Eastside’s Biomed Program Still Has Open Spots

With only a week left until the start of the school year, Eastside’s Biomedical Academy still has a few spots available for incoming freshmen. This academy, which has been nationally recognized by Linked Learning for its innovative approach to education, is a four-year program for students interested in pursuing careers in the medical or forensic field. It focuses on applying science to the real world.

Students in the Biomed program are involved in lots of activities, including investigating a fictional crime scene and diagnosing patients. These activities help students learn while connecting them to real world situations.

This all begins freshmen year when Biomed students take Ms. Coffey’s Principles Of Biomedical Science class and investigate the case of a dead woman, trying to discover how she died. In order to do so, these students must examine the deceased woman’s medical history, medical treatments, and autopsy reports.

“I like it because it gives us opportunities to work with stuff that other people might not get to,” says student Heather Estrada.

Students also get to do experiments. For example, in order to understand the patient’s diabetes, students needed to test food samples. Similarly, in order to better understand the impact of heart disease, students design and build a pump to simulate the heart.

Once they pass Ms. Coffey’s class, students will take classes with Mr. Gomez and Ms. Cleveland. Those students who complete the entire four-year program will receive a special Biomed stole for graduation and will be equipped with extensive real-world experience as they head off to college.

“The Biomed program is good for students because we want to help students who want to go into the medical field,” says Biomed teacher Mr. Gomez. “We want to give them background knowledge so when they go to college, they’ll have knowledge that some students may not and their transition from high school to college won’t be that bad.”

Student Brian Zaragoza wants to become a paramedic. He feels like the Biomed Academy has helped him toward that goal. “I really like the Biomed program because you learn about different interesting topics,” he says. “Ever since I was a little kid I really liked to learn more about how the human body works.”

Incoming freshmen who are interested in applying to the Biomed Program can do so by visiting this website.