Because the Health Science Technology program was getting bigger, the new HST area was built over the summer in order to accommodate the students in the program. HST teacher Kevin Hunter says the HST teachers look forward to maintaining the growth pattern of the HST program.
“We got new teachers and classes,” Hunter said. “The growth continues. We want to put a whole other level on top of this building [to expand the HST wing].”
HST teacher Eva Havens is a new teacher this year, and she said she wanted to teach the HST program here because she loves what it has to offer the students.
“I was really excited about the idea of coming somewhere where I could be one of the people that make it easier for everybody to get into the health care field,” Havens said.
HST teacher Nancy Stewart says that the HST program is all about helping students determine if the medical field is right for them or not.
“From HST, they can go to our clinical rotation classes, and they go to the hospitals [to] rotate through the different departments of the hospital,” Stewart said. “That way, they can decide if they’re really interested in medicine.”
The district chose to build the new HST area, because the program and the students gained recognition due to their success in HOSA.
“The district saw the success that North Garland has had in their HOSA program, and that’s how they started looking at North Garland to build the medical program,” Stewart said.
Stewart says the HST program offers the same medical classes as last year such as, HST, clinical rotations, practicum and pharmacology. However, the program has some new features such as a bigger learning environment, new technology and equipment. The HST classrooms received new nursing beds, mannequins, stethoscopes, microscopes and other equipments.
“We have been able to expand on our classes,” Stewart said. “We now have hands on things that we can work with, where in our other building we did not.”
For example, the HST area has a new nursing room which acts as a skills lab where students can put their knowledge into practice. Stewart says students should join the HST program if they are interested in the medical field, because students in the program get to experience what it would be like to work in a medical facility.
“It’s not just nursing they’re learning about the hospital,” Stewart said. “They get to see the good and the bad of a hospital. I think it’s beneficial to all the students [in HST].”