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A group of Fontana, Calif. high school seniors interested in the health care profession recently explored career paths at the Kaiser Permanente Fontana Medical Center through Kaiser Permanente’s internship program.

In total, 37 Fontana A.B. Miller High School Health Services Academy students participated in the program, which serves as a capstone course for the school’s H.A.S. — a three-year career technical education pathway introducing students to medical careers. The internship program, launched in 2005, returned this year after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As part of their internship experiences, students were divided into two three-week sessions and matched with one of 20 departments ranging from general surgery to dietary to pediatrics. They logged 24 clinical hours over the course of three weeks, which included shadowing health care workers. To celebrate their efforts, the seniors received a certificate of completion and a letter of recognition during the program’s graduation ceremony, which took place March 27.

“This is an experience like none other; they’re setting themselves up for a lot of opportunities and opening up doors for themselves as 17 and 18-year-olds,” said Ami Sandler, the Miller Health Services Academy coordinator, Career Technical Education site liaison and Science Department chair, in a recent . “There’s a good chance they may be coming back and working at Kaiser long-term, even after the summer internship program.”