Health Science Education E-News
Growing Montana's Healthcare Workforce
In This Issue
R.E.A.C.H. Expands to Eastern Montana
This Month's Featured Websites
Continuing Education
Newsworthy
Healthcare Career Spotlight
Quick Links
 
 
 
 
 
 
Join Our List
Join Our Mailing List
Research and Explore Awesome Careers in Healthcare
Gloving for OR
R.E.A.C.H. expands to  Eastern Montana with a program for 7-8th graders! 
Issue: # 4 July/2009
REACH Students
Greetings!
 
Happy 4th of July! We do hope you have been enjoying your summer and recharging your batteries for the upcoming school year. Our fourth edition of this e-news comes during a month of summer fun and we hope you find some useful information in here to read while laying on the dock or enjoying that refreshing glass of lemonade. Think of your students...and how this information may benefit you and them!
 
Thanks for your dedicated work all year long. Enjoy the holiday weekend and a well-deserved break with the remaining summer!
R.E.A.C.H. Program for 7-8th Grade Students  
MSU-B College of Technology opens its doors to healthcare exploration  REACH Students with Dr. Mike Guerin 
"This was so cool!"
 
"I would recommend this camp to my friends because it was Awesome!!"
 
"It was Sweet!"
 
"I really liked exploring lots of different health careers and the hands-on activities were really fun!"
 
"I liked learning about things I didn't know about."
 
"It was lots of fun. I only wish it was longer!"
 
These were the comments from some of the participants at the first annual R.E.A.C.H. Camp for 7th and 8th graders held at the MSU-B College of Technology offered by the Eastern MT AHEC. The students had presentations from a family practice doctor, a paramedic, an EMT, a radiology technician, a hospital chaplain, a nurse and a surgical technician. They enjoyed learning why these folks love their jobs, how they trained for them and what they do on a day-to-day basis. The students participated in hands-on activities including: suturing bananas, taking temps and oxygen levels, examining a sheep's heart, having an EKG done on one of the participants, and examining medical ethics questions. It was a great day for participants and presenters alike!
 
For more information about R.E.A.C.H. Camp in Eastern Montana, contact Susan Barton, Eastern MT AHEC Program Manager (406-247-3379) or [email protected].
Health Science Websites Worth a Look... 
Check out this month's featured websites
 
Nova is one of the most widely respected and longest-running documentary series on PBS. So it should come as no surprise that the Nova web site is equally impressive. It is full of informative background to specific documentaries, and best of all, dozens of lesson plans for classroom activities for grades 6-8 and 9-12 in a variety of health science related areas. Lesson plans are available in the categories of Anatomy and Physiology, Human Development, Disease, Medicine, Nutrition, and Public Health. Activities are aligned with National Science Education Standards and include links and resources for further reading, as well as handouts for student use.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/teachers/resources/subj_05_03.html.
 
www.LearntobeHealthy.org is an online health education center  designed to help educators, teachers, parents, families and the community communicate physical and mental health science education concepts to K-12 students through health educational resources such as games, activities, and lesson plans. LearntobeHealthy.org's web-based kits meet many National and State Health, Science and Technology Education standards and make health education fun. This one is definitely worth a look!
Continuing Education Opportunities & Updates
Children's Environmental Health Summit
 
The seventh annual Children's Environmental Health Summit will be held in Missoula August 11 - 13, and this year, the focus is on Greening our Schools and Daycares. Learn about Facility Upgrades, Indoor Air Quality, Chemical Management, Reducing Vehicle Emissions/Clean Buses, Green Cleaners, and Creating Healthy, Green Spaces. Free, public community forums on these topics will take place from 7:00 - 9:00 PM on August 11 and 12, while the summit will take place from 8:30 - 5:00 August 12 and 13. All events (other than tours of several "green school successes" ) will take place at the Holiday Inn Parkside in downtown Missoula. Registration is required; visit this URL for more details: http://www.sammt.org/sammt/lib/sammt/CEH_Summit.pdf
 
 
 
Health Science Certification Course Update
 
In a previous issue of this e-newsletter, we announced a new initiative of OPI intended to increase the number of Health Sciences teachers in the state by changing the pathway to attaining the Health Science endorsement.
 
Where previously Health Science teachers were required to possess a health professions credential as well as teacher licensure, the new pathway will enable science and health enhancement teachers to build Health Science knowledge and skills through a 40 hour course being piloted by the University of Montana-Missoula's College of Technology. Following the course, the teachers will complete 40 hours of job shadowing with health professionals. In this inception year, the program's grant provides tuition, lodging and travel costs to participants.

It is exciting to report that the course filled up quickly, even after enrollment was increased to 25 participants. Teachers will be gathering in Missoula from all over the state, many of them from some of its smallest communities, including Plentywood, Broadus, Roundup, Scobey, Bridger, Augusta, Harlem, Winnett, and Medicine Lake. When the training and job shadowing are complete, these teachers will be equipped to bring health science to their schools!

The course is currently full, but if you are interested in being on a waiting list for this year, or an interest list for next year, contact Renee Harris at OPI (406.444.2059 or [email protected]). 
Newsworthy
A great article on the general condition of the primary care workforce. Share this with students who want a job virtually guaranteed after graduation. 
 
No relief: Shortage keeps older docs on the job - Young doctors opt for specialties, fueling looming lack of primary care 
Health Career Spotlight: Physician Assistant
A Career to Tell Students About... Physician Assistant
 
According to MONEY magazine, physician assistant is one of the Top 10 Best Jobs in America. Physician Assistants (PAs) provide healthcare services under the supervision of physicians. They should not be confused with medical assistants, who perform routine clinical and clerical tasks.
 
PAs are formally trained to provide diagnostic, therapeutic, and preventive healthcare services, as delegated by a physician. Working as members of the healthcare team, they take medical histories, examine and treat patients, order and interpret laboratory tests and X-rays, make diagnoses, and prescribe medications. They also treat minor injuries by suturing, splinting, and casting. PAs record progress notes, instruct and counsel patients, and order or carry out therapy.
 
In 47 States and the District of Columbia, PAs may prescribe medications. They also may have managerial duties. Some order medical and laboratory supplies and equipment and may supervise technicians and assistants.
 
Physician assistants work under the supervision of a physician. However, PAs may be the principal care providers in rural or inner city clinics, where a physician is present for only 1 or 2 days each week. In such cases, the PA confers with the supervising physician and other medical professionals as needed or as required by law. PAs also may make house calls or go to hospitals and nursing homes to check on patients and report back to the physician.
 
The national average salary for PAs is $64,000 and here in Montana students can enroll in a PA program at Rocky Mountain College in Billings.  
 
(Text courtesy of www.explorehealthcareers.org
 
This E-News is being sent to you by the Montana Area Health Education Centers (AHECs) in order to open a dialogue among educators about Health Science Education for K-12 students of Montana. Through this newsletter we intend to:
 
1) build a shared resource of activities, materials, and lesson plans to draw on in teaching the health sciences 
 
2) highlight the cross-curriculum nature of the health sciences 
 
3) build an interest in and awareness of health career paths for students in the state of Montana
 
Please contact us with your comments, ideas, questions or projects you'd like to see highlighted in future issues of this e-newsletter. And thank you for the work you do every day to inspire and support Montana kids!
Montana AHEC
Sincerely,
 

Bergen Morehouse
South Central Montana Area Health Education Center (AHEC)
Representing all Montana AHECs