The Health Science Career Cluster includes planning, managing, and providing services in therapeutics, diagnostics, health informatics, support areas, and biotechnology research and development. After completing an Introduction to Healthcare Science, students in the Therapeutic Services – allied health pathway will be exposed to necessary skills and knowledge useful in any area in healthcare. The second course in this pathway, Essentials of Healthcare will cover anatomy and physiology of each body system, medical terminology, diseases and disorders, diagnosis and treatment and skills related to each system. Careers in the Therapeutic Services pathway are focused primarily on changing the health status of the patient over time. Health professionals in this pathway work directly with patients; they may provide care, treatment, counseling and health education information. There are 5 million allied health care providers in the U.S., who work in more than 80 different professions and represent approximately 60% of all health care providers — but this is just a drop in the bucket in terms of how many allied health care workers are needed to meet current and future healthcare needs in America.