SCHUYLKILL HAVEN — Mackenzie McVicker thinks a career in the health field may be for her. Since her aunt’s an emergency room doctor and pediatrician, the Tamaqua Area High School junior has spent time considering the possibility, she said.
Courtney Earnest, too, believes a degree in medicine may be in her future. “My mom’s a nurse in Reading, and that’s what inspired me,” Earnest, 16, a Blue Mountain High School junior, said.
Tuesday, both teens had the chance to explore their educational options in a new dual enrollment program during an Open House for Emerging Health Professionals at Penn State Schuylkill.
Through a partnership of Schuylkill Technology Center, Penn State Schuylkill, Blue Mountain Health System and Schuylkill Health, the innovative dual enrollment program combines interactive, university-level classroom learning and observation in a health care setting. The program is designed for high school seniors interested in the health care field and allows students the opportunity to explore careers in health care firsthand. In addition, the program is designed to prepare students for post-secondary education by offering college-level science courses.
Shannon M. Del Conte, coordinator of continuing education, welcomed students and their families to the open house. She and Tracey Picht, STC guidance counselor, explained how the pilot dual enrollment program would work. Also present was Darcy Medica, Penn State Schuylkill director of academic affairs; Kurt Lynch, STC vocational director; and Kelly Puzzi, adjunct professor of anatomy and physiology.
Emerging Health Professionals is a half-day program that runs the duration of the school year.
Students spend two half-days a week with Penn State faculty and the STC instructor at Penn State Schuylkill from 8 to 10:50 a.m. Mondays and Fridays. They also spend two half-days a week participating in job shadowing activities from 8 to 11 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. Students spend one half-day a week participating in a health curriculum taught by an STC instructor from 8 to 11 a.m. Wednesdays. Basically, students spend their morning hours away from their home districts and return to their home schools at 12 p.m. every day until the end of the day. Students are responsible for their own transportation.
Participants in the program are offered a total of eight Penn State credits: in the fall semester, (Anatomy) Biology 129; in the spring semester, (Physiology with Lab) Biology 141 and 142.
In addition, students can earn two high school honors credits for the PSU courses and one STC high school credit per year. STC classes reinforce concepts taught at Penn State Schuylkill.
During the open house, Puzzi showed visitors her physiology classroom and answered questions about the hands-on curriculum.
“We’re going to be thinking beyond the books,” Puzzi said. A course syllabus highlighted topics in cell structure, muscle physiology, blood testing and typing, cardiovascular system, respiratory function and renal physiology.
“I wish I had something like this when I was in school,” Mackenzie’s mother, Michelle Sitoski, West Penn Township, said following the open house. “I think this sounds like an amazing program,” she said, noting it would give her daughter insight into a potential major and may help the 17-year-old decide what she wants to do. Joining Mackenzie were her stepfather, Mike Sitoski, and 4-year-old brother, Jaxon.
“Even if they decide the medical field is not what they want to do, they still have those eight credits,” Mike Sitoski said.
Courtney’s dad, Jeremey Earnest, and her sister, Brittnay Earnest, all of Schuylkill Haven, also joined her for the visit. Brittnay, 19, already attends Penn State Schuylkill, majoring in business.
“Realistically, if she’s able to get an early jump on those college credits, that’s great,” Jeremey Earnest said of Courtney’s interest in the dual enrollment option. “I think she could probably do anything she chose to do.”
The integrated model provides a strong framework for drawing connections between classroom learning and contextual, real-world application, and for exposing students to the variety of careers in health care, according to Picht. Penn State Schuylkill courses are taught by doctorate and master’s level science faculty. Del Conte said students participating in the dual enrollment program receive 50 percent off their tuition costs.
Medica said an on-site dual enrollment program was offered at the Schuylkill Area Haven High School in the fall of 2015, where a PSU faculty member went to the school to teach a psychology course. There’s also on-site enrollment courses planned at Schuylkill Haven Area High School in IST/computer, human development and family studies; and for criminal justice and psychology courses at Blue Mountain and Pottsville Area High School, Medica said. The dual enrollment program discussed Tuesday is similar to successful programs run in the Lehigh Valley, she said.
High school juniors who attend participating Schuylkill County school districts are eligible to apply. They must have a 3.0 GPA or higher and should have completed one year of high school biology and chemistry and must have a written recommendation from their guidance counselor. Interested candidates must submit their application to their high school guidance counselors by the March 11 deadline. They will be notified by the end of April of their acceptance, so they could begin taking classes as seniors for the upcoming fall semester.
For more information, email Picht at picht@stcenters.org, or call 570-874-1034 or 570-544-4748.