P3A050: From Crisis to Opportunity: How the Pandemic Is Motivating High School Students to Pursue Careers in Healthcare

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic led to ongoing shortages of healthcare professionals. This study aimed to demonstrate the impact of the pandemic on high school students’ interest in pursuing healthcare careers.

Methods: Students of 8 high schools in Milwaukee and its suburbs were asked via a web-based survey to fill out 15 questions anonymously. Four schools were public, 2 were religious, and 2 were private, not religious. Information collected was students' demographics, opinions on the effectiveness of the healthcare system's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, interest in pursuing a career in the healthcare field before and after the pandemic, and their motivations for doing so. There were no incentives. Respondents could opt out of any question. The data was analyzed using Chi-Square and Fisher Exact Tests. P-values were calculated, and False Discovery Rate (FDR) was used to adjust for multiple testing.

Results: 2949 out of 5499 students (53.6%) responded to the survey. 883 (29.9%) of respondents were thinking of pursuing a career in healthcare prior to the pandemic. Of those, 235 (27.7%) reported that the pandemic further increased their interest in healthcare, with 585 (69.5%) reporting interest in studying medicine. Of those previously uninterested in a healthcare career, 234 (11.5%) reported increased interest in healthcare due to the pandemic. Of those, 112 (50.7%) were motivated to work for people/help the underprivileged, and 76 (33.5%) wanted to become a psychologist. Those who reported being more likely to pursue a career in healthcare prior to the pandemic were female gender (n=571, p < 0.0001), white and Asian (n=654, p=0.014), attended a public school (n=351, p=0.08), and had an immediate family member in healthcare (n=364, p< 0.0001). The pandemic significantly increased the interest in pursuing a career in healthcare among females (n=133, p=0.003) and those who were not initially considering a career in healthcare among females (n=115, p=0.0007) and freshmen (n=100, p=0.037).

Conclusion: Many high school students are interested in pursuing a career in healthcare post-pandemic. Among those with new interest, associations were observed with several demographic variables, including female students and freshmen. Interestingly, respondents who became motivated by the pandemic to pursue a career in healthcare expressed a desire to help others, in particular, as a psychologist. This information can be used to develop strategies to support and encourage high school students to consider healthcare as a viable career choice.