Evaluation of high-school health science careers program impact on student retention and careers

The purpose of this research was to longitudinally measure the impact of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-School of Health Related Professions high-school Health Science Careers program on student retention in health careers. Students (n = 1,218) who earned college credit in the program from 1996 to 2002 were surveyed. The response rate was 17% of the total and 21% of the deliverable surveys. Students were equally distributed between vocational, comprehensive, and academy-type schools. Ninety-seven percent of the students continued their education after high school, with 70% attending 4-year colleges. Forty-nine percent of those entering 2-year colleges and 57% of those entering 4-year colleges pursued health-related careers. Ninety-five percent perceived the Health Science Careers program as valuable. The findings suggest that the Health Science Careers program was helpful in guiding students toward health-related professions. The evaluation helped to understand the impact and to realize the positive and negative aspects of the program by the respondents.