OMAHA, Neb. -- Science teachers from all over Nebraska are in Omaha this week to learn how to encourage middle and high school students to pursue careers in health care.

The University of Nebraska Medical Center sponsors the annual conference so that teachers can learn about the latest research. The teachers take what they learn at the seminar back to their classrooms.

Michelle Sell is a first-year resident at Clarkson College and a former student at Battle Creek High School. She said she believes that everything her science teacher brought back to the classroom from the seminars sparked her interest in pursuing the medical field.

"The important thing that Mrs. Shambly did was brought the Medical Center home to us, because we lived in small-town Nebraska, kind of a big scary place. Who knows what your going to do with your life? So, it made it more accessible to us," Sell said.

UNMC said it hopes the seminars increase the number of students in rural Nebraska who go into the medical field.