Three certifications
Participants become certified in CPR and First Aid, and in Teen Mental Health First Aid — qualifications that stand on their own, whatever they decide to do next.
Moving Onward and Upward
Sophomores and juniors spend a school year inside a working hospital — shadowing, training and finding out what health care is actually like.
Grades 10–11Who it is for
Fall–springHow long it runs
3 certificationsEarned along the way
StipendOn successful completion
A Year Inside a Hospital
Local sophomores and juniors are selected to take part through partnerships between Northern WV AHEC and three health systems. The program runs from late in the fall semester through the spring semester.
Students explore health care careers by taking part in one — not by reading about it. They shadow clinicians, work through job skills hands-on, and are mentored by the people doing the work.
Alongside the placement, each student completes independent project assignments on the education and training that different health professions actually require. It is the part that turns “I might like this” into a plan.
What Students Come Away With
A stipend
Students who successfully complete the program receive a stipend. Taking part should not cost a family money it does not have.
Test preparation
A one-year ACT or SAT preparation course, provided through The Princeton Review.
Where Students Are Placed
Three health systems host the program, each taking students from its own communities.
Minnie Hamilton Health System
Launched 2011
The first host site, and the longest-running placement in the program.
WVU Medicine Camden Clark Medical Center
Launched 2023
Serving students in Wood County and the Mid-Ohio Valley, with virtual simulation added in 2024.
The 2025 Camden Clark cohort also took part in check-in meetings and Teen Mental Health First Aid training led by Donna Rollyson.
Mon Health Stonewall Jackson Memorial Hospital
Planning to launch 2026
The next host site, extending the program into Lewis County.
How to Apply
Each host site opens its own application window. Apply to the site that serves your school.
| Host site | Applications open |
|---|---|
| WVU Medicine Camden Clark Medical Center | 8–20 September 2026 |
| Minnie Hamilton Health System | October 2026 |
| Mon Health Stonewall Jackson Memorial Hospital | November 2026 (planned) |
Virtual Simulation at Camden Clark
In 2024 the Camden Clark placement added virtual-reality simulation in partnership with the Mid-Ohio Valley Workforce Development Board. Students used headsets to practice taking blood-pressure readings and assisting in a knee-surgery simulation, repeating clinical steps before encountering them on a ward.
It does not replace time on the floor. It gives students a controlled place to practice unfamiliar procedures first.
Not Quite the Right Fit?
If a year-long hospital placement is not what you are after, two other programs start from the same place.
Health Career Virtual Job Shadow Nursing Academy All Nine Programs