The Bio-Medical Program is entering its third year at UC High. Students enrolled in the program are busy, doing activities such as interning at hospitals and building water wells for Africa.
The seniors recently wrapped up a project in which they were assigned with the task of designing an emergency room for a hospital. It had to address concerns such as how to improve wait time, congested hallways, and care for pediatric patients. The project took over three weeks to create, and the amount of work needed to complete it was strenuous, according to Senior Cassie Berta.
“It was really stressful and nerve-racking, but I’m glad we got through it. It prepared us for our futures in the medical field,” said Berta.
Starting in December and up until May, the seniors will begin internships at local hospitals. According to Bio-Med Teacher Ellie Vandiver, they will rotate around different departments in the hospitals to get an idea of what they might want to do in the future. “We won’t really do work with the patients,” said Berta. “We’re mostly just observing.”
Last year, the sophomores successfully wrote grants to build science equipment and schools in Uganda. This year, they are continuing their work in the country by working on a project where they sell bracelets to fund the building of water wells in rural areas. They are teaming up with Quench and Connect, a non-profit organization which hopes to help provide clean drinking water for the Ugandan people.
“Due to the contamination of water by bacteria such as E. Coli, a large portion of water in Uganda is undrinkable. We have come up with many different ideas to find money, such as selling bracelets. We appreciate any support from our community and school,” said Sophomore Osama Khan.