Students earn College Credits in Healthcare

Students interested in a career in the healthcare industry have a chance to begin studying for their future today through the Rutgers Allied Health Program. The idea for this program “allows students an opportunity to take college level classes related to health-sciences in high school,” said Jenna Rubino, the current K-12 science coordinator, and coordinator of the program which  is available to sophomores, juniors, and seniors.

The program is partnered with Rutgers University and gives honors and or Advanced Placement (AP) credits. In addition to making a student's transcript look good it also offers Rutgers transferable credits to the school of their choice. There are roughly 10-20 students enrolled in this program in each grade with another “34 accepted students into the program this year,” said Rubino, “That number fluctuates, but I am excited to have so many incoming students in the program.” 

Teaching the classes is Dr. Peter Smith (an approved Rutgers University professor and also a certified high school teacher) and Dr. John Fossella. “Dr. Smith teaches Anatomy and Physiology, Medical Terminology/Medical Math, and Leadership and Dynamics of Healthcare, while Dr. Fossella teaches Nutrition and Emergency Clinical Care,” Rubino said. 

The classes offer students health-science specific content. Students who are interested in any kind of health science career benefit from these classes. By taking these classes in high school, students are better prepared for the health science classes they would anticipate taking in college.

The program was started by Robyn Powell, the former Coordinator of Physical Education and Health, who soon incorporated Superintendent Kent Bania, who was then the Science Coordinator.

Senior Lily Kremer has been a part of this program since her sophomore year when she took the HealthCare in Society class. Kremer said, “I could not recommend it enough. The support from Dr. Smith and Dr. Fossella is absolutely outstanding.” Now committed to the University of Tennessee looking to major in Speech Pathology, Kremer always knew she wanted to go into healthcare but the course “helped solidify the decision to know the right one was being made.” 

The application process is “fairly simple. The most nerve wracking part was probably interview,” said freshman Jeslyn Paulino, who recently got accepted into the program. The application includes an essay from the student about their interest in the program, plus an interview with Mrs. Rubino. 

Paulino said the whole reason for applying for the program is because she was “interested in learning more about the different career paths in the medical field” which is exactly the purpose of these classes. Emails and announcements over the loudspeaker brought to her attention that this program could be beneficial for her future, specifically the healthcare portion.