Stethoscopes, sphygmomanometers and stadiometers are just a few of the doohickeys found in the health science room helping students transform into future health care professionals.

Practicum is the senior level class in the sequence of health science classes. The first requirement to get into practicum is to get into principles of health science as a sophomore, work hard, then apply for the health science program junior year. After that, students will apply for practicum their senior year. To advance past principals of health science there is an application and interview process all students must go through.

“It was a little nerve racking going through the interview process, but I believe in the end it was all worth it because of the knowledge I have received in the series of classes,” junior Alejandra Castro said.

Practicum teacher, Rhonda Sisak has dedicated her time to modeling her class into something that will offer many opportunities to her students and prepare them for a future in the medical field.

“Our plan for the future regarding the practicum class is to offer more options for students,” Sisak said.

This year practicum is a back-to-back zero hour class combined with first period. It contains a pharmacy tech certification and they are working toward an Emergency Care Attendant certificate too. Although nothing is set in stone yet, Sisak and many other staff/administrators are working towards big changes in the program for the years to come.

“I have the privilege of working with some great people who have a vision of excellence for our program and I will continue to bring new ideas and constructive feedback regarding my experiences to the planning table,” Sisak said.