Healthcare needs people—lots of people—and not just someday. Across the country, employers continue to report shortages in direct patient care roles, from entry-level positions to advanced clinical careers. Schools play a powerful role in closing that gap by helping students explore healthcare early and build a clear, supported route into patient care careers.
That’s exactly the goal of “Education Building Blocks” for Patient Care Career Pathways: a practical set of guidelines that helps secondary educators align learning to the skills employers actually want. These building blocks are not a full curriculum and they don’t replace state standards. Instead, they act like a “skills map” that districts can use to design courses, experiences, and advising that lead students toward real opportunities.
At TinyEYE, we work with schools every day through online therapy services. We see firsthand how student support systems, career readiness, and healthcare pathways connect. When students understand the patient care world—and build the right mix of skills—they’re better prepared for college, career, and meaningful work that helps others.
What Are “Education Building Blocks” (in Plain Language)?
Education Building Blocks are a set of skill groups that employers and professional associations identified as essential for patient care careers. They’re designed to guide regional career pathway development and help districts create consistent, high-quality sequences of learning—while still allowing local flexibility.
These building blocks fit into four main skill groups:
- Employability Skills (often called “soft skills”)
- Digital Literacy Skills
- Academic Skills (aligned to state standards)
- Technical Skills (often called “hard skills”)
When these four areas are taught together—through courses, work-based learning, dual credit, and advising—students become “future ready” for patient care careers.
How Regional Career Pathways Turn Guidelines into Real Student Plans
One of the most useful ideas in the pathway model is that it doesn’t stop at “what students should learn.” It also describes how regions and districts can organize opportunities so students can actually reach the next step.
In the pathway process:
- Employers and associations define the skills needed in the workforce.
- A state-endorsed pathway outline shows career progression and recommended credentials.
- Regional councils adapt the outline into a regional map that connects local resources.
- Districts select a course sequence and student experiences aligned to the building blocks.
This becomes a “ready-made” Academic and Career Plan (ACP) structure that schools can use with students and families for planning and advising.
Block by Block: The Skills Students Need for Patient Care
Block 1: Digital Literacy Skills (Because Healthcare Runs on Tech)
Even hands-on patient care roles now require comfort with technology. Digital literacy isn’t just typing or using a device—it includes responsible participation in an interconnected world, choosing the right tools, and communicating clearly using digital platforms.
Key digital literacy themes include:
- Empowered Learner: using digital tools to set goals and troubleshoot technology
- Digital Citizen: understanding rights, responsibilities, and respectful online behavior
- Knowledge Constructor: curating credible information and creating meaningful artifacts
- Creative Communicator: presenting content appropriately for an audience and purpose
- Global Collaborator: working effectively with diverse teams using digital tools
In healthcare, these skills connect directly to real-world expectations like using electronic records, following privacy practices, and communicating professionally in virtual environments.
Block 2: Employability Skills (The “People Skills” That Make Patient Care Work)
Patient care is deeply human work. Employers consistently emphasize that technical ability alone isn’t enough. Students need strong professional behaviors, teamwork habits, and the ability to stay composed under pressure.
Examples of employability skills include:
- Developing positive relationships
- Communicating effectively
- Collaborating and working professionally in teams
- Maintaining composure under pressure
- Demonstrating integrity and dependability
- Showing initiative and self-direction
- Adapting to change
- Using job-related technology and media appropriately
- Following safety and security practices
The building blocks also recommend including innovation-oriented outcomes—like critical thinking, creativity, and problem solving—so students can grow into flexible, improvement-minded healthcare professionals.
Block 3: Academic Skills (Healthcare Needs Strong Foundations)
Academic skills are grounded in state standards, but the building blocks highlight specific academic areas employers consider especially important for patient care.
Medical Math
- Using the metric system (centi, milli, kilo)
- Working with ratios, fractions, percentages, and averages
- Performing conversions (height, weight, temperature, volume)
- Interpreting charts, graphs, tables, and healthcare results
- Using the 24-hour clock (military time)
- Applying critical thinking to healthcare-related math scenarios
Science: Anatomy, Physiology, and More
- Understanding levels of organization in the human body
- Using body planes, directional terms, cavities, quadrants
- Analyzing structures and functions of major body systems
- Describing common diseases and disorders (and emerging issues)
- Understanding biomedical therapies in prevention and treatment
- Connecting applied chemistry to physiological reactions and medication concepts
Communication (A Core Clinical Skill)
- Tactful, effective communication
- Strong written communication and attention to detail
- Medical terminology
- Interpersonal conversation, persuasive speaking, and peer feedback
Other recommended coursework includes psychology, sociology, global and intercultural competency, and world languages—because patient care happens in diverse communities and real-life situations.
Blocks 4–7: Technical Skills (From Career Awareness to Emerging Trends)
Technical skills are where students begin to connect classroom learning to occupational practice. The building blocks outline several layers of technical readiness.
Block 4: Careers and Professional Readiness
- Researching education levels, credential requirements, and employment trends
- Understanding different health science pathways (therapeutic, diagnostic, informatics, support services, biotech R&D)
- Practicing teamwork roles and responsibilities in healthcare settings
- Building professional traits like time management, initiative, resilience, and willingness to learn
- Developing characteristics like empathy, discretion, honesty, and respect for boundaries
Safety, Legal, and Ethical Practice (Non-Negotiables)
- Identifying hazards and following safety policies
- Infection control and emergency procedures
- Understanding privacy and confidentiality of health information
- Practicing ethical care across cultural, social, and ethnic differences
- Focusing on service excellence and the patient experience
Schools can also reference Wisconsin’s K12 Health Science Academic & Technical Standards here: https://dpi.wi.gov/sites/default/files/imce/cte/pdf/hs_standards.pdf
Block 5: Understanding the Healthcare Industry
- Recognizing trends shaping healthcare now and in the future
- Comparing healthcare settings (acute, ambulatory, assisted living, home care, hospice, behavioral health, public health, and more)
- Differentiating wellness and disease
- Promoting prevention and healthy behaviors
Block 6: Tools and Technologies
- Measuring and recording vital signs (and understanding normal ranges)
- Training or certification in CPR, AED, first aid, and airway obstruction response
- Using mobility and adaptive equipment (lifts, wheelchairs, walkers, braces)
- Learning principles of health information systems and electronic documentation
Block 7: Emerging Skills (Governance, Tech, Culture, and the Future)
- Governance and reimbursement: understanding how policy, compliance, and payment models shape care
- Global impacts: cultural shifts, travel, immigration, and disease spread
- Regulatory/legal: staying current with changing legislation and privacy expectations
- Technology and telemedicine: using tools without letting tools replace relationships
- Culture and equity: culturally responsive communication, trauma-informed care, and health equity awareness
This is also where virtual care and telemedicine naturally fit—an area that continues to expand. For schools, it’s a reminder that students need both digital confidence and strong communication skills to succeed in technology-enabled care environments.
How Schools Can Start Building the Pathway Earlier (Elementary to High School)
The building blocks model includes age-appropriate ideas across grade levels:
- Elementary: introduce body parts, wellness, caring for self and others, and basic medical word parts
- Middle school: explore medical careers, body systems, and practice following written and oral instructions
- High school: use ACP to guide course sequences, certifications, dual credit, and work-based learning
Suggested high school courses include:
- Introduction to Health Science Careers
- Medical Terminology
- Anatomy and Physiology
- Chemistry
- Certified Nursing Assistant (where available)
- Psychology
Where TinyEYE Fits: Supporting Schools as They Grow Future-Ready Systems
Patient care pathways are ultimately about people—students, families, educators, and the communities they serve. As schools expand career-connected learning, they also need strong student support systems that remove barriers and help learners succeed.
TinyEYE provides online therapy services to schools, helping districts support student needs in ways that are scalable, consistent, and aligned to real school schedules. When students are supported—academically, socially, emotionally, and communicatively—they’re better positioned to engage in career exploration, succeed in coursework, and build the confidence that patient care careers demand.
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