Health science teachers often approach AES feeling overwhelmed by the sheer amount of material available in HealthCenter21.
Though the content within our health science curriculum is comprehensive, sometimes too many options can be just as frustrating as too few, and you may find yourself scrambling to find the best choices for your class.
After all, depending on what health science course and grade level you teach, there are optimal modules you can choose to lay the groundwork for it. Knowing these best fits for your class will save you a lot of time and trouble.
In this article, you’ll discover what health science courses are most appropriate to teach with HealthCenter21. The courses will be divided into two general categories:
- What health science courses can AES be the core curriculum for?
- What health science courses can AES be a supplemental resource for?
By the end of this article, you’ll have a better sense of the kinds of courses you can teach using HealthCenter21, and what modules you can use to teach them.
But before we get to that, let’s answer an important question you’re probably thinking.
Why Can HealthCenter21 Be Used as a Core Curriculum for Some Courses and Not Others?
HealthCenter21 has well-rounded content you can use to teach many different classes, but it was not designed to be used as the core curriculum for every health science course.
For some courses, HealthCenter21 can instead serve better as a supplemental resource to reinforce your existing curriculum.
This is because HealthCenter21 focuses more on aligning with some health science certifications over others. In other words, we might prioritize one certification instead of another, and devote more resources and curriculum hours to that certification to ensure complete alignment.
Generally, HealthCenter21 can serve as a strong core curriculum for introductory health science classes and popular certification-focused courses.
With its strong body of foundational knowledge, HealthCenter21 will cover most of your bases when teaching the health science essentials to new students. Just as well, if you teach prominent training courses like Medical Assisting or EMS, you will find just about all the material you need within this curriculum.
On the other hand, for more specialized courses, HealthCenter21 would work better as a supplemental resource.
For some elective courses, such as sports medicine, HealthCenter21 might not have the whole body of information you need to teach the class successfully. The same goes for specialized courses like Pharmacy Technician or Phlebotomy Technician, where you would be better off looking elsewhere if you need a subject-specific curriculum to cover them.
What Health Science Courses Can AES Be the Core Curriculum For?
Hundreds of health science teachers use HealthCenter21 as the core curriculum in a variety of courses.
This means that if you teach these courses using HealthCenter21, chances are you won’t need any additional resources to help you along the way. This is especially the case if you use each phase of our four phase framework, which is specifically designed to increase student learning and retention.
You can teach the following courses using HealthCenter21 as your core curriculum resource:
- Middle School Health Science Courses
- Introductory Health Science Courses
- Nursing Assistant/CNA Courses
- Medical Assisting Courses
- Anatomy and Physiology Courses
- Patient Care Technician/Health Assisting Courses
- Emergency Medical Services Courses
Below you'll find more information on each of these, as well as recommendations on the HealthCenter21 modules most often used to teach them.
Middle School Health Science Courses
Commonly called Exploration of Health Science Professions or Orientation to Health Science Professions, these middle school courses introduce students to potential careers in healthcare, and encourage them to enroll in more advanced programs down the line.
Because of the foundational health science knowledge that HealthCenter21 offers, many middle school health science programs use it as their core curriculum for these classes. The curriculum’s focus on engagement also makes it a solid choice to ensure students are interested in the course material.
For this type of course, some recommended modules include:
- Legal and Ethical Responsibilities
- Medical Mathematics
- Infection Control
- Professionalism
- Career Development
- Health Career Exploration
- Health Care Careers
- Safety Precautions
- Client Status
Altogether, these modules serve as solid starting points for middle schoolers taking their first steps into the world of healthcare careers.
Need a guide on which middle school health science courses you can teach with AES? Read this article: How to Teach Middle School Health Science Courses with HealthCenter21
Introductory Health Science Courses
This course has many different titles depending on the state, including Intro to Health Science, Health Science I, and Principles of Health Science. Altogether, this course is generally at the high school level, and provides students with a foundation of health science knowledge that they can build upon in more specialized career training courses.
Oftentimes, these courses are built using the National Health Science Standards (NHSS) as their baseline. Because HealthCenter21 is strongly aligned with these standards, it can serve as a comprehensive core curriculum to teach introductory health science courses.
Some HealthCenter21 modules that are well-suited to teaching this type of course include:
- Healthcare Systems
- Health Career Exploration
- Medical Terminology
- Anatomy & Physiology
- Diseases and Disorders
- CPR and Basic Life Support
- Human Growth & Development
- Emergency Care
These modules will serve to give students a strong introduction to health care as a career, and prepare them for more specialized training courses later in their education.
Need a step-by-step breakdown of how AES aligns with National Health Science Standards? Check out this guide: Correlation Between HealthCenter21 and the NCHSE Standards
Nursing Assistant/CNA Courses
Depending on your state, a nursing assistant course or program could have several different names, like STNA or CNA. These courses are designed to train students in the skills necessary to become certified nursing assistants, the requirements for which are largely the same regardless of the state.
HealthCenter21 aligns closely with the requirements of the NNAAP CNA exam and can therefore serve as an effective core curriculum for a nursing assistant course. In fact, the curriculum system even has a dedicated NNAAP course template to ensure you’re teaching the right modules to prepare your students for their exam.
The recommended modules for teaching a CNA course with HealthCenter21 are:
- Body Mechanics
- Behavioral Health
- Client Status
- Cultural, Social, and Ethnic Diversity
- Infection Control
- Nutrition and Elimination
- Patient Comfort
- Rehabilitation and Restorative Care
- Safety Precautions
- Special Populations
- The Health Assistant
By using these modules, you’ll be well on your way to teaching your students everything they need to know to earn their certifications and become nursing assistants.
Need further guidance on teaching a CNA course with HealthCenter21? Check out this article: How to Use HealthCenter21 in a CNA Course
Medical Assisting Courses
Medical assisting courses are designed to train students in the professional skills necessary to enter the healthcare industry as certified medical assistants. This term can refer to professionals with either a clinical focus, or an administrative one.
Generally, clinical medical assistants are multi-skilled health professionals trained to perform various medical procedures, tests, and tasks. Some common certifications for this pathway include the NHA CCMA and AMCA CMAC.
On the other hand, administrative medical assistants focus more on performing the clerical duties necessary to keep a healthcare office running, like answering calls, preparing charts, and scheduling appointments. One common certification for this pathway is the NHA CMAA.
HealthCenter21 aligns with both of these pathways, and has two medical assistant course templates available in the system. Depending on your needs, one or the other would likely be best suited for your course.
If you’re teaching a clinical medical assisting course, the medical assisting template is a good place to start, and includes modules like:
- The Health Assistant
- Anatomy & Physiology
- Infection Control
- Medical Assistant Pharmacology
- Specimen Collection and Testing
- Phlebotomy
- Electrocardiography
- Ambulatory Surgery
On the other hand, if you’re teaching an administrative assisting course, then the medical office assistant template would be better, and includes modules like:
- Medical Office Assistant
- Office Equipment
- Telephone Etiquette
- Written Communication
- Medical Records
- Accounting
- Insurance & Coding
- Health Information Technology
An important point to keep in mind is that if you teach a more well-rounded medical assistant course, picking and choosing modules from each of these templates would likely serve to make your course more comprehensive.
Want a step-by-step guide on using AES to ensure students pass their certification exams? Download the certification success guides for NHA CCMA, NHA CMAA, and AMCA CMAC
Anatomy and Physiology Courses
Anatomy and physiology is a key course in many health science career pathways. Generally, these courses are intended to teach students information on the body’s main systems, structures, and functions—foundational knowledge students need to begin their careers.
HealthCenter21 can be used as the core curriculum for a full-year anatomy and physiology course. It offers a specialized curriculum template filled with modules designed to teach anatomy and physiology.
Some of these anatomy and physiology modules include:
- Introduction
- Cardiovascular System
- Digestive System
- Endocrine System
- Integumentary System
- Lymphatic System
- Muscular System
- Nervous System
- Reproductive System
- Respiratory System
- Sensory System
- Skeletal System
- Urinary System
Some other modules we recommend using in an A&P class include the Medical Terminology module and the Diseases and Disorders module, since they complement much of the information in the modules above.
Need a detailed guide on how to teach anatomy and physiology with AES? Check out this article: How to Teach Anatomy and Physiology with HealthCenter21
Patient Care Technician/Health Assisting Courses
Depending on state, district, or certification provider, a health assistant could be called several different things, including patient care technician or patient care assistant. Usually, health assistants tend to function as generalists who know how to perform tests, handle clinical procedures like EKG or phlebotomy, and provide care for patients.
HealthCenter21 aligns closely with the certification options for this pathway, like NOCTI HA and NHA CPCT/A, and can therefore serve as a strong core curriculum to teach health assisting courses.
Some modules we recommend including in a health assisting course are:
- Body Mechanics
- Nutrition and Elimination
- Patient Comfort
- Specimen Collection and Testing
- Special Populations
- The Health Assistant
- Infection Control
- Electrocardiography
These modules are good places to start to train your students in the specialized skills they need to become health assistants.
Need a detailed guide on using AES to ensure your students earn their certifications? Check out the NHA CPCT/A certification success guide.
Emergency Medical Services Courses
Emergency Medical Services (EMS) courses are intended to train students in the skills they need to become emergency medical technicians (EMTs) or responders (EMRs).
Two of the most important certifications in this career pathway are the NREMT EMR and NREMT EMT. Both of these certifications measure a student’s knowledge of the National EMS Standards that ensure students are prepared to begin careers as first responders.
Because HealthCenter21 was developed based on the National EMS Standards, it aligns entirely with both the NREMT EMR and NREMT EMT exams, and can be used as a core curriculum for both an EMT course and an EMR course.
Some of the modules we recommend using with an EMR course include:
- Airway - EMR
- Medical - EMR
- Patient Assessment - EMR
- Preparatory - EMR
- Special Population - EMR
- Trauma - EMR
- Shock and Resuscitation
HealthCenter21 also has versions of these modules designed for EMT courses:
- Airway - EMT
- Medical - EMT
- Patient Assessment - EMT
- Pharmacology - EMT
- Preparatory - EMT
- Special Population - EMT
- Trauma - EMT
- Shock and Resuscitation
These specialized modules will cover all of the information necessary to ensure your students are prepared for their exams and can earn their certifications.
Need a step-by-step guide to ensuring students earn their certifications with AES? Check out our certification success guides: NREMT EMR and NREMT EMT
What Health Science Courses Can AES Be a Supplemental Resource For?
For less prominent health science classes and certification courses, HealthCenter21 will better serve as a supplemental resource.
This means that it likely won’t have enough material to support your entire class, but would work well to bolster a curriculum you already have. You can do this by using AES lesson plans or activities to cover a few weeks’ worth of classes, but not a whole semester.
HealthCenter21 would work well to reinforce the following courses as a supplemental resource:
- Phlebotomy Technician Courses
- Sports Medicine Courses
- Pharmacy Technician Courses
Below you’ll find more information on each of these courses, as well as recommendations on the HealthCenter21 modules you can use to teach them.
Phlebotomy Technician Courses
Phlebotomy technician courses teach students the skills needed to become certified phlebotomists, including patient preparation, routine blood collection, processing, and more.
Two of the more prominent phlebotomy technician certifications are the NHA CPT and the AMCA PTC. Sometimes, these certifications are offered as part of an independent phlebotomy technician course, and sometimes they’re an addition to an existing course, like a medical assisting course.
HealthCenter21 offers foundational knowledge on body systems and phlebotomy, but usually it isn’t enough to cover a semester-long phlebotomy course. Instead, you’d be better off looking elsewhere for your core curriculum, and only using HealthCenter21 to supplement it.
Some of the HealthCenter21 modules we recommend teachers use to reinforce their phlebotomy technician course include:
- Phlebotomy
- Specimen Collection and Testing
- The Health Assistant
- Emergency Care
- Bloodborne Pathogens
- Anatomy & Physiology
It is important to note that depending on the certification exam you choose, HealthCenter21 will cover more or less of your curriculum.
For instance, HealthCenter21 aligns very closely with the AMCA PTC, to the point it could almost be considered a core curriculum for that certification. On the other hand, it doesn’t align as closely with the NHA CPT, and is more useful as a supplement for a class that teaches that exam.
Need a detailed guide to using AES to help your students pass the NHA CPT exam? Check out our certification success guide: NHA CPT
Sports Medicine Courses
Sports medicine courses tend to cover the basics of physical fitness and the treatment of injuries related to exercise, sports, or even physically demanding jobs. These courses can offer introductory knowledge of sports medicine, or prepare students to enter careers in the field.
HealthCenter21 offers foundational knowledge you can use to kick off a sports medicine course, but doesn’t cover the more specialized sports medicine topics you’ll want to explore. Therefore, it’s better used as a supplement to a more dedicated sports medicine curriculum.
When using HealthCenter21 to teach sports medicine, we recommend over 30 modules that may be of supplemental use for your course. Some of these modules include:
- A&P - Muscular System
- A&P - Respiratory System
- Human Growth and Development
- Medical Terminology
- Rehabilitation and Restorative Care
- Wellness and Nutrition
- Behavioral Health
These modules will provide students with a strong foundation of health science knowledge to accompany your existing sports medicine curriculum.
Need guidance on using AES to teach your sports medicine course? Check out this article: How to Teach Sports Medicine Courses with HealthCenter21
Pharmacy Technician Courses
Pharmacy technician courses are designed to teach students the knowledge necessary for them to earn their certifications, including the regulations surrounding controlled substances and how to prepare and dispense prescriptions.
One prominent certification for pharmacy technicians is the NHA CPhT, which focuses on the essential areas students must specialize in to get certified.
HealthCenter21, however, doesn’t offer a full curriculum to prepare students for the NHA CPhT, and therefore shouldn’t be used as your core curriculum for this topic. Instead, it offers general foundational skills and knowledge you can use to prepare your students partway for the CPhT exam.
When teaching a pharmacy technician course with HealthCenter21, we recommend 15 modules you can use to supplement your existing core curriculum. Some of these modules include:
- Legal and Ethical Responsibilities
- Medical Assistant Pharmacology
- Safety Precautions
- Medical Office Assistant
- Medical Records
- Health Information Technology
- Anatomy and Physiology
These modules should cover the introductory health science knowledge your students will need to complete their CPhT exams. However, more specialized pharmaceutical knowledge should be left to your chosen core curriculum.
Need more advice on using AES to teach your pharmacy technician course? Check out this article: How to Use HealthCenter21 in a Pharmacy Technician Course
Want to Try HealthCenter21 in Your Program?
When considering a new curriculum like HealthCenter21, it can feel overwhelming to figure out whether it will serve the needs of your program. In this article, you’ve learned of the many different courses HealthCenter21 can be used to teach, either as a core curriculum or a supplemental resource.
But the only way to know for sure whether this curriculum is the right one for you is to try it out for yourself. To decide whether HealthCenter21 is right for your health science program, start your free trial.
With this trial, you’ll gain complete access to our health science curriculum catalogue, along with the support of specialists dedicated to guiding you and ensuring your students get the most out of HealthCenter21:
