April 15, 2007
High school students earn dual credit for Medical Terminology
Eighteen high school students throughout the YK Delta meet weekly at the Lower Kuskokwim School District office, by videoconference and in person, to learn medical terminology and simultaneously earn both high school and college credit for their work.
Patricia Barrett, RN Infection Control and Instructor, introduces students to medical word roots, prefixes and suffixes within the context of body systems.
"This has been a great experience working with students and teachers located throughout the YK Delta. The technology is great," said Barrett. "It is wonderful seeing students learn new words that they will later use in their careers as nurses, doctors and other healthcare careers."
Through this semester-long course, students gain an understanding of medical word components by building and defining words focusing on various medical specialties.
The Medical Terminology course is a joint effort between the Lower Kuskokwim School District, Yuut Elitnauviat, Kuskokwim Campus, and the YK Area Health Education Center to increase the number of local residents entering healthcare professions in the region by providing career exploration and dual credit for high school students.