Exploring the Health Professions

A flagship program of CNYAHEC, Exploring the Health Professions © is a comprehensive curriculum package and corresponding teacher workshop developed for the junior/senior high school level. To date, CNYAHEC has trained over 250 teachers reaching thousands of youth in Central New York.

This project focuses on the development of a curriculum designed to increase students' awareness of health professions. The curriculum targets students in Family and Consumer Sciences, Home and Career Skills, Intro to Occupations, and Health Education classes in New York State, especially those in middle schools.

With a goal of promoting interest in the health professions by working directly with the source of our future workforce- junior and senior high schools- a collaborative partnership was established between CNYAHEC and Broome Community College. In May 2001, joint efforts developed a comprehensive curriculum to raise young people's awareness of the myriad health professions available as career options.

Resources developed as part of the Exploring the Health Professions © package include:

Activity Binder or CD

The core curriculum is divided into four career clusters - Clinical Laboratory Sciences, Direct Patient Care, Physical Rehabilitation, Therapy and Fitness, and In the Operating Room. Each career cluster contains activity instructions, supply lists, student handouts, teacher keys, and supporting resources and references. Activities support requirements of the Learning Standards for New York State.

Tool Kit

The tool kit consists of a 12-gallon plastic bin containing nearly all of the supplies needed to conduct activities in the curriculum. As some resources are consumable and/or have expiration dates, such as the blood typing kit, the tool kit may require periodic restocking, depending on frequency of use.

Posters

There is one full-color, professionally-designed poster for each of the four career clusters as identified in the activity binder. Information on each poster supplements activities in the binder and serves as an attractive visual for the classroom.

Video

Exploring the Health Professions© is a 20-minute video that highlights Central New York teens interviewing real health care professionals. The video can be used as an introduction to exploration of health careers in general, or as an introduction to each career cluster in the activity binder. A corresponding matching activity from the activity binder can be used for pre- or post-test student assessment.

CD Computer Game

Who Wants to Have a Health Career?© is an interactive CD computer game for youth designed after a familiar game concept. Students can play the game individually or with a partner as part of an independent study, or for free time. Teachers can also use the game as a group activity in the classroom or as a presentation tool for other teachers. Players learn about various health professions as they progress 15 levels to win the game.

Launch demo (1.5 MB) in pop up window. Requires Macromedia Shockwave player. Get latest player.

Career Guide

Developed by Community Health Information Planning Services (CHIPS) based in Syracuse, New York, this guide provides a comprehensive overview of many health professions facing a shortage in the Central New York area as well as other areas in the state and nation. The guide can be used by students, teachers, or guidance counselors as a supplement to information found in the activity binder.

Ordering Resources

Curriculum resources can be ordered directly from CNYAHEC, excluding the tool kit which is only distributed at teacher workshops.

Click here to download the Exploring the Health Professions Resources Order Form

Teacher Workshops

Teachers in Central New York who are interested in using the Exploring the Health Professions © resources in their classrooms are encouraged to attend a one-day training conducted by CNYAHEC.

All teacher workshops offer professional development credit.

Workshop Goal:

To raise awareness of secondary school teachers in Family and Consumer Sciences, Home and Career Skills, Introduction to Occupations, and Health Education about the variety of health career opportunities available for youth to explore as viable career options for the future.

Workshop Objectives:

Educate teachers about the current health care crisis caused by a shortage of health professionals regionally, statewide, and across the nation
Introduce teachers to new curriculum and supplemental teaching resources for interactive, hands-on student learning about careers in health care which support the Learning Standards for New York State
Demonstrate selected curriculum activities and supplemental teaching resources for each career cluster of the curriculum
Provide hands-on training for teachers through participation in group activities
Disseminate information about CNYAHEC and other organizations or resources promoting the health professions
Provide each teacher with a curriculum package including the Exploring the Health Professions© activity binder or CD, tool kit, story boards, video, CD game, and career guide for use in the classroom

Teacher workshops are held on an annual basis and rotate throughout the Central New York area. Registration is required and registration fees may vary based on available program funding.

Exploring the Health Professions© workshops have been well received by teachers in the Central New York area. One high school Intro to Occupations teacher summarized the general response to the workshops:

"This was by far the best workshop I have attended in my 25 years of teaching. It was well presented and the materials were teacher friendly. Thank you for a job well done. I can't wait to use the materials."

Reporting Requirements

ATTENTION WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS! It is very important that you report use of curriculum resources to CNYAHEC. This will help us to accurately report community outreach efforts to our funders. The report form is simple and easy to use (download a Microsoft Word version of the report form):

Exploring the Health Professions Report Form

Reporting is done on on quarterly basis as follows:

Quarter 1 (January)
Quarter 2 (April)
Quarter 3 (July)
Quarter 4 (October)

Report forms can be submitted in one of three ways:

e-mail: info@cnyahec.org
fax: 607.756.1092
mail: CNYAHEC, 10 Kennedy Parkway, Cortland, NY 13045

NEXT WORKSHOP: TBA

For more information about Exploring the Health Professions© workshops, contact CNYAHEC at 607-756-1090 or info@cnyahec.org.