Health Careers Adopt-a-School Curriculum

For Schools: Get Started

The Health Careers Adopt-A-School Curriculum was developed by the Health Resources and Services Administration to:

• stimulate the development of partnerships among businesses, schools and health professionals;
• expose middle school, high school, and college students to health careers;
• improve academic achievement; and
• promote healthy lifestyles through health education.

This curriculum should be particularly helpful to under-represented minorities and/or economically or educationally disadvantaged students, who would otherwise not have access to this type of curriculum.

The Curriculum is designed for schools to work in partnership with and public and private non-profit entities (such as community and faith-based organizations and national, regional, or local organizations) and health or education professional organizations. The purpose of each partnership is to increase the students' interest in, preparation for and pursuit of health careers.

To accomplish this purpose, the partners share resources, improve understanding and communication between business/adopters and schools and provide opportunities to mutually benefit all participants. The business and school entering into this agreement pledge to one another the commitment of time, energy, and resources to develop and support a workable partnership.

About the Curriculum

The Health Careers Adopt-A-School Curriculum uses the National Health Science Career Path Model (Model) as its framework.  The Model was produced by the National Consortium on Health Science and Technology Education.  Model development was funded by the U.S. Department of Education, to implement the School to Work Opportunities Act of 1994.

The curriculum covers seven subject areas, each with three programs, for a total of 21.

Each program follows a consistent seven-part format:

• Program
• Curriculum
• Goals
• Objectives
• What will the students do?
• What will the educators do?
• What information is available to the educators?
• What are the activities of business/adopters?
• What methods should the educator use to assess the effectiveness of this activity?

The program goals and objectives are clearly stated and the curriculum identifies the responsibilities of the student and educator. A list of activities for the business/adopters is also suggested. Additional learning aids and resources are provided for use by the educators, as well as suggested assessment methods for use by the educator to determine the effectiveness of the activities of the programs.

The curriculum is based on the idea of blended instruction, and understands that in many cases, educators have a full workload. Therefore, each curriculum area has three programs, one per academic quarter. If a high school student takes seven different subjects, at the end of the year, the student will have participated in all 21 programs.

Because the programs are modular, schools can choose to teach all or part of the curriculum, based on their available time and resources.

Benefits of Using the Health Careers Adopt-A-School Curriculum

The curriculum provides a step-by-step guide to help students develop an awareness of career opportunities in the health professions and the health care industry as a whole.

Students will become educated about the possibilities and entrance requirements needed to become a health care professional and how decisions they make now will influence their ability to enter into these fields later.

Current estimates and projections on the U.S. supply and demand for health professionals clearly identify the need to improve and increase interest in health careers especially among students and minorities. Rural areas and impoverished communities are of particular concerns when States and communities nationwide are urgently trying to address in order to improve their economic stability and reduce health care expenses. As the demographics or the U.S. population changes, States and communities recognize the need to promote and encourage minorities, and economically and educationally disadvantaged students, into the health professions to increase staffing levels, increase access to health care, and improve health outcomes.

States, public and private school districts, education administrators, educators and education advocates, health professions schools and associations nationwide can use this curriculum to promote and educate students about careers in the health professions.

This curriculum supports HRSA's mission to improve the health of the Nation by increasing access to quality health care for low-income and medically disadvantaged populations. It also supports the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services goal of eliminating health disparities.

How the Curriculum was Developed

The Bureau of Health Professions (BHPr) is a component of the Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. For 30 years, BHPr has worked to recruit and train health professionals.

The 1998 Health Professions Education Partnership Act authorized the building of a health career education pipeline by extending grant activities to the K-12 educational level and recognized the critical role of the community, secondary schools and undergraduate institutions in partnerships to build a competitive applicant pool.

The Adopt-A-School Program focuses on building partnerships between businesses and schools and began in 1999 with pilot programs at four health-related high schools with a diverse student bodies (in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Hyattsville, MD and Washington, D.C.). The programs were successful, yet limited in scope. Lack of financial support to conduct seminars, purchase and distribute materials, and the shortage of health care professionals, especially nurses, were challenges.

The Health Careers Adopt-A-School Curriculum was revised and 12 two-year grants awarded in 2004. The curriculum was successfully demonstrated and the curriculum was published on the Web in 2006.