Kansas’ largest healthcare career fair is bigger than ever, providing even more opportunities for attendees to learn about practicing in rural and underserved areas of the state.
After 27 years, the Kansas Career Opportunities (KCO) Healthcare Career Fair will be held at three locations for the first time this fall.
Attendee registration is now open for KCO 2024, and exhibitor spaces are filling up fast. Overseen by KU Medical Center, KCO's mission is to encourage attendees to consider practicing in rural and medically underserved urban areas of the state. Residents, students and anyone looking to pursue a medical career can meet one-on-one with representatives from Kansas health care organizations that serve rural and urban underserved areas.
A third event was added
For many years, KCO was only held in Wichita and Kansas City, but last fall's inaugural KCO-Salina drew more attendees than expected, with 21 exhibitors and 15 different communities in attendance, plus 47 students, residents and guests.
KCO-Kansas City will have a new vibe this year with a casual meet-and-greet format at Boulevard Brewing Company.
KCO-Wichita is the largest of the three KCOs. Last year, a total of 178 residents, medical, nursing and physician assistant students and other health professionals participated along with 44 exhibiting organizations. Representatives from 35 different communities attended the Wichita event.
Representatives from rural Kansas health care organizations and attendees of the KCO-Wichita 2023 conference.
2023 participants share their experiences
Many medical students who attended KCO events last year expressed a strong desire to work in rural communities.
“It was great to see all the rural medical facilities out there,” said Zach Schroeder, a third-year medical student at KCO-Wichita last year. “I'm from a small town and I'm really passionate about rural medicine.”
Casey Wilson, a third-year medical student, attended KCO Wichita last fall. “I'm really interested in rural health care, so this (KCO) was really good,” she says. “I got to speak to some communities that I didn't even know had hospital systems or were so close to what I was looking for. It was great because I got to connect with some hospital systems that I was specifically interested in and had already looked into, and I also got contacts to visit later.”
Survey results revealed a significant change in perception: of participants who were initially not interested in practicing in rural areas, 100% said they would consider rural practice opportunities after attending KCO.
Third-year medical student Emily Bett made connections at KCO-Wichita last year that will serve her well in her final year of medical school.
“At the very least, I plan to do a rural training in my fourth year and decide if that's what I really want to do,” Bette says. “I hadn't really looked into rural training programs before. I was interested, but it's not just rural, and this program (KCO) has given me a lot of information that I wouldn't have had otherwise.”
Professional connections are built
Medical students aren't the only ones who benefit from attending KCO. Social worker Marla Herron said she was able to connect with many people both in and outside of her field at KCO-Wichita last fall.
“I was so excited to be here,” Herron said, “because so often in social work and health care you hear so much bad news, it was so encouraging. The people here were so enthusiastic.”
Visit the KCO webpage for more information about Kansas' largest healthcare career fair and watch a short video featuring testimonials from KCO 2023 attendees.
