South Texas High School for Health Professions

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South Texas High School for Health Professions, also known as 'Med High', is a high school in Mercedes, Texas in the United States. In 2006, it was placed 91st on Newsweek's Top 100 High Schools list. In 2007, it rose in the standings to 21st school in Newsweek's Top 100 High Schools list. The school serves as an alternative to larger municipal high schools for students interested in professing in medicine. Open enrollment has been the school's policy for many years, though application is required. South Texas High School for Health Professions is part of the South Texas Independent School District.

Med High runs on a block schedule. Students are required to take a Health Science Technology (HST) class as one of their requirements for every year they attend.

The School has notable partnerships with Harvard University, Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine. Its sister school The Science Academy of South Texas, also known as SciTech, presides on the same campus. Both schools are served by Biblioteca Las Americas, located at equal distance from both schools.

The HST class for freshman through junior years teaches the basics: freshman year they take medical terminology and intro to HST. Sophomore year, they rotate between teachers and each teacher teaches a different aspect of the medical field. Junior year, they pick two courses to study further: medical laboratory, radiology, contemporary medicine, growth and development, maternal health, gerontology, pharmacology, and dental, the only year-round course. The HST class senior year provides the students with the option to become either a certified dental assistant, a pharmacy technician, or a nurse's assistant. The class choices are between clinicals, pharmacy, nursing, or dental.

In its November 30, 2007 issue, U.S. News & World Report ranked Med High at number 64 on its list of America's Best High Schools. Sci Tech's sister schools Science Academy of South Texas (Science High) came in at 23rd place, and South Texas Business Education & Technology Academy (BETA) was ranked 54th.^[1]