Information about Classroom Chats

Classroom Chats is a program that connects healthcare professionals to 5-12th grade students across Montana.

We connect healthcare professionals with 5-12 classrooms and once matched, you will video chat into the classroom for a 30-60 minute session. The format is conversational, Q and A style so that the kids feel they’ve had direct contact with healthcare professionals. The goal of this program is to help students gain a better understanding of the various careers in healthcare and what the day to day looks like for a healthcare professional. This program is especially meant for schools in remote, rural areas that do not have easy access to a healthcare facility and a way to interact with healthcare professionals.

For Questions or Issues:

Contact Lily Apedaile, lily.apedaile@mso.umt.edu or 406-243-7946

Information for Healthcare Professionals

To participate in this program please fill out the form. We will then match you up with a classroom teacher that has a schedule that will work with your schedule. We will make the introductions between you and the classroom teacher, but you and the classroom teacher will need to determine a time that works for both of you. Once, you have this time please let us know so we can set up the video chat using Zoom. We understand that healthcare professionals have busy schedules that can change at a moment's notice, please try to let us know as soon as possible if you will need to cancel or reschedule your Classroom Chat. We greatly appreciate your willingness to be part of this program!

Once you are matched with a classroom teacher please provide them with a brief description of your profession for the teacher to share with their students. The teacher should have the students prepare questions or discussion points ahead of your chat. It is probably best to start off the call with an introduction of yourself and how you got to the point you are at. It is especially helpful to share struggles or challenges you have overcome in your career to help students understand that career paths are typically not linear! You probably will also want to have a couple of interesting or entertaining stories prepared to share with students. Keep in mind that this is not a lecture but a discussion so leave opportunities for students to ask questions and share with you.

Technology/Setup Requirements:

• Conference room, office, etc.
• Video Conferencing Equipment (webcam, microphone,etc.)
• Computer or Laptop
• Internet Access

Information for Educators

The goal of this program is to create positive interactions between healthcare professionals and 5th-12th grade students that foster an interest in pursuing a career in the healthcare field. At Western Montana AHEC we understand that many students do not have access to speaking with and learning from a healthcare professional so we want to bring them to the classroom!

To sign up for this program, fill out the Classroom Chats form (button above). We will then work to match you with a healthcare professional that has schedule that matches up with your classroom schedule. We will introduce you to the healthcare professional via email, but you will need to work with healthcare professional to finalize a date and time to do the Classroom Chat. Once, you have finalized this time either you or the healthcare professional needs to contact Lily Apedaile, lily.apedaile@mso.umt.edu, to let us know the date and time of the video chat. We will then set up the video chat in Zoom so your students can speak with the healthcare professional. The healthcare professional should also provide you with some information about themselves and their profession to share with the students ahead of time. Please work with your students to come up with questions or discussion points so that they can have a conversation with the healthcare professional. We are excited to work with you and your students!

If for some reason you need to cancel or reschedule your chat please let us know as far in advance as possible, we want to be respectful of the healthcare professionals’ time.

Technology/Setup Requirements:

• Video Conferencing Equipment (webcam, microphone,etc.)
• Computer or Laptop
• Internet Access