Overview
Through discussion, interactive trivia, and a creative puzzle challenge, elementary learners will explore the roles and importance that Allied Healthcare Professionals play in keeping our communities healthy!
NB Curricular Connections
English Language Arts:
- Strand: Interactions – Big Idea: Exchanges – Skill Descriptor: Respond personally to presentations, oral stories, and a variety of multi-modal text.
Personal Wellness:
- Strand: Career Connected Learning – Big Idea: Exploring Potential Career Pathways – Skill Descriptor: Critically investigate and describe the labour market and preferred career pathways.
What You’ll Need
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Instructions
Read Aloud – Helping Hospital: A Community Helpers Book: Before reading, discuss: “Other than our amazing nurses and doctors, who else works at a hospital?” Allow learners to share their experiences and their knowledge. Ask: “If an Allied Healthcare Professional can work at a hospital or health clinic, what are some of the roles that they play in keeping the community healthy?” Allow learners to respond. Allied Healthcare Professionals “cover a wide spectrum of health care disciplines” and work alongside of doctors and nurses “to provide diagnostic, technical, and therapeutic services”. (Horizon Health) Then, read through the book. While there is a story, this book also has many captions and a Search & Find at the back. Feel free to read this book as you see fit (chunks, 1-2 pages per day, etc.). Be sure to place in your classroom library so that learners can see all that is inside!
Moving Trivia: Give 1 Allied Healthcare Professional Trivia question and answer card to each learner. Be sure to emphasize that learners may encounter medical vocabulary on the trivia card, but they simply can try their best to read and say it. On your mark, learners will find a partner to ask their trivia question. The tallest person asks first! Once a learner asks a trivia question, they can wait 5 seconds for a response and then the answer can be shared. Before moving on, the two learners SWAP their trivia cards and go find a new partner to quiz. Learners are encouraged to ask as many new partners as they can in the time limit that you give them.
Discussion: Ask: “Which Allied Healthcare Professional have you not heard of until today? What were some things that you learned from that trivia? Any new words that you discovered?” Allow learners time to share their responses.
Allied Healthcare Professional Puzzle Activity: [BEFORE ACTIVITY: Cut up the puzzle into individual pieces and scatter the puzzle pieces around the room. Find the puzzle attached.] Have students find one puzzle piece – there are 24 in total. If you have more than 24 students, you can give a few students the task of putting the puzzle together. Once students find their puzzle piece, have them print the name of 1 Allied Healthcare Professional and draw one tool that they use daily with pencil or coloured pencil on it. Then, using a piece of chart paper, have students bring up their puzzle pieces and have extra student helpers try to put the puzzle together. What does it make? A hospital! Allied Healthcare Professionals are important pieces of our Healthcare System and without them, a hospital cannot run efficiently, and our community cannot be healthy.
Research: Go to the Horizon Healthcare site – https://horizonnb.ca/careers/career-paths/allied-health/ to see which Allied Healthcare job openings are currently available. Is there a need for these types of careers? YES! Check out these NB Career Profiles: https://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/corporate/promo/careers_in_healthcare/allied_health.html. If time permits, visit the COE for Health website and search the listed careers to discover where programs are offered for Allied Health training programs after high school.
Extension Ideas
- Invite local Allied Healthcare Professionals to speak to you and your learners about their day-to-day experiences. Check out past recordings on COE for Health website of Allied Health Professionals speaking of their careers.
- Honour our Allied Healthcare Professionals by writing letters or sending cards of thanks for all that they do to keep our communities healthy.
Reflection Activity
Please see the attached PDF for several choices on how you and your learners can reflect upon today’s activity.
Global Competencies
- Collaboration
- Communication
- Self-Awareness and Self-management
- Innovation, creativity, and Entrepreneurship
Acknowledgements
- Horizon Health Network – https://horizonnb.ca/careers/career-paths/allied-health/, 2023.
- GNB – https://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/corporate/promo/careers_in_healthcare/allied_health.html, 2017.
