Some of them want to be doctors several years down the road, and others are itching to get behind the wheel of an ambulance next year — either way, an increasing number of students are getting their start in health care at Midway High School.
The health science technology program at Midway isn’t the longest-running career and technology program at the school and it’s not the biggest, but it is the fastest-growing. It’s no wonder, considering that last year in Texas the demand for full-time registered nurses alone exceeded the supply by 22,000, according to the Texas Nursing Workforce Shortage Coalition.
Debbie Woods, Midway High health science technology instructor, taught one health science class in 2004-05. Today, the program has two teachers, six classes and about 200 students.
“Most of these are very serious, very goal-oriented students,” Woods said.
The program also is pulling a wide range of students of different academic ambitions and abilities. “I was really surprised the number of top 10 percenters I have in my classrooms,” Woods said, referring to students who are in the top 10 percent of their class, based on grades.
Heather Metzgar, Midway coordinator of career and technical education, said of the 1,960 Midway High students, about 85 percent take a career and technology class at some point. The career and technology program offers more than 40 classes that count as electives. The state made more room for these electives in students’ schedules this summer by eliminating the half-credit requirements of health and computer skills and reducing the physical education requirement.
As the state and the nation focus on producing a skilled workforce, schools like Midway continue to expand their career and technology course offerings to help with that goal. Midway is poised to add two new health science classes, anatomy and physiology and medical microbiology/pathophysiology, to the roster for next year, which each will count as a science credit.
The Midway school board is expected to approve those courses at its next board meeting. Additional courses awaiting approval by the board include audio/video production, fashion marketing, sports and entertainment marketing, food science, counseling and mental health, equine science, veterinary medical applications and principles, and elements of floral design.
Olivia Rascoe, a Midway High senior, is about to begin clinical rotations at Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center and Providence Health Center through her health science technology 2 class.
“I always was interested in working in a hospital later on, so when I found out about these classes, I thought it’d really help. I really just don’t know what I want to be, so that’s what I’m going to find out this year in clinical rotation,” said Rascoe, who plans to major in biology at Texas A&M University.
Rascoe’s classmate, senior Brittany Cockerham, is doing clinical rotations this year, but she also will graduate with her certified nursing assistant license after taking a dual-credit course between Midway and McLennan Community College. She said she may put that license to work while she goes to school to become a registered nurse.
Last year, 11 students got their certified nursing assistant license this way, and six students had jobs lined up when they graduated high school, Woods said. This year, Midway High added a dual-credit course with MCC by which students get their emergency medical technician certification. That certification also can help students get placed right away as they work their way through more training or college.
“It’s really helping to prepare them for that world of work,” Metzgar said about the courses.
Metzgar said not all parents and students are aware of all the options that career classes can offer the students, which ultimately could help them fit everything they want and need into their schedule. For instance, Metzgar said, any two-credit career class can be substituted for a PE class. Also, Midway ISD offers some basic graduation requirements, such as speech, in the summer so that students can get them out of the way.
This year, Midway has organized its career and technology offerings into career academies, and school officials are re-energizing efforts to help students find electives that interest them.
This October, students through 11th grade will retake the career survey that is given to all students in eighth grade to help them find electives that fit their interests and talents. This way, the students can begin courses in health care, agriculture, business and other areas that much sooner.(source) |
