CLAIRE C. LAURENCE/Arizona Daily Wildcat Dr. Christopher Leaden, senior associate dean of the college of medicine, speaks to microbiology senior Joshua Mason about student life and admission requirements for medical school at yesterday's Health Professions Career Fair. Several other representatives, including the U.S. Navy and Midwestern University, were on hand to provide students with details and advice on careers in the health industry.

Students interested in health professions got a chance to rub elbows with recruiters and agencies about careers in the field.

Various Arizona schools provided 223 students with information about health professions and volunteer and internship opportunities at yesterday's Health Professionals Fair in the North Ballroom in the Student Union Memorial Center.

Facts were provided regarding admissions, programs, classes and opportunities, said Randi Kent, advising specialist in the Pre-Health Professions Advising Center.

The Bayada Nurses Home Health Agency had representatives at the fair who not only supplied students interested in nursing with information about their agency and volunteer opportunities, but also to educate students about what home care nurses do.

"The community might not understand what home care is really about. We want to educate students and let them know there are opportunities for them to see what nursing is like and have experience in the field, " said Mary Griffin, an employee in the Bayada Human Resources department.

Many students attended the fair to explore career options, and found it exposed the wide range of opportunities available in health professional field that they did not already know about.

Physiology junior John Kanady is still unsure what career he wants to pursue, but said the fair opened his eyes a little.

"(It) allowed me to realize that there is a broad field of opportunity out there for me to choose from," Kanady said.

One student considering nursing found the fair to be helpful for looking into what programs the UA offers to nursing students.

"I came to learn about different possibilities that U of A offers, many of the programs seem really good," said Jenna Brusca, a pre-nursing freshman.

Some schools, like Pima Community College, attended the fair to show students that the UA and PCC have similar programs with different classes, which broaden a student's degree, said Max Atwell, PCC lead faculty in Dental Laboratory Technology.

"Students have flex options and if they are interested in dentistry, they can take more tactile classes which offer a more hands-on experience than the hard sciences classes," Atwell said.

Even if students did not find an exact career at the fair, some took advantage of networking opportunities.

Charity Reynolds, a pre-medical sophomore, said she is still exploring her options for becoming a pediatrician, but said everyone at the fair was friendly and approachable, and she met people who would be good to network with and who could provide volunteering and internship possibilities in the future.