Debbie Appiah admires her cousin – a cardiac surgeon in Ghana – enough to conisder pursuing a career in medicine.

She has enrolled in the Health and Wellness SHSM program at Robert Bateman High School in Burlington to initiate that career possibility, by getting a glimpse of the medical field through a Health and Wellness SHSM. 
“I think it’s a good program,” the Grade 11 student says. “It opens your eyes and it makes you understand what’s going on.”

Appiah wants to be a surgeon because “being able to save people’s lives” intrigues her. “Everyday there is something to learn.”

This program allows students to experience what the health-care system is all about including learning about anatomy, physiology and patient care. In this particular class, students have learned the Glasgow Coma Scale, to help determine how the brain and body are working. Etiqette reminders have also been reinforced such as tying hair back before checking a patient’s pupils or using a pencil when filling out a medical chart.

Students also have the ability, through the SHSM, to gain a Personal Support Worker certification.

Teacher Lilla Richardson, program lead for the third-year Health and Wellness SHSM, is a registered nurse. She says students enter the course “energized”, learning real-life skills along the way.

“It gives students a heads up in that pathway,” she says, adding students can discover if the heath-care field is right for them. “Students who know they want to do heath care love what they learn here.”