Program Name: Medical Arts Internship Program
Nominator's Name: Mark T. Bailey
Title: Lead Teacher - Medical Arts Academy
Address: Trenton Central H.S., 400 Chambers Street
City/State/Zip: Trenton NJ 08609
Nominator's Telephone Number: 609-278-3466
Organization: Trenton Central High School
Address: 400 Chambers Street
City/State/Zip: Trenton NJ 08609
List of Community Partners: St. Francis Medical Center
The nominated program focuses on the following grade level or area: High School
District:  Trenton
County: Mercer
Address: 400 Chambers Street
City/State/Zip: Trenton NJ 08609
District Superintendent: Dr. James Lytle
District Telephone Number: 609-989-2744
Date of Program Initiation: September 1999

Mission Statement: The Medical Arts Academy of Trenton Central High School, Trenton, New Jersey, is dedicated to offering students the high-level skills necessary for career success in the professions encompassing the various medical technologies and/or therapies, medicine or the field of professional nursing. The student's educational plan is designed to promote personal growth and achievement. The culmination of the four year program is the senior year internship experience at the St. Francis Medical Center.

Area 1: Goals:

• To provide a curriculum rich in science
• To personalize each student's academic plan
• To offer meaningful internships within the medical arts community
• To provide state-of-the-art equipment, resource materials, computer skills, and writing enhancement
• To provide the resources and support during the college application process

Students in the Medical Arts Academy have the opportunity to enroll in classes that exceed the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards. Honors classes are the expectation. The four-year academic plan will include seven specific science classes: Physical Science, Biology, Earth & Space Science, Human Growth & Development, Anatomy & Physiology, Chemistry and Physics.

Laboratory experiences, first hand observations of surgical procedures at St. Francis Medical Center, and professional symposiums featuring local professionals from the medical community are focal points during the student's four year program. Medical Journalism and Terminology is incorporated into the Language Arts classes, which is offered in concert with our Psychology class.

In the junior year, students will select their medical elective - Medical Technology & Therapy or Foundations of Nursing. The medical elective coupled with the eleventh grade Project Research class in Bio-ethics will provide a basis for their internship experience.

Area 2: Activities:

The Medical Arts Academy Internship Program utilizes a phenomenological variant of ecological system theory (PVEST) as the rational for program planning. As a theory-driven instructional framework, the program design enables students to develop skills that are essential for deciding on a career path, and being prepared for professional and occupational advancement. To help young people to enter the workforce, those skills needed for success in a highly competitive society, and a look toward a future of self-sufficiency are provided along with a caring, proactive team approach,

After ten months of program planning and partnership building, the internship program commenced during the Spring Semester of 2000. Nine seniors and five juniors comprised the initial rotation. During the Fall Semester of 2000, two seniors and five juniors entered their internships. Twenty-five seniors were placed in rotation for the Spring Semester of 2001. Fall semester of 2001, twenty-nine seniors were placed. Spring semester of 2002, thirty-four placements were filled. Entering the 2002 Fall Semester, 19 seniors were placed and presently, 38 seniors are interning.

The Medical Arts Academy Internship Program includes the following components:

• Individualized academic plan based upon student interest, including elective selection and proposed internship opportunities
• Mandatory internship preparation
• Program overview and application process
• application timelines
• writing samples and student portfolios
• parental involvement
• Required attendance at professional development seminars
• interviewing skills, selecting attire, posture and communication
• cover letter and resume writing
• ethics and etiquette in the workplace
• safety in the workplace
• personal and professional responsibilities
• Student interview process
• practice interviews at the high school - video taped for review
• scheduled interviews with prospective hospital mentors
• placement and orientation within the hospital
• Student assessment - weekly, monthly and semester evaluations based upon reports of mentor, observations by lead teacher, student self-evaluations and observable changes occurring during the internship experience.
• Program evaluation and modifications based upon open dialogue between the mentors, program leader, parents and students.

The students average ten to fifteen hours per week working within their internship area. They will earn five to ten academic credits depending upon their length of service. Student interns have direct patient contact, as well as specialized instructional experiences with the doctors, nurses and medical technicians.

The Medical Arts Academy partnership with St. Francis Medical Center provides the following internship experiences:

Area 3: Outside Resources:

Financial and material support is given by St. Francis Medical Center, in the following ways:

• uniforms, scrubs and lab coats
• stethoscopes
• student attendance, at hospital expense, to Chamber of Commerce functions
• contributions to Medical Arts Academy library
• free lunch passes
• scholarship program to the school of nursing (St. Francis Medical Center)

Human Resource support is given by St. Francis Medical Center in the following manner:

• hospital point person for program coordination with high school
• twenty-five hospital staff/personnel serving as student mentors
• hospital orientation and professional development programs
• participation in professional symposiums and guest lecturers
• college and post-secondary medical program recommendations for students

Area 4: Evaluation:

Four years ago, Whole School Reform became a driving factor in Trenton Central High School's move from a 'traditional school' to a school of Small Learning Communities with career focus such as the Medical Arts Academy. With the advent of the partnerships with St. Francis Medical Center, significant and measurable change[s] have occurred. Student interest has exceeded preliminary projections; community interest has been generated as evidenced by the number of parental phone calls and inquiries into the program and attendance at parent's night, and a rejuvenation in staff participation. The corporate medical world now has a better understanding of the high school and those students aspiring to future careers.

Student achievement for students in the Medical Arts Academy of approximately 300 students, grades 9-12 can be measured thusly:

• 99% of all seniors have graduated during the past four years
• 50% of the seniors are currently enrolled in post secondary programs
• student attendance averages 90% daily
• students have led all Small Learning Communities in honor roll status for the past four years
• last year's graduating senior class has 9 students enrolled in four year nursing school, 5 students enrolled as Biology or Chemistry majors with the goal of pre-med.

More students are applying for, and being accepted into post-secondary programs than ever before. Student exposure to the corporate medical world, coupled with the understanding that an academic program rich in science must be achieved.

Area 5: Stability:

After three years of existence, the Medical Arts Academy Internship Program can be considered an extremely stable program. The organizational components remain unchanged with administrative support (Principal and designated Vice Principal), a lead teacher, guidance counselor, seventeen teachers and school-wide resource staff servicing the students of the Medical Arts Academy. Staff development and program input have reached all time high levels for Trenton Central High School.

Area 6: Endorsements:

"St. Francis Medical Center is pleased to have the opportunity to develop this relationship with Trenton Central High School for the betterment of our community. Each semester, we look forward to mentoring the students for future jobs in health care. To date, the student interns have been an asset to the staff and the operation of St. Francis Medical Center."

Mrs. Peggy Jones, Senior Vice President/CNO, St. Francis Medical Center

"The partnerships with St. Francis Medical Center provide unique and exciting opportunities for students, mentors and staff alike. It is truly amazing to observe our students return from their daily medical internships with genuine enthusiasm and pride. To see our students grow into young men and women, accepting their responsibilities and advancing toward their future goals, with a purpose, is a reward in education seldom seen... I am thankful to share this experience."

Mark T. Bailey, Lead Teacher, Medical Arts Academy, Trenton Central H.S.

"The Internship Program is integrated into the students' academic curriculum as a structured time to think, talk, and write about what they did and experienced in the hospitals. The partnership with the medical center has enabled students to experience developmentally appropriate adaptive outcomes, such as personal growth, social growth, intellectual growth, citizenship, and preparation for the world of work."

Pamela Ledger, Director - Peri-Operative Services, St. Francis Medical Center