What Is The Academy of Medical Arts and Sciences??
The Academy of Medical Arts and Sciences
Manatee High School
They call it "A school within a school" but in better terms, its a program students that have an interest in the medical field can join to gain skills and knowledge they wouldn't usually get in regular high school classes. The program is at Manatee High in Bradenton, FL and is headed up by Laura Sollenberger and Barbara Lane.
The above picture was taken in 1999 when I was in 11th grade. The majority of us in the pic were the first class to graduate the Medical Academy after completing all 4 years of the program (it started the year I was a freshman).
The first year the student takes a Medical Skills and Services class which introduces them to the field and gives them the basic skills they will be using.
The second year the student takes a Heath Careers I course that focuses more on anatomy and physiology than on the skills themselves, I can't be sure, but I believe it also includes a shadowing program where once a quarter the student follows a professional in a chosen field to learn and observe from.
The third year is the Health Careers II course that, I believe, focuses more on diseases and pathology. Every quarter the student shadows with a professional to gain additional knowledge.
The student's senior year is the most rewarding. Instead of class time, the student takes the hour usually used for class and goes to a chosen office or practice and spends their time with a professional in a chosen field. This was how I was introduced into EMS and has prompted me to do many things I never had considered before. I now work at our local 911 center as a dispatcher/calltaker as well as having already recieved my EMT certification after graduating high school. During my senior year, my best friend (I call her Ducky) and I went to Regional, State, and on to National Competition for the EMT category in HOSA.
The Academy, by far, has been the most rewarding experience of my life and I thank the Mrs. S. and Mrs. Lane for jumping into the unknown and making the program live up to it's potential. Those women took over the academy with two weeks to begin school on the 3rd year it began. No books, no curriculum, no help. Those women are the backbone of the program, and honestly, I owe them more than words can express.
