The Healthcare Innovation Pathway: How it benefits your future
By Ashley Pungitore
May 9, 2022
The Healthcare Innovation Pathway Program is a fairly new program at Norwood High that grants students the opportunity to get early exposure to careers in the healthcare industry.
Created in 2019, the self-paced class offers students the ability to learn more about the field, engage in medical activities and build both portfolios and resumes that will get them ready for the future.
The pathway is able to assist students in finding out what area of the healthcare field that they are most interested in.
Students are given a diverse range of information that touches on every aspect of health. They’re also given the opportunity to attend field trips to Harvard Medical School where they can engage in case simulations and begin learning how to perform minor medical procedures.
“It’s a great early exposure to the career field that gives students a first-hand look at what it takes in terms of preparation, as well as actual skills that they’ll need on the job,” said Melaurie Jean-Noel, leader of the program.
The students take part in online courses through Brigham Young University and OSHA where they are able to earn their OSHA 10 Certification. In later years of the program, they will also receive internship opportunities that will give them an even deeper dive into the healthcare field.
“The pathway has given me a lot of opportunities that I wouldn’t have been able to get just a couple years ago. I’ve already earned some credentials that will look good on my college applications and assist me in getting into a good nursing school,” said sophomore Olivia Naughton.
As the courses are mostly online through BYU, it is a generally self-paced learning experience which allows for students to enhance their time management skills between fulfilling the needs of an already busy course load and independently working through the program.
Sophomore Ryley Sullivan who is in her second year of the program said, “It has taught me a lot about time management and just how I can be more responsible in general.”
This program enhances the academic learning experience for teens as it contributes to benefiting their futures by teaching them new skills for not only healthcare, but life itself.
Proctor of the program, Jan Cohn said, “It really helps the students develop time management and study skills which are really important for college and careers when you have to work more independently.”
According to Elizabeth Colahan, Journalism teacher at NHS, Norwood High has been looking into more innovation pathway programs that they will be able to offer students in the near future.
“Students need to see real-world examples of what different careers are like and what the day-to-day work looks like and that's what the program gives them,” said Jean-Noel.