Health Science | High School | HOSA | Student Engagement | Middle School | Work-Based Learning | Health Science Certifications | Special Populations | Industry Certifications
Our healthcare industry is undergoing an unprecedented worker gap that is leading to difficulties in providing high-quality healthcare both in the United States and internationally.
As a CTE teacher, you have a vital role to play in ensuring the next generation of health science professionals are ready to overcome this shortfall and offer excellent care to people of all ages.
But unfortunately, many health science instructors face their own unique challenges that threaten their ability to successfully prepare future workers for career success.
In this article, you’ll learn about the top six challenges facing health science teachers according to a new report from iCEV and Catapult X. These challenges include:
- Developing Work-Based Learning Opportunities
- Finding Engaging Instructional Materials
- Lack of Student Interest in the Health Science Pathway
- Providing Accommodations
- Preparing Students for HOSA Competitions
- Preparing Students for Industry Certifications
After reading, you should have a better idea of how to address some of the biggest challenges in your CTE health science classroom so you can engage and inspire your students.
1. Developing Work-Based Learning Opportunities
According to iCEV’s health science report, the leading challenge facing today’s CTE health science educators is difficulty in developing quality work-based learning (WBL) opportunities. In fact, over one quarter of all teachers surveyed (27 percent) expressed difficulty in creating WBL opportunities for their students.
Work-based learning is a critical part of any successful CTE program because it allows students to directly experience the professional environments and situations they’ll take part in throughout their careers.
However, finding solid WBL partnerships can be difficult for health science teachers, especially new instructors. Working in the healthcare industry requires specialized training and industry certifications, which can make some organizations reluctant to work with students while they are still in high school. However, these relationships are essential to ensure learners have exposure to professional workplace settings, have a more complete understanding of careers in healthcare, and are confident in their choice to become health science workers.
You can start building opportunities for your students by inviting community healthcare partners for in-classroom work-based experiences (WBE). Hosting guest lecturers and job site visits can be terrific low-pressure environments to expose students to health science while building rapport with local providers.
Once you’ve earned the trust of community healthcare partners, work toward creating full-scale work-based learning programs that can eventually lead to employment for certified CTE graduates from your program.
2. Finding Engaging Instructional Materials
The lack of student engagement is a frustration many teachers face. In fact, 24 percent of respondents in iCEV’s health science industry report indicated that they have difficulty locating engaging resources for their classrooms.
Learner engagement is critical to the success of your health science classroom because it helps learners become excited about your CTE pathway and committed to pursuing a fulfilling career in the healthcare industry. But without the right resources to teach health science topics, you may find that your learners are apathetic toward health occupations and end up considering other employment.
Ultimately, the most engaging materials are ones that use a variety of methods to reach students with key concepts. A blended learning methodology exposes learners to content through lecture, multimedia content, and projects and activities, increasing their engagement with course materials and better preparing them for assessments and industry certifications.
Choosing a cohesive health science curriculum, such as iCEV, ensures students have a uniform learning experience that prepares them for a wide range of health science occupations.
3. Lack of Interest in the Health Science Pathway
Although it may come as a surprise considering the size of the CTE health science pathway and the number of opportunities available in healthcare fields, many teachers have observed a lack of interest in the career pathway among their students. In total, 23 percent of instructors surveyed said that students’ lack of interest is a challenge they face in the classroom. In addition, 17 percent of health science teachers indicated it was their leading challenge.
Whether it's due to a lack of early exposure to health careers or unawareness about the variety of opportunities available to CTE graduates, far fewer students have taken an interest in the health sciences than is necessary to fill the health worker gap.
Fortunately, teachers can work to build interest in the health science pathway by introducing students to course content and career opportunities at an earlier age. By providing career exploration courses and entry-level health science classes in middle school, CTE programs and instructors can offer a greater opportunity to pique learner interest so students more seriously consider the pathway in high school.
By providing an engaging health science curriculum throughout middle and high school, learners can discover how rewarding working in healthcare can really be.
When combined with work-based learning experiences and partnerships with community healthcare providers, you’ll help your students see a viable future in the health science pathway.
4. Providing Accommodations
As a health science teacher, you genuinely want every student in your program to succeed. However, 17 percent of instructors have reported difficulty with providing proper accommodations to students in special populations.
Especially if you’re a new teacher coming directly from working in industry, you may not understand how to give accommodations to in a CTE classroom. However, providing accommodations, adaptations, and extensions is essential to ensure that all students achieve their potential.
Thankfully, there are proven teaching strategies you can adopt to accommodate every learner in your classroom. These top teaching strategies for students in special populations offer a toolkit you can use to keep everyone on track and learning in your classroom.
When you provide opportunities for all your learners, you’re opening doors to show that there are opportunities in health science for everyone.
5. Preparing Students for HOSA Competitions
Career and technical student organizations (CTSOs) are an important part of the CTE experience. When school administrators track CTSO participation, they often see that participation correlates with higher certification performance and better career placement.
Many health science students want to participate in HOSA – Future Health Professionals. But as a teacher, it can be hard to know how to effectively organize your students for HOSA competitions. In total, 16 percent of teachers consider this to be a challenge they face in the classroom.
However, preparing students for HOSA competitions can be surprisingly simple if you incorporate HOSA content into your existing lessons. Help your students decide which events are the best fit for them, and then make sure you cover the corresponding content in your daily instruction.
Then, find and share resources with learners that will help them study and succeed. Be sure to give constructive feedback that prepares your students for competition for success.
Taking these steps will turn you into a trusted HOSA advisor who can confidently lead your local chapter while preparing learners for fulfilling health careers.
6. Preparing Students for Industry Certifications
Finally, 16 percent of CTE health science teachers reported that it’s challenging for them to prepare students for industry certifications.
Industry certifications are often the gateway toward successful careers in a CTE pathway. This is especially true in health science, which offers a wide range of certification options from several reputable providers. These certifications demonstrate a student’s readiness for work directly out of high school and assess specialized knowledge in fields ranging from cardiography to phlebotomy.
But without a focused approach and proper materials, some teachers may find themselves unsure if they are adequately preparing students for success on test day.
The best solution to this problem is to identify the certification that aligns best with your course and then focus your instruction on preparing learners for that specific assessment.
When you choose a curriculum that aligns directly with an industry certification, you’ll ensure your students have the information they need to be ready for test day to earn a competitive certification!
Overcome Your Teaching Challenges
In this article, you’ve discovered the six most significant challenges CTE health science teachers face in the classroom according to the new report, “Bridging the 10 Million Health Worker Gap: The Impact of CTE Educators.”
For each of these challenges, you’ve learned not only how they can frustrate teachers, but simple steps you can take to overcome these obstacles in your classroom.
If you’re interested in browsing the full report to understand the unique role CTE teachers have to play in addressing today’s health science pathway needs, click here to read it today!
But if you’re ready to work to solve your teaching challenges and inspire your students to become successful healthcare professionals, download your free guide.
You’ll receive additional tips and tricks to help you address some of the biggest challenges educators face in the classroom so you can make a difference in your learners’ lives!
