts of the Southeast that he's known as 'Mr. Burn Center'," said Fred Price, nurse manager at the Jaycee Burn Center.

 

Among his many recognitions for his accomplishments, are the 2004 Outstanding Alumni Award by the American Association of Community Colleges and his selection as Nursing Spectrum magazine's 2002 Nurse of the Year.

 

"Ernest Grant lives, breathes, and thinks prevention every day," said Dennis Sherrod, associate director of the N.C. Center for Nursing.

Strategies for Success
The Key to Financial Success in College

So, you know you've got those college acceptance letters in hand and are ready to finalize plans for going. If you plan for your educational expenses and manage your money wisely throughout school, after graduation you'll be able to spend more time pursuing your dream job and less time worrying about how to pay off debt that could have been avoided.

We've teamed up with the Office of Student Financial Services at the UNC School of Medicine to give you ten steps to gain control over your finances in college as you head towards graduate and professional school. It's NEVER too early to start planning for your educational and financial future!

10 Easy steps to follow that will ensure financial success in college:

1. Live a lifestyle you can afford. Live BELOW your means while in school.

2. Limit the number of credit cards you have. Limit your total available credit.

3. Establish and maintain a strong credit history.

4. Keep accurate, well organized records of your financial activities.

5. Borrow as little as possible. Research and apply for all available scholarships.

6. Talk with your financial aid administrator about problems and concerns.

7. Never lend aid money to family or friends. When it's gone, you can't apply for more!

8. Apply for financial aid at the same time you apply for admission to school.

9. Plan for expenses you will incur with moving to school.

10. Be realistic about how much money you will earn once you graduate. Don't count on immediate  financial windfalls.

Resources
College Planning and Preparation
Find information on preparing for college at www.CFNC.org.
 
College Search
Browse college rankings, research and evaluate different colleges and universities, and pick the best match to meet your needs at http://www.princetonreview.com.
 
Financial Aid
High School Seniors, electronically submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at www.fafsa.ed.gov/.

The Carolina Covenant at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a college financing commitment between the university and historically low-income youth in North Carolina. Find out more at http://www.unc.edu/carolinacovenant/.

Enrichment Programs
For information about additional health professions enrichment programs, activities, and summer camps in your local area, contact the NC Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) in your area.


Health Careers
Explore a wide variety of health careers at www.aacp.org.

North Carolina Colleges and Universities
Learn more about North Carolina's 16 public universities by visiting the UNC System Website.

Hospital Administration
Find out more about Hospital Administration at www.hospitaladminlinx.com.


  Meet Ms. Rivera
As the pre-college outreach coordinator, Koyah Rivera is responsible for planning, developing and implementing pre-college outreach initiatives across North Carolina.

Before joining NC-HCAP, Rivera was employed as a college admissions counselor at Shaw University in Raleigh. She has served as a Language Arts teacher for Wake County Public Schools and TV news producer/writer at two NBC TV stations. She is also the founder/executive director/TV host of Beyond Gifted, Inc., a non-profit organization which produces the "Beyond Gifted" television program to assist K-12 students in developing post-secondary plans to reach school and life success. She received dual B.A. degrees in communications and English from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.