2. Finally after a long wait, Health Academy has started! On the very
first day, I could remember seeing a room full of students eager
to see what would become of this experience. I remember
learning about the Hippa laws. I also remember Greg Dick talking
to our class, and getting out TB shots. Kim, the director of
education, also gave us a tour of campus (St. Francis).

7. Every unit we visited, we had to take
a mentor form. The mentor forms
were to confirm that we were
there, and to rate our performance.

16. Blogs were a major part of in our class. After each rotation, we were
suppose to blog about what happened on that unit. The blogs were a way
of expressing ourselves without violating any Hippa laws!

19. Forensic Biologist and DNA Analyst
Dr. Shelly Steadman came to talk about her career as a forensic
biologist and DNA Analyst. She has worked major cases including BTK’s. I
learned about the different branches in forensics, the laboratories, and how they
use DNA.
The different branches in forensics include forensic pathology,
pathology assistants, and medical investigations. Forensic pathologists are the
ones who go to medical school. Pathology assistants assist in the autopsy. Medical
investigators get to go to the crime scene.
The different types of forensic science laboratories include
toxicology, drug ID, trace evidence, firearms/tool marks, and biology/DNA.
Toxicology is the study of toxins in the system. Drug ID involves hard drugs and
deciding whether they are legal or not. Trace evidence involve arson
investigations. Firearms/tool marks see whether a gun was linked to a crime. Last
but not least, biology/DNA deals with crime labs and blood.
A major source of DNA is blood. DNA is found in the nucleus.
Mold can destroy DNA evidence so they have to carefully store it. A child inherits
46 chromosomes, 23 from the mother and 23 from the father.
Dr. Shelly Steadman’s lecture was informative. I always thought
this would be a boring career; however, my opinions have changed. Now that I
know more about this career, I find it very intriguing. I see now that I have to be
more open to the various careers out there.

20. Nursing
There are many nursing programs in America. When selecting a program, you
should look at the curriculum, the NCLEX pass rate, size, and much more. There are a lot of
details to look at; however, Newman’s program seems excellent. The curriculum prepares
you, the NCLEX pass rate is very high, and the class size is small so there I more one on
one.
A nurse requires you to work with people as a team, serve people, and think on
your feet. The starting salary is about $19/hour. You can raise it up to $30-$31 in a hospital
environment depending on the field. You can receive an associate’s degree which takes about
2-3 years through a community college. However, a bachelor in science and nursing takes 4
years at a university.

21. Physician Lecture
I really enjoyed listening to Dr. Terry Summerhouse. Because
of him, I now know a lot more about becoming a physician. I learned that
it’s never too late to become a physician, it takes a lot of dedication, and
it’s a great career.
Dr. Summerhouse said that he knew that he wanted to be a physician so
he went back to school. He said that you need an undergraduate degree in
something and then you can apply to medical school. After that you will
be a resident for about three years and finally you’re a physician! Becoming
a physician is no easy task. You would have to study a lot but I think it’s
worth it in the end. A physician has an open license which is something I
really like. That means that you can basically deliver babies, straighten
teeth, perform surgery, and many more! I really like the many options you
have; however, you have to have some experience in that field. I also
learned that you have to pay for a renewed license every year. That was
pretty interesting and I really like his analogy, comparing it to a driver’s
license.
Altogether, a career as a physician seems highly interesting. I don’t think
it’s the “career” for me; however, a career as a physician assistant seems
like something I’m interested in. I’m really glad that Dr. Summerhouse
gave up his time to come talk to our class.

22. Dentistry
Dr. Mark Troilo really inspired me. I liked how he was passionate
about dentistry when giving his lecture. I learned that you have to always be
focused, the benefits are great, and the journey is a lot of work.
I liked it when Dr. Troilo talked about the bell curve. He stated
that you have to always try your best. Dental school is no easy task, so you have to
always be at the far right (top) of the bell curve. The first year of dental school is
the same as medical school. You have about forty hours a week, so it is really
stressful. In the end, a student can end up having about $350,000 in debt.
Becoming a dentist is very rewarding. You can set up your own
practice, hours, and the government is not involved. You are also able to spend
more time with your family. There are some negatives though. Dentists have the
highest divorce, suicide, and drug abuse rate than any other profession. However, if
you are confident in yourself and have a strong support system, these statistics
shouldn’t even matter.
The journey of becoming a dentist is tough. You spend all your
time at school which is forty hours a week! After that you have to study for all your
exams and such. On top of that, sometimes your instructors are mean and don’t
care about you. You do form some close bonds with your peers in school though.
Like any other profession, there are the positives and negatives.
Dentistry was always in the back of my mind. After listening to
Dr. Troilo, dentistry seems like a good profession. I feel the positives outweigh the
negatives. I learned from the lecture that you have to always be focused, the
benefits are great, and the journey is a lot of work. I feel more knowledgeable in
this career after the lecture.

23. Respiratory
Margret Trumpp’s lecture was informative. She talked about what
respiratory therapists did and how the career started. I learned about the classes you need
to take, what they did, and how the program works.
To become a respiratory therapist, you need to take classes such as
intermediate algebra, college writing, anatomy, physiology, microbiology, speech, and
much more. There are a lot of science courses. You need a “C” minimum in these classes.
You need an associate’s degree of science in health and science. It takes about two and a
half years.
Respiratory therapists assist in the evaluation, treatment, and care of patients with
heart, lung, and breathing disorders. After acute care, they can work in a physician’s office.
The career outlook is expected to increase 21%. The annual salary is around $52,200.
The program is 18 months (3 semesters). There are a total of 8 programs in the United
States. You have to renew your license annually which is about $70. You also need
continuing education. You have to pay for about 12 hours of continuing education every
year.
Overall, I learned a lot about respiratory therapists. Repertory therapy is
almost a 65 year profession. It started because medical residents were inconsistent in their
observations and the nurses were too busy. This profession is also changing. Again, the
lecture was informative and I learned a lot of new information.