Editor’s note: During the Thanksgiving holiday, The Hub will take a look back at some of the best and most popular stories from our first semester. This story was originally published on Oct. 31, 2014.
This may look like your typical doctor’s office, but in reality these are Dallas ISD students practicing for a career that has recently become the focus of much attention.
Karrington Wright, a freshman at the Health Professions Magnet at the Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Center, says that despite what’s been on the news lately about Ebola, she has always wanted to work in the medical field.
“I knew this at a very young age, I knew that I wanted to help people, make people feel better,” she said. “I wanted to make a difference through health because a lot of people in my family are sick, and I was like, I want to change this.”
Adrian Rangel, also a freshman, says his decision to attend Health Magnet was a more personal one.
“My mom asked me many questions because she has diabetes so she wants to know anything she can do so she can improve it.”
Dallas ISD’s Health Professions Magnet gives students an in-depth learning experience focused on everything about health.
The small 550-student body learn everything from taking someone’s blood pressure to properly making a hospital bed.
Here at the health professions magnet, students such as Karrington and Adrian are learning what it truly means to be college- and career-ready.
“They are at a great advantage compared to the other students, especially in this class because we focus on medical terminology, which is the language of health care, so they are learning it four years ahead of the people they’ll be in college with,” said Grace Barber, a teacher at the Health Professions Magnet.
And despite the various medical needs in our community, these aspiring nurses and doctors say they’ll be ready.
“When I first heard about Ebola across the sea in Africa, I was like, ‘Oh this is devasting, I’m really sorry, truly sorry,’ ” said Karrington. “It was a transition from, ‘Oh my gosh I’m questioning do I still want to be in the health professions, do I still want to be a health professional?’ to I’m more calm about it, I definitely want to be a health professional now to change this when I get older.”
