ONE OF TEN WAYS UP
Carle and OSF are two of the biggest employers in the county, and they are permanently hiring. You can be a certified nursing assistant at 16, an EMT at 18, a nurse by your early twenties. Healthcare is the path where the ladder is bolted to the wall and every rung pays.
High schoolers earn the certified nursing assistant credential with real clinical hours at a nursing home, mostly paid for by your district.
OSF's teen volunteer program puts you in real departments a few hours a week. You find out fast if the environment fits you.
Free job shadowing from age 16 lets you follow nurses and techs through actual shifts before you commit to anything.
CNA, then EMT, then nursing or respiratory or radiology. Each one raises your pay while you train for the next.
Both systems help fund schooling for people already working for them. Get in the building, then climb.
Juniors and seniors take the certified nursing assistant or emergency medical services track at Parkland during the school day: college credit plus hands-on clinicals at a real nursing home. Most districts cover the tuition.
Ask your counselor for the ECCA application, or call (217) 355-1382.
One semester to the Illinois CNA exam and a real healthcare job, the standard first rung toward nursing. Includes the state exam fee in tuition.
Contact Parkland Health Professions to check placement and register.
Free short-term shadowing of real healthcare professionals at Carle's Champaign-Urbana facilities, up to 12 hours. General shadowing starts at 16.
Fill out the shadowing application on the Grow With Us page.
Structured hospital volunteering in Urbana from age 16: outpatient support, patient transport, meal service, and shadowing a department before you commit. Three to four hours a week for at least six months.
Call Volunteer Services at (217) 337-2378.