Marysville High School to introduce four-year medical pathway

Michaela Harris, Appeal-Democrat, Marysville, Calif.
·2 min read

May 17—Marysville High School will integrate a new medical career pathway in the upcoming school year, officials announced during a Marysville Joint Unified School District Board of Trustees meeting on Tuesday.

Project MED — a four-year career technical education pathway — is being established in partnership with the University of California, Davis, Adventist Health/Rideout Hospital, Peach Tree Health, Sutter Health, and Yuba College.

"This medical pathway is designed to study science from a medical and allied health perspective that can lead into a post-secondary medical pathway," Marysville High School Principal David Vujovich said. "Our concept is to build this pipeline to post-secondary to medical school, or dental school and the like. The vision of Project MED is to inspire hope and entry into health care careers through vision, collaboration, and results-driven practices."

Students will have the opportunity to join this pathway starting in the ninth grade to build skills and knowledge of health care careers, district officials said. Project MED will cover instruction in courses like biology, chemistry and physiology, as well as medical curriculum under the science education nonprofit Project Lead the Way.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, health care and social assistance occupations are anticipated to grow by over 15% by 2032, or approximately 2.1 million jobs. These jobs are also in high demand in the greater Sacramento region due to an aging workforce and higher prevalence of chronic conditions, Vujovich said.

"We have approached our community partners, and they us, to fulfill and sustain our medical health care needs of our local community that are not being met due to geographic location and a trend of highly skilled scholars finding opportunities in city centers," he said.

Marysville High School currently offers three health science two-year pathways: medical occupations, sports medicine, and dental, which have all significantly grown in recent years, Vujovich said. In the 2022/23 school year, student enrollment for the medical occupations pathway nearly doubled from 32 to 61, while the sports medicine and dental pathways have consistently served between 24-48 students, Vujovich said.

Marysville High School is currently working toward submitting course proposals to commence Project MED in the fall. Curriculum training for teachers will begin over the summer, and regional field experiences are being planned for this fall, Vujovich said. Yearly expansions, continued recruitment, and new partnership or internship opportunities will be ongoing as the program gains traction.