Dr. Bill Rocks, ACM Dean of Career Education, demonstrates the Anatomage table in the newly renovated Technology Building on the ACM Cumberland campus during a recent visit by local Project Lead the Way students.
ACPS HIGH SCHOOL BIO-MED STUDENTS VISIT ACM’S ALLIED HEALTH PROGRAMS
AS PART OF PROJECT LEAD THE WAY
CUMBERLAND, Md. (July 13, 2023) – Nearly 150 Allegany County high school science students visited the Allegany College of Maryland (ACM) Cumberland campus this past May to participate in biomedical activities, as part of Project Lead the Way – a national program that helps students become “STEM-successful.”
The four-year Project Lead the Way (PLTW) program recently entered into an articulation agreement with Allegany College of Maryland to offer ACM credit to students attending Allegany County Public Schools who successfully complete bio-med classes during their high school years with a B average or better. Currently, all three Allegany County public high schools (Allegany, Fort Hill and Mountain Ridge) participate in the program and students from each school attended the ACM event.
“The overall goal was to introduce these students to Allied Health opportunities at Allegany College of Maryland,” said Luanne Cook, Career and Technical Education Recruiter and Retention Specialist at ACM, who pointed out the great need for healthcare professionals in a variety of positions.
Allegany County PLTW students participated in a hands-on case scenario during their campus visit. Using the example of a stroke patient, students followed the case through every step of the medical process and learned how various healthcare professionals play a role at each turn. Students had the chance to witness ACM’s state-of-the-art allied health labs.
“We educate the students about the role that each of our professions plays in healthcare. They learn specifically about our health programs at ACM in the way in which they have been exposed to health professions in the course, through a disease case study,” said Stacey Rohrbaugh, ACM Professor/Program Director for Medical Laboratory Technology and Phlebotomy Lab Assistant. “The students experienced and took part in hands-on activities such as the Anatomage virtual anatomy learning table, simulation laboratories in Nursing and Respiratory Therapist, blood banking science in the Medical Laboratory area, patient therapies used in Occupational and Physical Therapy to rehabilitate a stroke victim and stress management strategies in Human Services.”
The articulation credits will allow students to garner up to nine ACM college credits with the possibility of graduating early to join the healthcare field.
“They can complete early and start working immediately because of the incredible need for healthcare professionals,” added Cook.
For more information on Project Lead the Way at ACM and the credit articulation agreement, visit allegany.edu/articulations-partnerships.
