Check out the student work submitted for real-world industry feedback! Learn more about submitting student work to receive real-world feedback here!

Grade: High School

PLTW Course: Principles of Biomedical Science

Submission type:  Activity: HIPAA Infographic

Project overview: In Principles of Biomedical Science, students prepare for a career in medicine or health care and are challenged to solve real-world problems. Students practice how to think creatively and critically to innovate in science and gain practical experience tackling challenges that biomedical professionals face in the field. They work through real-world situations, cases, and problems, such as solving a medical mystery case, diagnosing and treating a patient, and responding to a medical outbreak.

In this activity, students learn about the laws and standards (including HIPAA regulations) designed to protect patient privacy. They look at common HIPAA violations in medical facilities and have evaluated a series of different scenarios to determine if HIPPA was violated and if so, how.  They are then tasked with creating a simple HIPAA infographic to either train new employees OR a HIPAA infographic for the waiting room, so patients are made aware of their rights.

Select student submission materials:

Link to full project: click here

Select judge feedback: “Hello, I work as a Quality Assurance Specialist for a Biotechnology company. My job encompasses many duties, but one of my responsibilities is helping to train individuals and create job aids to help communicate important information that help people do their work. These job aids often come in the form of posters, like the poster you have submitted for feedback!

When we create the job aids, we like to make sure that the content is organized in way that captures the attention of the target audience and is easy to ready. I think you did a good job of balancing images and text information. You also did well with ensuring the content was relevant to your target audience.

One thing I would recommend in the future is when citing information, you want to ensure that you are using credible sources. Credibility requirements vary depending on what information you are trying to present, and in what context. For example, at first glance, I thought you had been citing “dreamstime.com” as a source for the text information, which raised a red flag to me. When I researched the source, I realized it was for stock images and that you were likely citing the source for the pictures on the poster. However, I wanted to note it because I had to take the steps to independently verify the source in order to verify accuracy of the content and it detracted my attention away from your poster.

Overall, I think you did a great job with this poster. I also liked that you included a QR code. QR codes are commonly used these days, and by including modern technology on your poster, you are more likely to increase engagement.

Thank you for taking the time to work on and submit this project! I hope that this feedback was valuable to you, and that you continue to pursue a STEM education and career.”

-Quality Assurance Specialist, Seres Therapeutics

“Thank you for taking the time to think, develop, and submit this project.

I work at Philips. I am a physician, epidemiologist, and health data scientist passionate about using technology to transform healthcare and help people have healthier and happier lives.

Your submission makes a great job in summarizing common questions, issues, and facts about HIPPA and protected health information (PHI). I particularly like how you designed it to be a stand-alone poster that could be placed almost anywhere. I also liked that you cited your sources and even included a QR code for further information! This is a very well laid out piece of media.

I can’t think of any significant areas of improvement, but always remember to sign your work!

I have worked with HIPPA and PHI data for the past couple of years and I have seen the significant impact that breaches (mostly unintentional) have on patients, healthcare providers, and organizations. I can definitely see how including media pieces such as this one in strategic locations within hospitals, as well as sharing it during onboarding processes for medical students, interns, and staff could improve privacy compliance within hospitals.

Thank you for your interest on this very important topic!”

-Physician, Epidemiologist, and Health Data Scientist, Philips

Industry Award: 3rd Place High School Biomedical Science Project

School: Haverhill High School

Teacher: Mary Johnston