Join a NAF Medical Academy to get a taste of what’s going on in the medical field and how you can be a part of helping heal people.  Students will learn about the medical issues that impact the world and get hands-on experience with understanding the human body, what causes harm, and how to treat and heal patients.

Required Courses:

NAF Health/Careers  (*Please DO NOT take health over the summer.  All medical academy students begin the program in a NAF health class.)

Health/Careers is a graduation requirement and intended to provide students with the skills and knowledge necessary to maintain physical, mental/emotional, and social well-being. Students will focus on obtaining accurate information, developing lifelong positive attitudes and behaviors, and making wise decisions related to their personal health. Students will study health issues by examining their life styles, selecting goals for good health and learning how to achieve and maintain optimum health. They will be involved in decision making about wise health practices, learning that all choices carry with them consequences, either good or bad. Behaviors that may prevent illness, accidents, and stress, and that promote wellness, will be studied. In accordance with the California Healthy Youth Act ~ Education Code 51930 -51939, HIV/AIDS and Comprehensive Sexual Health Education will be covered in this course. The California Health Education Content Standards for Health that will be covered in this course can be found at: http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/documents/healthstandmar08.pdf Students will have the opportunity to investigate potential career choices, along with creating a resume, filling out a job application and preparing for a job interview through the Get Focused, Stay Focused curriculum.

Careers in the Medical Field & Global Health 

Careers in the Medical Field is a survey course designed to introduce students to a broad spectrum of health careers. The course covers careers from the five pathways: diagnostic services, therapeutic services, health informatics, support services, and biotechnology research and development. For each career they study, students examine the main tasks and challenges of professionals in that career, the treatments they administer, and the interaction those professionals have with other professionals. Students learn about the educational requirements and the employment and salary outlook for each career, and they evaluate how their own skills, abilities, and interests align with different careers. Where possible, students do authentic hands-on work that a professional would do, such as reviewing scans and MRIs, taking vital signs, treating a wound, and completing dental charts.

Global Health introduces students to public health on a global scale. Students learn what disease is and investigate how it impacts world populations. By studying different societies, they learn about the relationship between health and socioeconomic development. Students learn how environmental, nutritional, and behavioral risk factors jeopardize health. And then they learn how communities, the government, and cooperative global efforts can intervene to improve health. Wherever possible, students first study each concept as it applies to their own community, and then look at it in a more global context. In many lessons, students practice deciphering and interpreting the data they find in tables, charts, graphs, and maps. Students are exposed to working with information compiled by the foremost global health agencies, such as the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Bank, and UNICEF. At the conclusion of the course, students have a chance to explore what it would be like to have a career in global health.

Anatomy & Physiology 1 & Anatomy & Physiology 2

Foundations of Anatomy and Physiology I is the first in a set of two semester-long lab courses that introduce students to basic anatomy and physiology. The first unit covers directional terminology and those aspects of chemistry and cellular biology that students must master in order to study anatomy and physiology. It also teaches students how to use lab equipment safely. Then students learn about the following body systems: integumentary, skeletal, muscular, nervous, and endocrine, with separate lessons on the brain and the senses. Students make connections to their personal health and the prevention of disease for each body system studied. As they conduct research, complete wet labs, participate in a wide range of group activities, and take quizzes and exams, students develop the skills they need for college-level work and careers in the health professions.

Foundations of Anatomy and Physiology II is the second in a set of two semester-long lab courses that introduce students to basic anatomy and physiology. It builds on the knowledge and skills students developed during the first semester as it teaches students about the following body systems: cardiovascular, respiratory, lymphatic system and immunity, digestive, urinary, and reproductive. This course uses a wide range of assessment products in addition to quizzes and exams to evaluate students’ mastery of the material. For their course project, students use models and demonstrations to illustrate an anatomical or physiological function of the human body that they learned about in A&P I and II.

Biotechnology & Professional Ethics (BHS & JBHS)

Biotechnology is a lab course designed to introduce students to the scope of biotech research and product development across many fields. Students learn proper lab techniques and recordkeeping with a scientific notebook. They learn the methods of gel electrophoresis and restriction enzyme digestion. Students explore the ethical issues in applied biotech, as well as the rights and responsibilities of the stakeholders involved in the development, production, and use of biotechnology products. For the culminating project, students research and propose production protocols for a new biotechnology product.

This course provides a solid understanding of why ethics is important in every profession. After an introduction to several philosophies that inform ethics today, students explore the characteristics of an ethical professional. Students consider the range of dilemmas faced by managers and employees in the workplace. They learn about the qualities of effective leaders and the tools modern professionals use to instill an ethical workplace culture. Throughout the course, students have opportunities to refine their personal sense of ethics as they begin to build an ethical foundation for their professional future.

Note: One year each of Biology and Chemistry are prerequisites for this course.

Note:

Some classes may be taken concurrently and out of order. Sports Medicine is no longer accepted as a NAF class.