College students looking to make most of degrees, might consider health care

Field is always looking for men to get into nursing. 

College starts soon and for many, where they end up upon graduation is still a mystery.

Picking a field of study is often somewhat of a trial and error the first couple years.

But, Sandy Littlejohn in the human resources dept. at Gundersen Health System in La Crosse, does have some advice for those looking to make the most of their degrees upon graduation.

“There’s great opportunity for both entry level positions as well as positions that require higher education,” she said of health care. “The advancement opportunities are wide open … for people seeking to help others.”

Often, there are jobs out there stereotyped for men. But, in the healthcare field, there’s one job that’s quite the opposite and Littlejohn is hoping to change that mentality.

“Men in nursing is considered, maybe one of those areas that we could do better at recruiting and promoting,” she said. “We really want to have a conversation about how we think about that differently.”

Littlejohn added that, when hiring, they also look at the diversity of the population, trying to create an environment equal to that within the health care system.

“By increasing our diversity within the healthcare team, to be more representative of the community that’s being served, we actually are assuring more culture competent care,” she said.

Littlejohn says they try to also help attract people to rural areas, including a program that helps with student tuition if they work there.