Photo courtesy by Vecteezy.
Aspiring medical students are taking a new course to become Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA) this year.
“The class is going really well, I wanna major in biology so I think it’s a really good intro point for me especially going into pre med,” senior Olivia Terwey said.
The class is selective, as there’s only one class available. Only juniors and seniors got to be part of this course. The class is productive, learning 2-3 skills a day and testing the next day. The classes teach nursing basics such as making beds, putting on stockings, and how to report concerns or comments about residents. These things prepare students for their future careers in medicine, and more specifically, nursing.
“We have some basic skills like washing hands and how to change gloves and how to change the bedding. We have learned so much and we have a lot more to learn,” senior Candice Gant said.
Students who are taking the course have many different goals.
“I enrolled in the CNA class because i want to go into nursing. CNA [certification] is a course that every nurse has to go through. When I heard it was going to be offered at the school, I thought it was a great opportunity,” Gant said. “Every nurse has to be CNA certified, so it’s such a great opportunity to take it now. It will most definitely help me in the future.”
Other students such as Terwey see this course and career path as a determining factor of whether or not medicine is for them.
“I am not sure that I want to be a nurse but I’m just there for the experience. I think it’s a great learning opportunity and it’s a great intro into the medical field,” Terwey said. “I think if I have the opportunity to be a CNA in the summer, it’ll give me the good intro into the medical field.”
Students are still learning the skills they need to become CNAs. Restorative Nursing Assistants, or RNAs, are teaching the courses to Hastings High students.
“My favorite thing is getting insight from the RNAs that are teaching the class. They have such a positive outlook on nursing,” Terwey said. “They just have some fun stories to tell. They give a lot of reassurance, and kind of tell you the more positive things.”
The learning doesn’t stop after the coursework of the class. Learning continues throughout the job. Current student CNAs such as senior Joanne Vuong believes that putting in effort is a notable thing she has learned throughout her career.
“For example, something that seems small and insignificant to me may mean so much to the residents that I help,” Vuong said. “This motivates me to always go the extra mile to maintain a certain level of care for my residents.”
In the end, Vuong believes that her effort is worth it for her residents.
“I get to witness how my actions impact these residents everytime I see them,” Voung said. “It honestly doesn’t feel like a job most of the time. It just feels like I’m taking care of the people I care about.”
