In the area of health science, Oaks Christian School is once again an educational vanguard, launching its new Institute of Health Science, joining the three already established institutes: Global Leadership, Engineering, and Arts and Innovation.
Set to open in fall 2024, the Health Science Institute will prepare students through four pathways: Health Care, focused on the care of individuals, including medicine and behavioral health; Population Health, viewing health from a broad perspective, including global and public health, and local government services; Fitness, Sports and Nutrition, studying body care and optimizing performance in athletic endeavors; and Biotechnology and Research, the scientific study of the world and how it can impact and improve health and wellness.
“We want to expose our students to a breadth of health science careers, equipping them to make informed decisions for future college choices,” said Institute Director Dr. Bryan Wong. “The goal of the new institute is to inspire students to appreciate the human body and all of God’s creation as uniquely made. To instill a heart of compassion for those in need.”
In addition to a robust curriculum, students will have opportunities for outside classroom excursions, internships in the health science field, networking with industry professionals, master classes taught by experts and shadowing experiences with health science practitioners.
One huge advantage the institute already has is a brand new Anatomage table that will be used by the students. The Anatomage table is a virtual dissection table that effectively replaces the need for a cadaver lab. It is extremely rare for a high school to acquire such high-tech equipment. Oaks Christian’s table is housed in the IDEA Lab, which is also home to the engineering classes on campus. Anatomage tables are typically used in colleges, graduate schools, medical schools and teaching hospitals.
The images of the six bodies that are loaded on the Anatomage table are from men and women who passed away and donated their bodies to science. A team of surgeons then took incredibly high-definition photos of the bodies and digitized them for use on the table.
Within the table, there are not only the cadavers themselves, but also case studies that show how body parts and systems (circulatory, respiratory, nervous, etc.) work in tandem, as well as functions of the body in action. One example is a pregnancy case study, which shows an expectant mother with a child in her womb, and how the reproductive system grows and nurtures the child. There is also a simulation of a live birth.
Reese Henrich, a freshman, will be entering the Health Sciences Institute next year and is currently enrolled in the Intro to Health Sciences course that Dr. Wong teaches. Henrich hopes to become a surgeon. She sees the Anatomage table as an incredible resource for her future endeavors.
“I think the Anatomage table is amazing,” Henrich said. “It is such a cool thing as a high schooler to be able to learn on this piece of technology. I am not even in college yet, and I will already have hands-on experience with what feels like a cadaver.”
Dr. Wong does not expect the tables to fully make cadaver labs obsolete but believes that the idea of a virtual cadaver lab will become increasingly accessible to high school and college students who are beginning to form an interest in the medical field.
“The Health Sciences Institute will give me an incredible opportunity to specialize in my education early on,” Henrich said. “The Anatomage table will give me a leg up in my chosen occupation and greatly prepare me for the next step in that process.”
The Anatomage table will also be used by the honors and AP anatomy and physiology courses offered at Oaks Christian. Dr. Jay Bayles, science faculty, has previous hands-on experience with Anatomage tables and sees many ways it can be implemented at Oaks Christian.
“It brings a whole new outlook to the class,” Bayles said. “I have always wanted a cadaver lab since I started here 18 years ago, but we have never really had the space for it. This is a game changer in that it allows us to have a cadaver program without having real bodies that need to be replaced annually.”
Current students can apply in February 2024 for the institute. Prospective students apply first to Oaks Christian School by visiting OaksChristian.org/admissions.
