Health Care Education

As a resident of one of the most impoverished states in the United States, West Virginia, I see daily the effects of lack of health education. Hundreds of citizens in my small town are without medical insurance and are ill-educated when it comes to a myriad of health concerns, such as tobacco-related illness, universal precautions against disease, obesity, medical insurance, sexually transmitted disease, and first aid procedures. With proper education of these subjects, I believe the percentages of contagious diseases and conditions present in my community would greatly diminish and individuals would feel more comfortable visiting hospitals and doctors’ offices. I believe this education should start in high schools and could be accomplished by making an elective course in which I am currently enrolled, Health Care Fundamentals, mandatory for all high school students.

In Health Care Fundamentals, my class learns valuable information that ranges from disease prevention to types of bacteria and viruses and their effects, health care professions, medical insurance, and nutrition, just to touch a few. The class is anticipated mainly for students interested in entering the field of health care as a career, but it is open to all students in my high school. As a student interested in pursuing a career in the performing arts, I enrolled in Health Care Fundamentals in order to become more acquainted with health care procedures, occupations, and medical terminology and to receive more advanced training in first aid.

Adequate knowledge of first aid is especially important in my community, due to the high rate of ATV accidents that occur annually. In Health Care Fundamentals, we learn first aid at the health care provider level and receive cards that certify us to perform CPR and basic first aid in wounds, burns, bone fractures, animal Read More »