Career and Technical Education: Health Science Technology

Health Science Technology is offered at ALL HIGH SCHOOLS

Health Science Technology Education is stepping up to solve the shortage of healthcare workers in Texas. According to Susan Crawford, RN, MA, Health Science Technology educator at Clear Springs High School, “Clear Creek ISD’s Health Science Technology Program opens so many opportunities for our students. My previous students come back and tell me they use their experience from Clinical Rotation as the premise for their medical school application. Our students go behind closed doors in hospitals and observe procedures that many health care professionals have never seen, like heart and hip replacement surgeries. Our program is a fantastic opportunity waiting for those who dare to enter the health care profession.”

The Health Science Technology Education program is a result of partnerships between local health care facilities and health care industry employees that provide teachers and students with current professional development, program evaluation, and healthcare workforce demands. The curriculum health science courses with traditional academic classes and provides project-based instruction related to health care.

Health Science Technology I introduces students to the basics of healthcare and is a prerequisite to the Health Science Technology II and III courses. In Health Science Technology II, students participate in rotations at area hospitals, doctor’s offices, and clinics, observing and gaining hands-on experience in a variety of healthcare fields. In upper level Health Science courses, students can either shadow a mentor, study to be a certified Pharmacy Technician, or receive training to become a Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA).

Other Health Science Technology courses include Medical Terminology, World Health Research, Nutrition and Wellness, Pathophysiology, and Anatomy and Physiology. These courses introduce students to the language of medicine, the function of the human body, how disease processes and nutrition go hand in hand, and how drugs are named and function in the body.

Denise Finch, RN, BSN, Health Science Technology Education Instructor for Clear Lake High School, states “our problem stems not only from an aging population, but from an aging group of healthcare workers and is contributing to the staffing shortage in many healthcare facilities.” CCISD’s Health Science Technology Education program is intended to help alleviate the current and projected deficit.

“We offer a multitude of classes that will serve students with interests varying from a career as a nurse to someone with aspirations for medical school,” says Finch. “This program attracts the best and the brightest. The program allows students to familiarize themselves with disease processes, medical terminology, the workings of healthcare, and more. These classes are an opportunity to use core classes such as Biology, Chemistry, and Anatomy and Physiology in real world application. Students participate in field trips, hands-on application, interactive learning, and lots of group activities.”