The first project-based Health Innovation Competition, designed to help high school students develop their interest in health science fields, is being hosted by the BJU School of Health Professions.
“The big idea is looking at the future of health care and trying to figure out some answers that the medical competition is having,” said Dr. Jessica Minor, dean of the School of Health Professions.
This year’s competition has four topics: pediatric asthma, medical technology innovation and the future of health care, aesthetics of the health care environment, and disability and quality of life. Topics will change yearly.
Minor developed the idea last year after seeing an American Association of Christian Schools (AACS) competition hosted on the BJU campus. While the topics have science aspects, the project is more of a fine arts competition.
“The first question was how could we do a type of event like fine arts in our area that really is specifically focusing on health and different things in the health care field,” she said.
Bob Jones Academy registered in October and attended two workshops hosted by the School of Health Professions covering topics such as how to write a business proposal and how to present your product. The team is competing in the aesthetics of the health care environment category and presenting their project on prosthetics.
In the future, Minor would like to help winners of the competition work with community groups.
“Depending on what their project is, we would be able to help them try to implement their project or try to connect them to people who might be interested in that project,” Minor said.
