CCSD Pathway Profile: Healthcare Science - Therapeutic Services and Allied Health and Medicine

Creekview High School Career Pathway teacher Hillary Grummer works with Healthcare Science - Therapeutic Services and Allied Health and Medicine students, sophomores Liz Contreras Ayala, left, and Macyn Brown, on how to check a patient’s blood pressure.

This week’s CCSD Pathway Profile focuses on Healthcare Science - Therapeutic Services and Allied Health and Medicine, which is offered at Creekview and Etowah High Schools.  The Cherokee County School District offers 38 Career Pathway high school programs, which provide students with a wide selection of job exploration and preparation electives.  Through CCSD Pathway Profiles, we regularly share highlights with you from one of these programs … 

Creekview High School Career Pathway teacher Hillary Grummer’s favorite lesson is chicken wing day.

But it’s not a cooking class.  The students in her Healthcare Science - Therapeutic Services and Allied Health and Medicine classes are training to be future healthcare workers and, for the lesson, they dissect the wings.

“This is always a favorite activity among students as they get to use their hands and instruments to locate structures in a real life example versus learning through pictures in the textbook,” said Ms. Grummer, noting students learn about the relationship between the muscular and skeletal systems and how those systems work together to provide movement.  “I love this activity because this is often when I can see the connection made between the concepts we have been learning and discussing in class, and the ‘aha’ moment in their faces is priceless!”

A registered nurse who spent the majority of her clinical experience in physical medicine and rehabilitation, Ms. Grummer began her teaching career three years ago at Creekview to lead the program.

“I always loved the teaching aspect of my nursing position and decided to make the shift to teaching in the classroom because I hope to inspire my students to learn to love a career field I am passionate about,” she said.  [See more photos from her classes online here. [CONTENT_REVIEW InternalLink]]

Ms. Grummer is succeeding in that mission, according to students like senior Lily Castro. 

“The Pathway has fit in with my future plans of working in the healthcare field by allowing me to explore healthcare and all that it encompasses in a fun environment with an incredible teacher,” she said.  “This Pathway has set me up for success and made me confident in my next steps.”

Career Pathway classes, Ms. Grummer said, benefit students by providing them technical skills for specific career fields and more: “They are also learning valuable employability skills that can be utilized in any professional setting.”

Within the Pathway, classes offered include: introduction to healthcare science, essentials of healthcare and allied health and medicine.  Students can earn CPR certification through the Pathway.  The program at Etowah additionally offers the opportunity to earn certification for exercise physiology with passage of the exam.  They can compete in HOSA Future Health Professionals state and national career skills programs and contests.

This Pathway prepares students for careers including, but not limited to: registered nurse, medical and clinical laboratory technician, operating room technician, hospitalist, medical scientist, epidemiologist, ophthalmic medical technologist, physical therapist, occupational therapist, respiratory therapist, pharmacist, pharmacy technician, medical and health services manager, medical records and health information technician, dietitian, healthcare social worker, health educator.

The average income range for careers in this Pathway in Georgia is $40,000 to $198,000.  Local and area employers for this Pathway include, but are not limited to: Northside Hospital, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Wellstar Health System, Piedmont Healthcare, Kaiser Permanente, UnitedHealth Group, Grandview Health Care, CVS Health, Walmart, Walgreens, Georgia Retina, Georgia Eye Partners, local healthcare providers and pharmacies.

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