Beginning with the 2024-25 school year, Northland is offering a four-year biomedical program in which incoming freshmen can enroll. This program is particularly for those students with an interest in medicine and science. At Northland we also get to focus on God's amazing creation of the human body and how we can use our knowledge of biomedical science to serve and help others.

As this program just started, we will be adding a new course over four years before the biomedical program is fully implemented. Here's a look at the courses:

Current course: Principles of Biomedical Science
Principles of Biomedical Science provides foundational knowledge and skills in fields such as biology, anatomy & physiology, genetics, microbiology, and epidemiology and engages students in how this content can be applied to real-world situations, cases, and problems.  Through both individual and collaborative team activities, projects, and problems, students will tackle real-world challenges faced by biomedical professionals in the field, and they use the same tools and equipment found in hospitals and labs as they engage in relevant hands-on work. Students will develop skill in technical documentation to represent and communicate experimental findings and solutions to problems. In addition, students will explore how connections to other disciplines such as computer science and engineering shape the future of medicine and practice collaboration techniques that will help them connect with professionals across any field.

Human Body Systems (to be added in 2025-26)
Human Body Systems provides foundational knowledge and skills in anatomy and physiology, clinical medicine, and laboratory research, and engages students in how this content can be applied to real-world situations, cases, and problems. The course includes interviews, challenges, and testimonials from biomedical professionals in a variety of settings—clinical, research, and public health. Through both individual and collaborative team activities, projects, and problems, students tackle real-world challenges that biomedical professionals face in the field, and they work with the same tools and equipment used in hospitals and labs as they engage in relevant hands-on work. They explore BioDigital™ 3D interactive models, simulations, and assessments to visualize human anatomy and physiology. Students develop skill in technical documentation to represent and communicate experimental findings and solutions to problems, as well as skill in ethical reasoning and clinical empathy.  

Medical Interventions (To be added in 2026-27)
Medical Interventions allows students to investigate the variety of interventions involved in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of disease as they follow the lives of a fictitious family. A “How-To” manual for maintaining overall health and homeostasis in the body, the course will explore how to prevent and fight infection, how to screen and evaluate the code in our DNA, how to prevent, diagnose, and treat cancer, and how to prevail when the organs of the body begin to fail. Through these scenarios students will be exposed to the wide range of interventions related to immunology, surgery, genetics, pharmacology, medical devices, and diagnostics. Each family case scenario will introduce multiple types of interventions, reinforce concepts learned in the previous two courses, and present new content. Interventions may range from simple diagnostic tests to treatment of complex diseases and disorders. These interventions will be showcased across the generations of the family and will provide a look at the past, present, and future of biomedical science. Lifestyle choices and preventive measures are emphasized throughout the course as well as the important role that scientific thinking and engineering design play in the development of interventions of the future. Students practice problem solving with structured activities and progress to open-ended projects and problems that require them to develop planning, documentation, communication, and other professional skills.   

Biomedical Innovation (To be added in 2027-28)
In this capstone course, students apply their knowledge and skills to answer questions or solve problems related to the biomedical sciences. Students design innovative solutions for the health challenges of the 21st century as they work through progressively challenging open-ended problems, addressing topics such as clinical medicine, physiology, biomedical engineering, and public health. They have the opportunity to work on an independent project and may work with a mentor or advisor from a university, hospital, physician’s office, or industry. Throughout the course, students are expected to present their work to an adult audience that may include representatives from the local business and healthcare community. In the Biomedical Innovation course, students will be asked to apply what they have learned in the previous three courses to solve unique problems in science, medicine, and healthcare. Students will work systematically through required problems before completing optional directed problems or independent work. Each problem is staged as a mission – a unique set of tasks the students must work through to achieve their desired objective. Students are presented with each problem in a Mission File – a document that includes a case brief, a list of completion tasks, links to available resources, as well as a reflection section. Working through the missions not only exposes students to current issues in biomedical science, but it also provides skills-based instruction in research and experimentation – tools students will use to design innovative solutions to real-world problems. Students will use what they learn in these missions as they develop and implement their independent project at the end of the year.