WELCOME TO THE SAN MARCOS HEALTH CAREER ACADEMY!

Designed for 10th, 11th and 12 Grade

OUR MISSION

The San Marcos Health Careers Academy prepares students with the academic and technical foundation to succeed in post-secondary health care career education and/or the health care industry. 

Students will leave the academy as responsible, productive citizens in a global society and will be able to apply their practical knowledge and critical thinking skills to real-life situations. The Health Careers Academy will provide fair and equitable learning experiences to ensure the success of each student and the development of his/her educational and career goals. 

Alumni Testimonials

“The CNA program has opened my eyes to the many area and job opportunities in the medical field. Not only did I learn about the different areas in the nursing field, I was able to physically experience what a nurse does. And for that, I am truly grateful to my instructors for guiding and show me how wonderful and rewarding it is to part of the medical field.”

— Colette, Class of 2014

“The CNA program for me was an opportunity to prove to myself that nursing is what I want to do. Form the program I have also gained a lot of experience and got a head start into my nursing career.”

— Paris, Class of 2014

“The Health Careers Academy has opened many doors for me. I am grateful to have been part of it. Not many students can say what they want to be straight out of high school.”

— Jose, Class of 2014

““Without the HCA I would have never even considered nursing. I wanted to become an EMT since an ambulance ride when I was 7. In my 10th grade intro to health careers class, we had a guest speaker who briefly mentioned that SBCC offers an EMT course. Spring 2012 my senior year I took the EMT course at SBCC, it was through my EMT observation in the ED where I learned that I could become an ED Tech. After 3 months of volunteering in ED and 3 years in Surgery I got hired at GVCH in the ED. Since being hired, I am working toward a nursing degree from SBCC and am currently finishing my 2nd semester as an ADN student.”

— Billy, Class of 2012

Faculty Testimonials

“The Health Academy provides an exceptional opportunity for our students who are interested in perusing a medical career. The curriculum is a rigorous career foundation and we have many former students who have successfully matriculated through their undergraduate and graduate curriculum and are now enjoying their medical careers. ”

— Rick Ceriale, Instructor

“The Health Careers Academy has a strong collaboration between school and high quality community health resources. We give all of our students the opportunity to learn the skills and knowledge necessary to enter the health care workforce. Upon graduation, our students will be prepared for skilled entry level jobs and entrance into universities.”

— Marcene Tate, Director

“The Health Careers Academy teaches our students very relevant, interesting information that they can use on a regular basis as they prepare for a career in the health field.

Students that complete the courses in the academy will have a strong knowledge base of medical terminology, anatomy, and physiology.

Being introduced to so many career options early on will help students find a career path they love; hopefully knowing what their interests and strengths are will make college an efficient use of time preparing for a specific job and not wasting time trying to figure out what they want to do.

Kids in our academy are well-rounded and learn important life-saving skills like CPR, first aid precautions, how to help promote community wellness, and work on public speaking skills.

The supportive, cooperative environment the kids foster with each other is very rewarding to see; it’s a pleasure to work with such an upstanding group of caring students.”

— Sarah Ashton, Instructor

BENEFITS OF THE HEALTH CAREER ACADEMY

Our goal is to provide a wide variety of health career experiences so that, upon graduation, students will be prepared for skilled entry-level jobs and/or entrance into colleges, universities or technical schools. Students receive the following benefits by participating.

Help students gain valuable information and data on careers in the health industry
Take courses that will expose you to local health care professionals, agencies and clinics through visits and meetings
Provide real time health career job experience and work site learning for every student
Earn certificates of competencies in basic health care skills
Build a career portfolio including a resume, work samples and competency certificate
Guidance and counseling to help prepare for college or directly into work
Increase academic skills and broaden options for the future

The Health Careers Academy is fortunate to have a health technologies room, with patient care equipment, a science lab, a computer lab and a media room. We have a strong partnership between San Marcos High School, Santa Barbara City College and Cottage Health Systems.