CORPUS CHRISTI, TX—In the world of healthcare, collaboration is key. Teamwork and effective leadership are essential components in ensuring the well-being of patients. Recognizing this, students at Flour Bluff High School recently undertook a unique project that not only challenged their creative abilities but also instilled in them the importance of working together harmoniously in a healthcare setting.

Fernanda Mendoza, one of the participating students, emphasized the significance of group dynamics in healthcare. She noted, “I think, especially since we’re going to work in the healthcare field, learning those group dynamics is really important, so the activity showed us that each person has a specific role but if we work together as a group and develop those leadership characteristics, we can create a final product.”

This sentiment was echoed by Ayden Eger, who highlighted the difficulty of healthcare teams, saying, “Do what you can do with the people you have because in hospitals you don’t always get to choose your team.”

Kennedy Teel emphasized the skills they acquired during the project, stating, “While doing this project, we learned how to communicate with each other, be assertive, and work with different people.” These skills are vital in a healthcare environment where effective communication and collaboration can be a matter of life and death.

The project not only taught these aspiring healthcare professionals about teamwork but also pushed them to personal differences. April Resio commented, “It taught us that putting aside our differences is going to help us get to one goal even though our differences might be big. In healthcare, you’re not always going to like your team, but you have to learn to look past it and achieve the goal; everyone has a goal to save a life.”

Under the guidance of Valarie Garcia, the students embarked on this ambitious project. Garcia commended her students, stating, “Our health science students had a project and it was making a 3D ambulance with whatever materials they had. They had to be able to collaborate as a team. Working in healthcare, collaboration is a big thing. Even though you may or may not like your team members, it’s a good thing to know how to work together to get the job done. The students all came together, got materials, worked three days, and worked hard to be able to get the ambulance the way they wanted. Some students went all out and made the ambulance move, put lights on it and decorated it with a certain theme. They collaborated as a team to create the ambulance and worked hard together. I think that some of the students really showed their leadership skills. In the end, their projects really came together as a team.”

This project reinforces the idea that effective healthcare is a team effort where individuals must put aside personal differences and work together for a common goal – saving lives. As they move forward in their healthcare education and careers, the skills they honed during this 3D ambulance project will undoubtedly serve them well, reminding them that success in healthcare often begins with collaboration and leadership.