On April 11th, 2024, I got to job shadow at Ozark Community Hospital (OCH) in Gravette. I got an in-depth look at all the work in the medical field and everything that goes along with that.  

I was gone all day long talking to people in the ER, lab, and radiology. I had to have a form signed by a parent and when I got to job shadow, I had to take a form and get it signed by the person who I job shadowed. 

OCH was started by Dr. Billy V. Hall in 1950.  The hospital started with 14 beds, and it reopened in 2000 with renovated rooms which were made into 45 beds. OCH is a hospital but there is also a clinic beside it. 

I got to see incredible things like the “river of bacteria,” which is what I called it. This is when a person gets to see urine or other specimens under the microscope and there is a whole new world. I called it the “river of bacteria” because when I looked into the microscope, there were like 5 or 6 “rivers of bacteria” swimming around. It is crazy how I can’t see these things in real life but under a microscope, I can see everything. 

I also got to see a live ultrasound of the human heart. I got to see it from 3 different angles– from the top, from the sides, and from the bottom. I could see the arteries, the chambers, and how the blood flows through the heart. I didn’t know this but the heart doesn’t pulsate, it twists kind of like when a person twists the water out of a rag. It does this because of how blood has to flow through the heart. It was one of my favorite things I have gotten to do. If I could go back and do it again, I would!

If I could advise students who want to job shadow, I would tell them to do it. It helps students figure out what they want to do. I went in there wanting to do an X-ray or ultrasound tech, but I left wanting to do ultrasounds of the human heart. Students should always take the opportunity to job shadow. 

I would also tell students to take something to write on. I took a bunch of notes about each job. Students should also make sure they have questions to ask because I went in there not having questions to ask but I had to stop and write questions down. It also makes the employees see that the person is serious about this career. It’s important to make sure the student is paying attention because this is something he/she wants to do as a career. 

Thanks to Melissa Fullmer and Joshua Barry, I was able to see incredible things. If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t have gotten to experience something so fun like this. I was a little nervous at first but when I got comfortable, it was amazing. If any students would like to job shadow, they should reach out to one of the GHS career coaches.