Health careers class soon coming to District 158

A new class will show high school students in Huntley Unit District 158 that there’s more to the medical field than being a doctor or a nurse.

The school board on Thursday approved the class, introduction to health careers, which eligible students in Huntley High School’s medical skills and services blended learning program can start taking in the second semester of the 2012-2013 school year. The blended learning program combines online learning with a traditional classroom setting.

Mike Moan, chief academic officer, said the introductory course is a good fit with the high school’s medical skills and services class, which the high school first introduced in the 2011-2012 school year as part of its medical careers academy.

“Students will have the opportunity to talk to different health professionals,” Moan said. “There’s a wide variety of medical careers available, not just doctors and nurses.”

Students are scheduled to take one class a week at the Centegra Health System facility in McHenry. Steven Osborne, a nurse recruiter at Centegra, will teach the class of 20 students. Osborne currently teaches the health profession career exploration course for McHenry County College.

A course description provided to the District 158 board of education says “students will be exposed, through an exploratory approach, to an understanding of employment opportunities areas in the field of health and health services.”

Board member Kim Skaja said the class give students the chance to explore potential career paths.

“To be able to explore the in-depth is a huge opportunity,” Skaja said. “Kids will be able to figure out if they want to go into the medical field or not, as the case may be.”