Scrubs Camp: Inspiring the Next Generation of Healthcare Workers

Since 2012, the goal of Scrubs Camp at Saint Paul College has been to get students excited and interested in pursuing a career in the health sciences. Students come to campus, learn from employer partners and college instructors about the many different career paths available to them in the medical field, and return home motivated and focused on their future possibilities. Campers interact directly with working professionals, tour multiple sites and lab spaces, and dive into hands on activities in surgical, nursing, pediatrics, EMT, homecare, pharmacy and more. A typical camp experience exposes students to a variety of lab equipment like microscopes, slides, specimens, simulation mannequins, and surgical tools.

Scrubs Camp showcases employers and roles across the metro. Employer partners who volunteered their time to help educate students at Scrubs Camp 2026 included staff from Fairview, Allina, MN Children’s, Mayo Clinic, ACR Homes, Living Well Healthcare, the Minnesota Department of Health and Pediatric Home Services.

• The mission of Scrubs Camp is to expose young people to as many healthcare fields as possible. If they love it, great—and if they don’t, that’s okay too. It’s an opportunity to try a whole career field on for size. Saint Paul College also encourages students to explore other high interest summer camps in areas such as Culinary, Cosmetology, IT/Video Game Design, Welding and Machining. Scrubs Camp is fun, engaging, and gets students thinking differently about their futures. Learn more at https://www.saintpaul.edu/academics/wtce/high-school-camps/ 

Scrubs Camp also provides meaningful benefits to the broader community by strengthening the region’s healthcare talent pipeline. By giving high school students early exposure to in demand healthcare careers, the camp helps cultivate future professionals who are informed, prepared and enthusiastic about entering the field. This early engagement supports long term workforce development efforts across the metro area by connecting students with real employers, highlighting local career opportunities and encouraging intentional pathways into in-demand healthcare roles. Programs like Scrubs Camp play an important part in ensuring that the community has access to a strong and skilled healthcare workforce, supporting both economic vitality and overall community well being.