You enter a classroom expecting a normal setting but the first thing you see is a dissected heart, molded skeletons and medical tools you’ve never even seen before. The teacher is pointing to a skeleton, explaining how the body works. This opportunity is offered through project lead the way; this is Noblesville High School’s Biomedical Pathway.
Senior Tori Adams has chosen to take the four year medical plan. This is a chance to learn the ins and outs of the medical field, to gain real life experience in new environments and shadow with medical personnel. As a child, Adams followed her mother, a nurse, around the hospital, inspiring her to pursue a career in the medical field. The medical pathway prepares students to engage with real world medical situations.
Principles of Biomedical Science is the introductory course which is taught by Linda Tomczuk, a teacher at NHS.
“It is meant to give students enough knowledge to go in different healthcare pathways and study it more in depth,” Tomczuk said.
The pathway provides students with information that is applicable to many careers in healthcare. It also teaches students about the different professions available.
“I want to be a nurse or a physician’s assistant, so my internship has definitely helped the most,” Adams said. “All of the classes leading up to my internship have helped so much.”
Throughout her internship in the PLTW course, Adams also learned about a Physician’s Assistant’s role in their everyday lives. Ultimately, Adams says she wants to make a difference and help people. Elizabeth Muller, a Human Body Systems teacher at NHS, has noticed a similarity among the different students within this pathway.
“[Students] want a career that they know makes a difference; they’re passionate about helping people,” Muller said.
Muller says there are a variety of careers in the healthcare field that help people in a variety of ways. Adams grew to appreciate the medical field through the personal experience of her family as patients in the hospital.
“What drew me into the medical field was seeing a bunch of my family members that had to have surgery,” Adams said. “I would go visit them and get to see the nurse check up on them. I wanted to be able to help people like they helped their patients.”
Adams’ experiences of being in the hospital has taught her the path she wants to take in life. Her internship allows her and other students to work in a hospital and shadow different medical personnel, so every day is different.
“The other day I got to go down to the emergency department and take care of a baby while their mom was in surgery.” Adams said.
Through the internship portion of the pathway, Adams has had many more experiences that stand out to her and have grown her appreciation for healthcare. Not only has Adams been able to shadow new career opportunities, but she has been able to see the real work of one of her career choices.
“I got to watch a physician teach a PA how to find an artery using an ultrasound machine,” Adams said.
Aside from teaching about different medical careers, the PLTW course also uses real world examples to educate students on the actual events that go on in healthcare settings. The courses allow for a segue from classroom knowledge, to an internship, to real life experiences.
“All the classes leading up to my internship have helped me so much because it’s given me a base to go off of,” Adams said.
NHS’s medical pathway is specifically designed to prepare students for the basics of the medical field, but it does a lot more according to Adams. Tomczuk says it also mentors students and their skills towards things that are unlike any other class will hone in on; the internship and real world experiences allows for students to get the best segue into the real medical field.
“I think it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” Adams said, “honestly.”
