High school biomed program off and running'
m
m
(Continued from page l)
vocational training program. Rather, it is
designed to introduce students to studies
in the health field and help prepare them
for further training in colleges,
professional schools or vocational
schools.
Yet, students already have begun to
seek vocational experiences.
Harnett Central's BICP class has
responded to a cross-county challenge
from Western Harnett's bid-med
students, as each class tries to collect
more donations through the Red Cross
loodmobiles each is sponsoring.
Richmond BICP students volunteered
their time to a glaucoma screening clinic
in Rockingham.
One biomedical class would like to
sponsor a birth control clinic in the high
school.
Instruments demonstrated
The BICP class at Scotland High School
in Laurinburg planned a program for
parents, teachers, and community leaders
demonstrating the health-related
laboratory measurements made f>ossible
using the Biomedical Instrumentation
Package (BIP), a patented electronic
device which is part of the curriculum.
The BIP is capable of demonstrating the
principles of electrocardiography, light
spectrometry, audiometry, electro-
encephalometry, pulse height analysis,
computers and many more technical
aspects of health care.
A 'minischoor
BICP is sponsored by Duke, the
Fayetteville Health Education Foundation
and the N.C. Department of Public
Instruction.
It is under the direction of Dr. TTiomas
T. Thompson, associate dean for allied
health education in the School of
Medicine.
Students participating in the program
spend four hours of their school day in
science, mathematics and social studies
classes which are oriented toward health
studies.
"In biomed, they become almost a
minischool within a school," according to
Jean Bruno,' curriculum development
spiecialist in Thompson's office who
works closely with the schools.
Teaching team
The program instrtictors work
together as a team.
"If there is a problem that arises in one
course and it is specifically related to
another course in the program, we work
together and support each other in trying
to solve the problem," Dr. Clifford
Tremblay explained.
Tjemblay is the math teacher and
faculty team coordinator for Scotland
High's biomed program.
The unifying theme of health studies
and the independence in the classes
apparently appeals to most of the biomed
students.
Self-motivating
"It's self-motivating," one student said.
AN INSIDE VIEW~The hyperbaric chamber was one of the stops when biomedical students from
Harnett Central High toured the medical center last semester. The school is one of four
participating in the Biomedical Interdisciplinary Curriculum Project. In the foreground is Ray
Bryant, a member of the biomed teaching team at the school. (Photos hy That! Sparks)
Future health professionals get firsthand look
The Biomedical Interdisciplinary
Curriculum Project (BICP, see
accompanying article) has included tours
of the medical center by each of the four
classes.
Students have visited such areas as the
hyperbaric chamber, physical therapy,
nuclear medicine, respiratory therapy,
kidney procurement lab and clinical
hematology at Duke, and the pharmacy,
heart station, medical technology,
medical records and medical media at the
VA.
Some students said they wished they
could have seen more of the medical
center. Others would have like to have
seen less, in order to concentrate on a few
areas.
Inside information
Their reactions overall were quite
lositive.
The trip was very educational. It really
vided some inside information to
e things that you never really had
ught about," Earl Scriven of Western
arnett said.
This was echoed by his classmates.
"I think the trip was a great success. It
really gave us a chance to see what
different parts of the medical field are
really all about," Daphne McNeil said.
"The overall tour was very educational
and it helped me decide my medical
career," Donna Damon added.
Learned what they do with it
A student at Scotland High was more
specific: "TTie Blood Bank was very
interesting because it seems you are
always being asked to donate blood and
it's nice to know what they do with it."
Steve Cotton of Harnett Central said,
"It's very obvious that the people who
worked there were highly trained."
Sherry West, also of Central, said she
"felt very welcome. The people in the
hospital seemed to be interested in
helping us learn."
Want to come back
Comments from Richmond High pupils
included;
"I hope to visit Duke again for a more
in-depth look at these departments."
"I thought the tour was an excellent
idea and I would like to come back again
PEDAL AS FAST AS
YOU CAN' — Another
interesting stop for
Harnett Central's
biomed students was
the physical therapy
department. John
Roeback (partially
hidden, center), patient
services coordinator,
was their guide.
soon. The sections we reviewed on tour
were very informative. I learned a lot."
One final observation was offered by
Connie Dempsey, a student at Western
Harnett who would like to become a
veterinarian.
In response to observing cardiac
surgery on dogs, she said, "I still feel that
if doctors-to-be can work on animals,
veterinarians-to-be can work on
humans."
"It keeps you interested in it."
The Richmond High student, Ervin
Hennecy, hojses to be a physician some
day.
Classmate Tommy Alexander said, "In
this program, we use what we learn. And
I love lab work, and this is centered
around lab work."
Stuart Macon, who also plans to
become a doctor, added, "We learn more
because all the sciences are combined. It's
better this way. It's fun, too."
Lisa Poplin agreed about the self-
motivation and independence in the lab.
"You get to do more of it yourself," the
future pharmacist said.
Practical training
The two-year program will culminate
with a five-week practicum late next year.
Students will spend three weeks in
general exploration, and two weeks
concentrating on individual areas of
interest.
For this speciahzed training they will be
assigned to doctors' offices, social service
agencies, laboratories, hospitals or a
similar place.
On their way
There are a few seniors, however, in
the program this year.
Two schools admitted 24 seniors this
year, and most have made educational
plans for next year. Seventeen have
applied to four-year colleges and four
intend to go to community colleges or
vocational schools near their homes.
Career goals represented in this group
include five physicians, six medical
technologists, two physical therapists,
three nurses, one pharmacist, three basic
health sciences personnel, one dentist,
one optician and one elementary
educator.
Worthwhile experience
And what if students decide not to
enter health careers?
Student Lisa Carter said, "Even if you
don't go into medicine, it's good for the
experience alone."
It also seems more practical to opt out
of the field now, rather than later.
"If they're going to faint at the sight of
blood, it's good to find out in high school,"
Ruth Watkins, Richmond social studies
teacher and N.C. "Teacher of the Year,"
said.
(One lab experience involved studying
dog lungs, which Bruno made available.)
"And," principal Williams added, "I'd
rather somebody spend two years here to
find he's not interested, than to take the
place in medical school of someone else
who would have gone on to become a
doctor."