Exploring Careers in Health Care
Exploring Careers in Health Care
At the Health Careers Pathway Discovery Day on Feb. 19, 2026, about 250 students from San Joaquin County met with local employers, higher education institutions, and working professionals to get a better understanding what careers are available – and what it takes to get there.
“Students need to know what opportunities are out there, because there is such a diverse field in health care,” said Christie Fuso, SJCOE agriculture and work-based learning coordinator.
Organized by the SJCOE’s STEM, Workforce Development, and Innovation department in partnership with HealthForce Partners California, the event was made possible through a work-based learning grant from the WE Will! K-16 Workforce and Education Collaborative.
At the event students heard from inspirational speakers and explored the Career Horizons Hall, where they met with potential employers and learned about educational programs at San Joaquin Delta College, University of the Pacific, and Stanislaus State, Stockton campus.
The breakout sessions were made to expand student horizons and show them how varied health care careers are. They learned about everything from physical therapy, mental health therapy, correctional health, public health, and more.
“Not only do they get to identify the different career paths, they get to see what that person does on a daily basis,” said Kristin Shinn, county director for HealthForcePartners California.
Before Isabella, a junior from Bear Creek High School (Lodi Unified School District), stepped into a morning breakout session – she knew that her top choice for a career was to be a pediatric nurse.
But after attending a session about labor and delivery nursing, she said she could see herself enjoying that as a career, too. Pediatric nursing was still her first choice, but this was a close second. “It made me see there are more options,” she said.
Anjika, a senior at Mountain House High (Lammersville Unified School District), appreciated being able to get more information about her options to go into a health care career.
“It’s really hard to pick the one that you want to spend the rest of your life doing,” she said.