Since OhioHealth’s Pickerington Medical Campus opened last year, students in the Pickerington Local School District’s biomedical sciences program have had a direct line to their course of study.
This past June, OhioHealth and the district joined forces to create a new learning space for members of the biomedical sciences program. Inside this 2,000-square-foot classroom, the 36 high school seniors can learn the ropes of a variety of careers within the health care field.
Each school day, students visit the classroom located on the third floor of the campus’ Refugee Road location. Ideally, students spend half their time in a classroom setting and the other half in the field, gaining firsthand experience.
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Thirty-six high school seniors have access to the OhioHealth classroom. Photos courtesy of OhioHealth and GenreCreative
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“(We’ve had students tell us) that the program has really helped them focus in on what they want to do after high school and what path they want to take in college,” says district Superintendent Valerie Browning-Thompson. “It’s really helping them discover new fields. The kids that are in this program are very motivated and independent, and that’s an aspect that makes them successful.”
Though it’s only high school seniors in the OhioHealth classroom, the biomedical sciences program starts in the seventh grade. Including the younger students, there are 500 total in the program.
“It’s very different from the traditional school setting, and I think that (the students) realize they are special,” Browning-Thompson says.
The integrative aspect of the program helps students zero in on fields they might want to study in college, but it also helps them weed out career paths. A lot of students, Browning-Thompson says, choose nursing.
“There are actually about 100 different careers in the medical field they can go into,” she says. “A lot of the program is introducing them to all the different opportunities that are out there for them. … Someone might want to be a respiratory therapist, but then change their mind when they get the exposure.”
OhioHealth provided $140,000 to help the district construct the classroom. It leases the room to the district for $1 a year. The classroom is fitted with an Apple TV, 3D printer, conference room, storage room and other amenities.
“(OhioHealth and the district) agreed that this is something we wanted to partner with,” says Rob Davies, director of the campus. “The STEM program is something that Pickerington is doing a really good job in.”
While the students are using the OhioHealth facilities, Davies says, they are treated like associates and can access the same amenities as OhioHealth employees, such as parking privileges and a discount at the campus cafe.
“We try to integrate them and keep them up to speed,” Davies says. “It’s beneficial for the students and it’s beneficial for (OhioHealth). We get to learn from them. It’s amazing how intelligent some of these kids are. They’re the future of health care.”
Hannah Bealer is an editor. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
Equipment included in the learning space:
- 12-lead EKG
- Metabolic physiology probe system
- 3D printer
- Spirometers
- Hand dynamometer
- Blood pressure cuffs
- Heart rate monitors
- Electromuscular measuring leads
- Wingate power testing bike
- Medical grade treadmill
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