Roane State Community College (RSCC) prepares students across the region to pursue their dream careers, and Knox County Schools and the 865 Academies created an innovative partnership to provide students with immersive experiences and insights into potential postsecondary pathways.
The Assistant Director of Recruiting at Roane State’s Oak Ridge Campus, Stephanie Bishop, discusses the college’s involvement in the 865 Academies.
“Our goal with these is getting the program directors involved in showcasing their offerings and helping students make those connections between the pathway they’ve chosen and the material they will learn to see if it’s something that is of interest to them,” Bishop said. “I know there have been a few students who have toured our campus so far that have found opportunities that they didn’t know were available before.”
Roane State’s commitment to providing tailored educational experiences for high school, college, and adult learners highlights its dedication to meeting workforce needs and fostering career exploration and readiness, a similar goal to the 865 Academies.
Recently, a group of students visited the RSCC Oak Ridge Campus for a hands-on showcase of the diverse offerings available to students. This particular tour focused on the pathways available in the health sciences with looks into the nursing, health information management (HIM), medical laboratory technician (MLT), and occupational therapy assistant (OTA) programs.
“We like to take our students into the nursing lab with the mannequins that will breathe, have heartbeats, and do other things, and we give some demonstrations that show what they might do in class,” said Michelle Cash, the nursing program director.
HIM Program Director April Insco highlighted how her program works to prepare students for a career in healthcare on the medical coding and patient informatics side.
“We are one of only four programs in the state accredited through CAHIIM,” Insco said. The Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM) allows students to become Registered Health Information Technicians.
The MLT program at Roane State plays a vital role by training students to perform diagnostic tests on patient samples.
“It’s a very rigorous program, but this is the perfect place for someone who wants to make a difference and be in healthcare but wants to be more behind the scenes,” said Madeline Hibbard, the MLT program director.
The Occupational Therapy Assistant program at Roane State focuses on helping individuals achieve greater independence in daily activities.
Cindy Ayo, the interim OTA program director, highlights the diverse range of activities OTAs engage in, stating, “Don’t let the title fool you.”
“I worked with individuals who have been injured to get them back to a place so they can return to their job, but I’ve also worked with people to learn to brush their hair again or taught infants how to roll over and crawl or coached children on their handwriting,” Ayo said. “Occupational therapy is so much more than what people think it is.”
All the program directors from these fields emphasized the need for high-quality, educated professionals in healthcare, and students throughout Knox County Schools can begin their exploration of health science at almost any high school in the district.
Learn more at knoxschools.org/academies.