The High School Health Careers Program (HSHCP) is a four week, tuition-free, residential program. It offers current sophomore and junior high school students unique opportunities to learn about the broad spectrum of careers in Biomedical Research, Biotechnology and the health professions (BBHP). It is designed to improve academic study and communication skills of the participants.
The program includes enrichment classes and classroom sessions including Language Arts skills, Mathematics, Science/Biology, and Information Technology and Cultural and Contemporary Health Issues Seminars. Additionally, the HSHCP offers participants internships that give them the opportunity to interact with physicians and other healthcare professionals. Upon successful completion of the program, each participant is awarded a Certificate of Achievement and a stipend.
The program is open to Massachusetts residents who are sophomores or juniors in a Massachusetts high school.
This four-week residential program provides the participants with an integrated academic enrichment curriculum in Science/Biology, Mathematics, English, Communication Skills and Information Technology. Field trips reinforce the science curriculum. Participants are required to complete a Health Disparities Research Project on a cultural group in Massachusetts. Participants meet health care professionals and scientists through their assigned observer/internships and Cultural Contemporary Health Issues seminars.
Program evaluation instruments include standardized pre-tests and post-tests. These tests are the Cognitive Abilities Test that measures developmental and cognitive abilities in verbal, quantitative and non-verbal areas; and the Nelson-Denny Reading Comprehension Test that measures vocabulary, reading comprehension, and reading rate. Instructors and internship hosts provide written evaluations of the participants’ level of engagement within their individual classrooms and departments. Participants are required to complete an anonymous post-program survey evaluation.
Program outcomes have been encouraging. Over 500 HSHCP participants have been tracked for their: 1) completion of high school; 2) enrollment and completion of post-secondary certificate programs; 3) enrollment and completion of two and four-year colleges; 4) enrollment and completion of professional schools; 5) employment in the BBHP.
