Health Sciences Courses

This course introduces students in the School of Health Sciences pathway to the healthcare profession and various careers in medicine, nursing, and allied health. Topics include historical and modern contexts of healthcare, healthcare occupations, ethical considerations for healthcare professionals, and an information related to the various health sciences programs offered at Columbia Basin College.

Formerly AOT 147, HIT 147, HSCI 147

Provides a basic background of medical terminology for the medical office. Major topics to be studied are: cells and oncology, tissues and the integumentary system, skeletal system, muscular system, nervous system, special senses, glands, cardiovascular system; blood and lymphatic-immune systems, respiratory system; digestive system; urinary system, reproductive system, pregnancy and human development; general diseases, lab tests, diagnoses, surgery, pharmacology, and therapy. Emphasis is placed on identifying and labeling word parts, defining and building medical terms, basic anatomy, and becoming familiar with common diseases of the systems.

Formerly HSCI 148, SPAN 281

The Spanish Medical Interpreting program is a sequential, three-quarter vocational certificate program, consisting of Spanish Medical Interpreting I, II, and III. The program prepares students for state or national medical interpreter certification and to enter the workforce as professional, ethical, and competent healthcare interpreters. Students are introduced to healthcare interpreting as a profession, concepts and relevant terminology in biomedicine, and given opportunities to develop foundational skills in healthcare interpreting. Topics include: International code of ethics and its application, language access laws, HIPAA, interpreting modalities and protocols, basic note-taking skills, self-evaluation, glossary building and intervention techniques. This course is cross-listed with SPAN 281. Students completing HSCI 148 may not receive graduation credit for SPAN 281.

Formerly HSCI 149, SPAN 282

The Spanish Medical Interpreting program is a sequential, three-quarter vocational certificate program, consisting of Spanish Medical Interpreting I, II, and III. The program prepares students for state or national medical interpreter certification and to enter the workforce as professional, ethical, and competent healthcare interpreters. Students are introduced to healthcare interpreting as a profession, concepts and relevant terminology in biomedicine, and given opportunities to develop foundational skills in healthcare interpreting. This course builds on the knowledge and skills acquired in SPAN 281/HSCI 148. Topics include: National code of ethics and standards of practice, ethical decision-making, basic medical prefixes, roots and suffixes, note-taking and sight translation skills, interpreter positioning, language and communication dynamics, and the role of the interpreter in health equity. This course is cross-listed with SPAN 282. Students completing HSCI 149 may not receive graduation credit for SPAN 282.

Formerly HSCI 150, SPAN 283

The Spanish Medical Interpreting program is a sequential, three-quarter vocational certificate program, consisting of Spanish Medical Interpreting I, II, and III. The program prepares students for state or national medical interpreter certification and to enter the workforce as professional, ethical, and competent healthcare interpreters. Students are introduced to healthcare interpreting as a profession, concepts and relevant terminology in biomedicine, and given opportunities to develop foundational skills in healthcare interpreting. This course builds on the knowledge and skills acquired in Spanish Medical Interpreting II. This course provides students with guided interpreting practice. Topics include: State code of ethics, abbreviations in healthcare, the concepts of patient advocacy, communicative autonomy, cultural brokering and responsiveness, and business practices in the industry. This course is cross-listed with SPAN 283. Students completing HSCI 150 may not receive graduation credit for SPAN 283.

A class used to explore new coursework.

This course is an elective credit for on-the-job firefighting training and experience.

A class used to explore new coursework.

This course presents foundational knowledge of public health, including historical contributions, ethical and moral concepts, organizational structure, and societal, environmental, and behavioral factors that impact health and community health outcomes.

This course explores basic concepts of epidemiology within multiple dimensions of healthcare. Topics include population health, disease and prevention, distributions of diseases, and evaluation of public health data.

This course examines the leadership characteristics and competencies required to plan and implement effective community health programs and systems that meet the needs of diverse populations of patients, individuals, and stakeholders.

This course explores health policy and the impact of government on healthcare delivery and access.

This course helps students understand and respond to health discrepancies and issues of health access that persist among vulnerable populations. Students will explore cultural and behavioral factors that influence the management and delivery of community health services.

This course prepares students to promote health and prevent disease among members of the community through educational efforts and programs that respond to factors influencing the multi-dimensional aspects of health.

This course explores the various organizations and patient care settings in which health services are delivered and analyzes related purposes, general function, delivery methods, and legal/ethical issues.

In this course, students will demonstrate their cumulative knowledge in the community health field by designing and implementing a project with a focus on high-level inquiry.