McHenry Community High School officially welcomed the start of a new certified nursing assistant program that school officials say will provide a strong real-life foundation for students interested in any type of health care career.
Teachers, students, administrators and school board members gathered Oct. 17 with officials from Northwestern Medicine and other local health care organizations for a ribbon-cutting event to officially unveil the new certified nursing assistant (CNA) lab at Freshman Campus. Several current students spoke about their future plans and how taking the CNA course, along with other biomedical science courses, will prepare them.
Northwestern Medicine provided a $46,750 grant to build the new CNA classroom at Freshman Campus.
The new CNA program also represents an evolution in the school’s biomedical science program that started with one Project Lead the Way (PLTW) course and a capstone job shadow course several years ago. Now, McHenry Community High School offers four PLTW classes along with two capstone courses.
The semester-long course prepares students to take the competency exam to earn certification in Illinois as a nursing assistant. CNAs work with nurses to provide patient care in a variety of health care settings. In the program, they’re learning around 20 skills, such as taking vital signs, helping with feeding, escorting patients to tests, among other duties.
School Nurse Nicole Class, who is teaching the course, said the program provides basic skills that will be needed no matter what health care career students choose.
“It’s really the foundation of any health care career,” Class said. “If you’re working with patients, you need to know all of these skills.”
The first part of the semester is spent in the classroom and then students get clinical experience at Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital and The Courtyard of McHenry, a senior living community working with nurse educators.
For Northwestern Medicine, the grant to McHenry High School was part of more than $16.3 million delivered to more than 300 local organizations. Northwestern Medicine officials say they look forward to working with students during the clinical portion of the certified nursing assistant program.
“Working with the students in a clinical care setting is a highlight for our staff,” said Catie Schmit, MSN, RN, president at Northwestern Medicine McHenry and Woodstock Hospitals. “We are honored to introduce our approach to patient care in a real-life setting, offering these students an opportunity to learn and see first-hand how important and rewarding a career in healthcare can really be.”
Biomedical Instructor Leah Pelletier, who took a similar CNA program while in high school, said it is a good way to get young people learning about the challenges of being a patient. “I think it teaches so much humility and empathy for people,” Pelletier said.
The class is during 7th and 8th periods, from 1:30 to 2:36 p.m. each day. Students have to be seniors and apply to the program, and a maximum of 16 are accepted each semester.
Along with the new CNA program, McHenry Community High School also has a revamped semester-long capstone job shadowing class that complements the CNA course. Most of the current CNA students will go on to take the new Biomedical Innovations and Experiences, which is two courses in one class.
This capstone includes studying innovations in health care in one course then a job shadowing program in the second course. This job shadowing program is different from what used to be medical residency to have a broader focus on different types of health care settings, not just hospitals. There are now about 40 health care organizations, including fire departments, nursing homes, physical therapy centers and more, for students to choose from for job shadowing.