Brittany Emerson, Health Science instructor at Quitman High School, has been nominated for the Career and Technical Education of Texas (CTAT) Area 3 Excellence Award. Mrs. Emerson began her teaching career at QHS in 2013 and currently teaches Principles of Health Science, Health Science with Clinicals, Health Science Practicum, and Pharmacy Tech.
According to Mrs. Emerson, her students are able to work toward several certifications throughout the sequence of courses. Some of those include CPR, AED & First Aid, Stop the Bleed, OSHA Healthcare, Pharmacy Technician Certification, and most of her Health Science students have a minimum of 40 hours of job shadowing before they graduate. Some of the changes in the program this year include Dual Credit Medical Terminology and Dual Credit Anatomy & Physiology which are incorporated in the practicum course. She also switched from the ExCPT to the PTCE certification to make her Pharmacy Technicians more competitive in the job market.
Earlier this year, the QISD school board approved the purchase of the Paxton-Patterson Health Science career programs curriculum which will be implemented next year into the Principles of Health Science classes. “I believe this program will be a great resource for the students to obtain hands-on learning about different career options in the classroom instead of just researching them on the computer. I can’t wait to see the benefits this brings our students with the hopes of helping them find a career they love.”
If Mrs. Emerson advances from Area, she will be nominated for the CTAT Showcase of Excellence State Award. CTAT is the leading advocate for career and technical education, enabling educators to prepare students of all ages for successful careers through rigorous academic and work-based learning programs, promoting instructional partnerships with business & industry, and increasing public awareness of the career opportunities available to students.