Health Science Education (HSE)

HSE prepares individuals for employment in a wide range of medical occupations, including nursing, allied health, emergency, dental, and other medical careers. HSE includes Medical Careers.

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HSE Teacher Organizations | HSE Teacher Preparation and Mentoring | HSE Additional Resources

About the field of Health Science Technology and Medical Science

Background

Health Science Education (HSE) prepares individuals for employment in a wide range of medical occupations, including nursing, allied health, emergency, dental, and other medical careers. HSE careers relate to planning, managing, and providing therapeutic services, diagnostic services, health informatics, support services, and biotechnology research and development.

HSE is one of the newest of the Career and Technical Education (CTE) areas, created in 1956 by the George-Barden Amendments, a successor of Smith-Hughes (1917). HSE has evolved in the more than 60 years since emergency medical services, dental, and allied services like sports medicine and surgery. The student organization for HSE, HOSA – Future Health Professionals was formed in 1976 originally as the Health Occupations Students of America. As of 2024, more than 72 schools offer HSE programs in Minnesota, including 75 teachers and 15,000 students grades 7-12.

HSE comprises the Health Science Technology career field on Minnesota’s Career Wheel. HSE includes one CTE license: Medical careers-300300.

Medical Industry in Minnesota

Minnesota is committed to developing, building, and promoting health and life science technologies across a broad swath of industries—including medical devices, health care, pharma, biotech, health IT, biomaterials/biofuels, and more. Minnesota is known as Medical Alley—the number one Health Tech Cluster in the world. We’re home to the nation’s largest private health insurer and more than 800 partner organizations in the health care industry around the world. The Smithsonian has recognized six “Great Places of Invention” in the United States, including only one for health care: Minnesota.

1st Hospital (Mayo Clinic) in the Country (U.S. News and World Report, 2016-2022)
1st Health Cluster in the World (DEED, 2024)
1st Top State for Health Care (WalletHub, 2023)
1st in Pacemakers Related Patents per 1 Million People (US Patent Office, 2023)
1st in Implantable Medical Device-Related Patents (US Patent Office, 2023)
4th in Total Medical Device Patents (US Patent Office, 2023)
6th in Medical Device Registration (DEED, 2023)
12th in R&D expenditures among public universities in the U.S. (DEED, 2023)

Minnesota HSE Companies

3M
Allina Health
Boston Scientific
CentraCare Health
HealthPartners
Life Time Fitness
M Health Fairview
Mayo Clinic
Medtronic
UnitedHealth Group (Healthcare)

Top in-demand and high-wage careers in medical and health sciences

Half of all pharmacy technician jobs pay between $38,837 and $49,616 per year, with 1.7% projected growth in job demand during the next ten years.
Half of all dental assistant jobs pay between $52,522 and $65,660 per year, with 7.2% projected growth in job demand during the next ten years.
Half of all physical therapist jobs pay between $83,843 and $100,905 per year, with 13.8% projected growth in job demand during the next ten years.
Half of all registered nursing jobs pay between $80,406 and $107,873 per year, with 6.6% projected growth in job demand during the next ten years.

Three Components of Health Science Education (HSE)

HSE Courses and Labs

Academic, Rigorous Instruction

Health Science Education (HSE) prepares students for high wage, high skill, and in demand jobs and careers in nursing, allied health, emergency, dental, and other medical careers. HSE deeply integrates science and math, ideally while meeting high school graduation requirements and earning college credit and industry certifications. HSE is contextual, combining classroom and laboratory, often making heavy use of project-based learning.

Essential elements include: career awareness, exploration, and preparation; programs of study based on industry; and a balance of classroom and laboratory instruction, which uses technology.

HSE Work-Based Learning

Technical, Relevant Experience

Students learn best by doing. A work-based learning (WBL) project is an extension of the classroom, where students develop specific technical and career knowledge that prepares them for their future. Within HSE, students begin exploring careers of interest, followed by relevant experiences with hospitals and medical industry, most often through internships, clinicals, or simulated School-Based Enterprises at the school such as a school clinic.

Essential elements include: work-based learning opportunities guided by training agreements and training plans; safety instruction and policies.

Minnesota HOSA

Affective, Relationships/Leadership

HOSA is the Career and Technical Student Organization (CTSO) for HSE and is available to any student who has taken a course in HSE or is pursuing a career in the health professions. Minnesota HOSA develops leadership and technical skill competencies through a program of motivation, awareness, and recognition as an integral part of an HSE program. State membership as of 2023 was more than 1,800 students in 54 HOSA chapters.

Essential elements include: leadership development opportunities through student organizations or other means.

Courses in Health Science Education

– Introduction to Health Science Education
– Health Science Careers
– Health Care Core
– Medical Terminology
– First Aid/CPR
– Anatomy and Physiology
– Diseases and Disorders
– Medical Innovations
– Human Body Systems
– Medical Interventions
– Biomedical Science
– Health and Wellness
– Health Science Technology

– Nursing Assistant
– Home Health Aide
– Trained Medication Aide
– Practical Nursing
– Clinicals/Medical Work-Based Learning

– Sports Medicine
– Medical Lab Science
– Medical Assisting
– Pharmacy Assisting
– Physio Therapy
– Surgical Technology
– Respiratory Therapy
– Gerontology
– Clinicals/Medical Work-Based Learning

– Emergency Medical Responder
– Emergency Medical Technician
– Fire Science
– Community Awareness & Emergency Preparedness
– Forensics
– Clinicals/Medical Work-Based Learning

– Introduction to Dental Science
– Dental Lab Materials
– Dental Assisting
– Clinicals/Medical Work-Based Learning

HSE High School and Middle Programs

Fisher, Fosston, Roseau, and Thief River Falls.

Duluth.

Browerville and Staples-Motley.

Moorhead and West Central.

Cambridge-Isanti, Chisago Lakes, Princeton, St. Cloud, and Wright Technical Center.

Anoka-Hennepin, Burnsville-Eagan-Savage, Forest Lake, Fridley, Intermediate #287, Intermediate #917, Lakeville, Minneapolis, Northeast Metro #916, Osseo, Robbinsdale, Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan, Shakopee, South Washington County, Spring Lake Park, St. Louis Park, St. Paul, SW Metro Intermediate #288, Wayzata, and White Bear Lake.

Adrian, Edgerton, Fulda, Hills-Beaver Creek, Jackson County Central, Lakeview, Luverne, Montevideo, Murray County Central, Pipestone, Red Rock Central, Redwood Area, Renville County West, Southwest/West Central Service Cooperative, Wabasso, Windom, and Yellow Medicine East.

Cleveland, Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop (GFW), Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton, Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial, Le Sueur-Henderson, Madelia, Mankato, Maple River, Martin County West, NRHEG, Sibley East, St. Clair, St. Peter, Tri-City United, United South Central, and Waseca.

Houston, Plainview-Elgin-Millville, Red Wing, Rochester, and Rushford-Peterson.

Directory of HSE Programs and Teachers | Directory of HOSA Chapters | Open HSE Teaching Jobs

HSE State Leadership and Professional Organizations

Minnesota association for career and Technical Education

Learn more about MnACTE

local health Science Teachers organization is coming soon

Coming Soon

HSE Teacher Preparation and Mentoring

Lakes Country Service Cooperative

Licenses:

PELSB – Portfolio Pathway

Licenses:

All licenses

CTE Teacher Induction
Program (TIP)

Introductory mentoring and induction for secondary teachers new to the profession who need support with foundations of CTE and basic pedagogy/instruction, most often Tier 1 and Tier 2 teachers. CTE TIP offers free curriculum, mentoring, professional development, and resources.

HSE Teacher Induction
Program (TIP)

Advanced mentoring and induction for those who have recently completed a teacher preparation program (Tier 3) or those who have completed CTE-TIP (Tier 2 or Tier 3) and need license-specific support to build a program, design and adopt curriculum, and enhance their teaching and pedagogy.

Free mentoring, curriculum, and support from a program with more than 20 years of success.

Learn More

Additional HSE Resources

Minnesota State hosts eight Centers of Excellence – each serving a major industry that faces serious workforce challenges. The centers collaborate with industry and educators to attract and prepare students for success in high-demand careers.

Strategically located throughout the state, the Minnesota State Centers of Excellence drive workforce innovation through education and industry collaboration – and provide thought leadership on workforce development in their respective industries.

The Minnesota Department of Education administers rule and funding unique to CTE, including federal Perkins (under sole source agency Minnesota State) and CTE revenue. The MDE state specialist for HSE is Jenny Neiss.

The nine Service Cooperatives are regional governments and school districts under Minnesota State Statute 123A.21. The cooperatives work as a liaison to state agencies and districts and have strong partnerships with business and industry, postsecondary institutions, and other associations that provide opportunities for Minnesota districts, teachers, and students.

The Cooperatives partner to form the MN CTE Consortium to provide statewide services in CTE teacher licensure, induction/mentoring, and professional development under Minnesota State Statute 124D.4536.

Minnesota State colleges and Minnesota school districts were self-formed in 2008 to promote collaborative planning and implementation of Career and Technical Education programs through the Perkins federal grant. Each consortium has at least one Minnesota State college and one school district, including charter schools.

HSE Frequently Asked Questions

Vocational Education (Vo-Ed) evolved into Career and Technical Education (CTE) in the 1990s and 2000s. The 2018 Perkins V Strengthening Career and Technical Education act definitively shifted Vocational Education to Career and Technical Education, dropping the word vocational from the act’s title. At a very superficial level, CTE and Vo-Ed look like they are the same thing, but philosophically they are fundamentally different. CTE provides students with experiences from career exploration and career development all the way to occupation-specific technical skills leading to careers that are high-skill, high-wage, and in-demand. CTE programs align secondary, postsecondary, business, and industry to create multiple opportunities in a career pathway. The philosophy of vocational education was to provide those very specific technical skills tracking towards a specific job right out of high school. References to vocational, Vo-Ed, or Voc-Ed are antiquated and conjure up an image that is not reflective of the vast array of today’s highly technical and in-demand careers.

What is Health Science Education?