Students choose their career path by studying different roles, responsibilities, settings, education needs, and amounts of patient contact. Degree and training requirements, working environment, salaries, and the day in the life of that career is also covered in this course. Students explore important aspects that are applicable to the entire health field, such as behaving ethically, keeping patients safe and free from infections and germs, and following laws and policies.

The course also covers medicinal drugs, sterile techniques, USP 795 and 797 standards, maintenance of inventory, patient record systems, data processing automation in the pharmacy, and employability skills. Successful completion of this course prepares the student for national certification for employment as a
Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT).

Through direct instruction, interactive skills demonstrations, and practice assignments, students are taught the basics of nurse assisting, including interpersonal skills, medical terminology, care procedures, legal and ethical responsibilities, safe and efficient work, gerontology, nutrition, emergency skills, and employability skills. Successful completion of this course from an approved program prepares the student for state certification for employment as a Nursing Assistant.

The knowledge and skills gained in this course provide students entering the healthcare field with a deeper understanding of the application of the language of health and medicine. Students are introduced to these skills through direct instruction, interactive tasks, and practice assignments.

Students investigate basic medical terminology as well as human reproduction and development. Students also are introduced to these fundamental health science concepts through direct instruction, interactive tasks, and practice assignments. This course is intended to provide students with a strong base of core knowledge and skills that can be used in a variety of health science career pathways.

Students participate in project- and problem-based healthcare practices and procedures to demonstrate the criticality of these knowledge and skills. Students develop basic technical skills required for all health career specialties including understanding occupational safety techniques and obtaining their CPR and First Aid certifications.

The course provides a background in human growth and development from before birth, through childhood, into adulthood, and through death and grief. It gives the student perspective and highlights where people in the caring professions are most needed. Students who take this course will come away with a broad understanding of all the careers that help people from birth to death.

Students are introduced to techniques for managing money, personally and as a business, and taxes and credit; the basics of financing a business; how a business relates to society both locally and globally; how to identify a business opportunity; and techniques for planning, executing, and marketing a business to respond to that opportunity.

Students learn the basic parts of a plant, how plants are scientifically classified, and how they interact with water, air, nutrients, and light to undergo the processes of photosynthesis and respiration. Plant reproduction, including pollination, germination, and dispersal of seeds, is also presented. The course concludes by looking at careers in the plant sciences which includes agronomy, horticulture, or landscape design.

In this course, students apply understanding of ecosystems and systems thinking to the management of natural resources to maximize the health and productivity of the environment, agriculture, and communities. Students also analyze community practice or policy development related to sustainability in agriculture, food, and natural resources. Finally, students apply adaptive ecosystem management to a common pool resource problem in a manner that addresses ecological, socioeconomic, and institutional contexts.