93% of students believed they would value the opportunity to gain real world experiences in career paths that interest them as presented in a survey given to Bryant sophomores and juniors in 2016 by the Bryant School District. In March 2016, the Arkansas State Board of Education granted Bryant School District a seat time waiver that opened the doors for the internship program, which began shortly afterwards.

After the beginning of the internship program, Saline Memorial Hospital has arranged internship positions for Bryant students annually. Senior Madison Blank applied and interviewed for a position to intern at the hospital, inspired by her previous anatomy class and wanting to broaden her experience in the medical field.

“I chose to intern at Saline to get experience for a future career and to get over my fear of hospitals. I found out about this opportunity through another student, Brice, and then also the internship teachers who were giving multiple different options,” Blank said. The internship program at the school gives students leeway at the beginning of the school year to find a job or internship position and, throughout the year, internship teachers provide various internship and job opportunities in the surrounding community that are open to students, including the open positions at Saline Memorial Hospital, which is how students become aware and able to apply to their open positions.

Saline Memorial Hospital opens internship spots for Bryant students in various areas of the hospital—including areas such as the labor and delivery floor, pharmacy, radiology department, and more. Senior Clara Noel aspires to become a registered nurse (RN) who will be stationed on the labor and delivery floor. Noel was able to spend nine weeks on the labor and delivery floor at the hospital and regards the experience as remarkable.

“The best experience I have had is getting to be on the labor and delivery floor and actually seeing what I will get to do one day and seeing the ups and downs of it all,” Noel said.

During her time interning at the hospital, Blank has had the opportunity to interact with various medical professionals and learn directly about the different fields of medical study. 

“My best experience would be learning from the pharmacist and being able to interact with them and experience what the medical field is really like,” Blank said. “I’ve learned so many different things about a multitude of different medicines and procedures.” 

Similarly, Senior Brice Burrough plans to go into the medical field, specializing in anesthesiology, which influenced his decision to intern at the hospital. However, Burrough’s most significant experience during his time at Saline Memorial was simply observing EKGs(a line graph that shows changes in the electrical activity of the heart over time) in the clinic. 

Students believe their time at Saline Memorial has taught them knowledge of the medical field, despite its vast size. However, Blank refers to more than just an increase in medical knowledge that she learned from her time at Saline Memorial.

“I’ve also developed a lot of soft skills from working in the hospital from having to work different areas of the hospital such as checking patients in from the radiology department, to interacting with paper work and doing math to transfer it into the computer,” Blank said.

Upcoming seniors for the Fall of 2023 will be given the opportunity to apply for internship positions through the school at Saline Memorial Hospital. If interested in this opportunity for the upcoming year, internship teachers Lindsey Forga([email protected]) and Leah Lile([email protected]) are available through their school emails to discuss the next steps needed to be taken to intern at the hospital.