Westerville City Schools’ Health Pathway program continues to grow and expand. A Health Careers Exploration Experience now joins a suite of eight courses from both the Project Lead the Way (PLTW) Biomedical program and Columbus State Community College classes offered through College Credit Plus (CCP). Nine students had the opportunity to shadow staff throughout various areas of the imaging, diagnostic, and women’s health departments of Mount Carmel St. Ann’s hospital. During the four weeks exploring the areas, they observed procedures, talked with doctors, nurses, and technicians, and learned about career paths. “This exploration experience has opened my eyes to more careers in the hospital, some of which I can get while earning my undergraduate degree,” noted a senior from Westerville Central.
Unhee Kim (Mount Carmel St. Ann’s President), Chris Rutter (Mount Carmel St. Ann’s Human Resources Director), and Jeff Coffman (Physician’s Assistant and CME Procedures President), helped to support and coordinate the experience. They joined participating students and district leadership at a Breakfast of Reflection held after the experience, on May 17. They said, “We were very pleased to host the students’ shadowing experiences at Mount Carmel St. Ann’s. Their excitement for learning and interest in expanding their knowledge throughout healthcare is encouraging. We look forward to growing these opportunities throughout St. Ann’s.”
The Health Careers Exploration Experience marks the start of a partnership between Westerville City Schools and local health systems to provide students with hands-on shadowing opportunities to understand and build professional skills in health-related industries.
Many of these pupils are also part of the group of 13 students who participated in a sequence of five classes that are part of the CCP program and will earn a Clinical Laboratory Assisting Certificate, an industry credential. Students took four courses (Medical Terminology, Basic Concepts in Healthcare, Lab Theory for Health Industries, and Introduction to Medical Coding and Reimbursement) at either Westerville Central or Westerville North High School as part of CCP. They completed the fifth course, Lab Techniques for Health Industries, at Columbus State Community College's main campus. The Clinical Laboratory Assisting Certificate is designed to provide exposure to the clinical laboratory techniques and procedures needed in entry-level laboratory jobs. This certificate benefits students who are interested in a healthcare career and would like to learn more about the clinical laboratory. Westerville students with this credential are now able to and are applying for jobs at hospitals around Central Ohio.
These students were recognized earlier this month at Columbus State Community College and received a small token for their accomplishments. Those earning this distinction include:
- Victoria Cochran, Philip Hendricks, Gabriella Pyke, Emily Schafhausen and Hiba Zouity, Westerville Central High School;
- Grace Beeba, Katelyn Chernauskas, John Fernandez, Courtney Fowler, and Emma Mierzejewski, Westerville North High School; and
- Cristin Kenny, Jordan Gayle, and Nancy Ohene-Oduro, Westerville South High School.
Eleven seniors will cross the stage wearing blue graduation cords representing completion of the district’s Health Pathway program. Students had to successfully complete six of eight course options in the pathway to be recognized. Seniors earning this distinction include:
- Molly Bloor, Victoria Cochran, Kathleen Curran, Gabrielle Gates, Philip Hendricks, Nakita Nair, Jonathan Zhu and Hiba Zouity, Westerville Central;
- Katelyn Chernauskas and John Fernandez, Westerville North; and
- Trinity Trimble, Westerville South.