With the Grey’s Anatomy theme music playing on repeat, AP Biology students got to experience the life of a doctor, as they diagnosed made-up patients for their genetics unit. 

“Mr. Ham and I made a bunch of medical charts because we were talking about chromosomal inheritance and stuff,” AP Biology teacher Richard Sabatier said. “In years previous, we were just like, here’s these genetic disorders, we just did it notes. And that was boring and lame, not interesting. So we wanted to make it something fun.”

Students had to identify the patient’s disease through patient information and their biology knowledge. 

“So y’all got the medical charts, and then the different diseases that it could be, and then had different tests you had to order in order to help to diagnose the people,” Sabatier said. “The thing is, the different people had different levels of insurance. So some people you could order like a bajillion tests, so they figured it out pretty quickly. Others you had to be smart about which tests you ordered. And then you’ll get to play doctor and figure out what the people had, I think it was fun. ”

Students like senior Celia Abdallah appreciated the interactive way of learning, as it allowed her to relate the content to things outside the classroom. 

“I liked that it had us solving medical issues because it shows how what we’re learning can connect to possible future careers and real-life events,” Abdallah said. “It was helpful because it made it easier to remember certain connections between problems within genetic coding and future medical conditions.”

For aspiring medical workers, this was especially fun, as it was an opportunity to learn more about their prospective career. 

“I really enjoyed how we were able to apply what we’ve learned and notes into an actual activity,” junior Megan Gi said. “We got patient charts, and there’s vital signs and a bunch of information like BMI, symptoms and medical history. And since I’m really medical based and I want to go into the medical field as I grow up, it was a really fun experience because I’m really interested in that type of stuff.”