student spotlight
By Sanaya Attari
Exposure to Medicine
O
ffering real-world instruction to train for skilled jobs in the health care industry, the OhioHealth program at the Pickerington Local School District allows students to select from a range of medical careers as they continue exploring their fields of interest and college options. The program, which first started in 2012 with 76 students, now has more than 400 students at the high school level. 22
Starting with grades seven and eight, it offers beginner medical detective classes to about 800 students each year. In high school, participating students take courses on subjects such as biomedical sciences and body systems. Seniors take a projectbased course at OhioHealth. There are eight junior high and high school teachers who help teach the program.
“Health care is a growing industry and there is a lot of demand for people working in health care. Especially in central Ohio, there is a great labor market demand,” says Julie Novel, high school curriculum coordinator of the OhioHealth program at PLSD. “There’s now a huge variety of jobs available in health care. You have everything from therapeutic careers such as respiratory www.pickeringtonmagazine.com
Photos courtesy of Pickerington Local School District
OhioHealth at PLSD prepares the next generation of medical experts
