WO R KF O R CE
L AY ING T HE
FOUNDATION Youth across North Dakota to learn about health professions through the annual Scrubs Camps.
Many healthcare professionals will often recall the exact
“I know how good Scrubs Camps are in person,” Tofteland
moment they realized they wanted to enter the healthcare
said, “and I know how impactful these hands-on sessions are. I
field. For Liz Tofteland, a registered nurse, it was witnessing
just didn’t want to do the virtual route if we could help it.”
a helicopter ride to the hospital for her grandfather when she was young. Now, she is creating opportunities for students to have their own “aha” moment through local Scrubs Camps.
keeping participants distanced, she was able to have an in-person event with eight presenters, all from the local
Unlike Scrubs Academy, which brings sixth- through eighth-
Linton community. “I am a nurse, and I know how important
grade students from all over the state to the UND School
connection and engagement is. I think these camps are so
of Medicine and Health Sciences for a 4-day health career
important,” she said.
immersion camp, the Rural Collaborative Opportunities for Occupational Learning in Health (R-COOL-Health) Scrubs Camps are one-day camps hosted in rural communities.
So far this year there have been eight Scrubs Camps in North Dakota, reaching an estimated 1,400 students in all. The largest camp took place virtually for the Devils Lake region,
The Scrubs Camps program is operated by the UND Center for
with 630 fifth- and sixth-grade student attendees
Rural Health (CRH), and focuses on students in grades 5-12.
from 14 area schools. Jennifer Carlson,
Camps are organized by local site coordinators and supported
executive director of the
by CRH grant funds. As part of the grant requirements, sites
Northeast Education
must work with a local healthcare facility, economic or job
Services Cooperative,
development authority, and a local school so that each camp is
is the site coordinator
a community-wide effort. The collective goal is an event where
for this camp, which
students can learn about careers in healthcare from local
was held through
healthcare professionals, which clears the ground for their later
Zoom in March.
entry into the health workforce pipeline. Tofteland is the ND eCare School Health program manager for the Central Regional Education Association, which covers 48 public school districts, plus additional non-public schools and colleges. As part of her role, she works to expose students to healthcare careers by hosting Scrubs Camps in various areas within her region. The most recent camp hosted by Tofteland was on April 15 in Linton, N.D., reaching 44 junior and sophomore students. The camp was initially going to be virtual, but Tofteland, who has hosted camps in the past, did everything she could to have the event in person.
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Following all appropriate COVID-19 precautions, and
North Dakota Medicine Summer 2021
