CTE Pathways: Health Science & Medical Technology

Make a difference in the lives of others with a career in the medical field. Students will experience a hands-on environment working with equipment used by real-world health professionals. Our medical pathways set students up for success when taking the next steps in pursuing their careers, including college credit for some courses.

Biomedical Pathway

Understand how the human body works in order to utilize and create technology that helps us fight disease and keep healthy. This pathway creatively leads students into different fictional and real-world scenarios to help them understand what careers in this field look like outside of the classroom.

Courses

YEAR 1: Biomed I

Course Description

Biomed I is intended to prepare students with college-ready academic skills, clinical skills, and career awareness in numerous medical fields. Topics include patient care, infection control, HIPAA and ethics, medical math, medical terminology, body systems, disease diagnosis and management, vitals, phlebotomy, genetics, career assessment, and health careers. Students will be introduced to AHA CPR and first aid requirements and bloodborne pathogens. Course units have been developed to be independent of each other, and therefore can be taught in varying sequence.

YEAR 2: Biomedical Capstone Coming Fall 2025

Course Description

Students will continue their biotechnology education by learning about interactions of the human body systems. The course covers how the systems communicate with one another, how the body is powered, how it moves and how it protects itself. To put science into action, students will build organs and tissues on a skeletal Maniken® and take on the roles of biomedical professionals to solve real-world medical cases.

For More Information

Contact:

Juliet Santa Cruz
jsantacruz@dusd.net

Outcomes

Students who complete the first course will receive an OSHA/Red Cross 10-Hour Certification Card.

Biotechnology Pathway

Understand how the human body works in order to utilize and create technology that helps us fight disease and keep healthy. This pathway creatively leads students into different fictional and real-world scenarios to help them understand what careers in this field look like outside of the classroom.

Courses

YEAR 1: The Technology of Biology

Course Description

This one-year course serves to introduce the principles of biology through a biotechnological perspective. Biotechnology aims to help improve our lives and the health of our planet by harnessing cellular and biomolecular processes. Students will use an integrated approach to study the principles that govern life while constantly referring to how these applications of biotechnology are attempting to improve life on earth. For example, modern biotechnology provides ground breaking products and technologies to combat diseases, reduce our environmental footprint, feed the hungry, use less and cleaner energy, and have safer, cleaner, and more efficient industrial manufacturing. Upon successful completion of the course, students will have a better understanding of current biological concepts and biotechnological applications.

YEAR 2: Applied Chemistry and Biotechnology Coming Fall 2025

Course Description

This course allows students to investigate and apply chemistry and biotechnology concepts and methods to understand and address issues related to five essential human needs—Water, Food, Health, Waste Management, and Energy—as Chemistry and Biotechnology complement each other in addressing these essential needs. Human diseases, for example, are treated by either small molecule drugs produced by chemistry or protein-based drugs produced by biotechnology, and environmental contaminants can be cleaned up either using chemistry or microbes. Whether a chemistry or biotechnology solution works best depends on the specific nature of the problem, and often both approaches to the problem are necessary for optimal resolution.

Outcomes

Students who complete the first course will receive an OSHA/Red Cross 10-Hour Certification Card.

For More Information

Contact:

John Hwang
johwang@dusd.net

Sports Medicine Pathway

In our Sports Medicine pathway, students get first hand experience in sports medicine by working with our student athletes. Students will learn how to identify and treat injuries, while prepping for success in their next steps to reach their career goals.

Courses

YEAR 1: Sports Medicine I

Course Description

This course covers sport patient basics, from first aid and CPR training to injury assessment and rehabilitation. Students will learn about common sports injuries and the proper medical procedures to follow once an injury is identified. Students will have the opportunity to become first aid/CPR certified.

YEAR 2: Advanced Sports Medicine & Patient Care

Course Description

Students will prepare for a career in kinesiology and sports medicine in this advanced course that covers the biological effects of injuries, injury treatments and the physiological responses to therapeutic techniques. By the end of the course, students will have prepared professional portfolios showcasing their work.