You are here

Health Science Students See Early Success

Thursday, March 23, 2023

Earning a CNA certification before graduating high school used to be fairly rare in Wisconsin. Now, as Regional Career Pathways are gaining traction in Wisconsin, more students are getting the chance for a head start in their pathway before they graduate. While some of the students below will work as CNAs, others will move on to the health care profession of their choice. The story by Jeromey Hodsdon originally ran in the Sun Prairie Star on January 13, 2023.

Original title: Sun Prairie students learn, practice health care skills in CNA certification class

Sun Prairie health science students
(L-R) Back: Ashwath Vijayaraghavan, Nathan Tedjakusuma, Bella Navarrete,
Courtney Rice, Chloe Beranek. Front: Mrs. Jordan Leider, Olivia Norton,
Aisha Kebbeh, Any Yang, Bianca Lenczner, Anisha Bhalla.

Ten students at Sun Prairie West High School are wrapping up their dual enrollment course at the end of this semester to become a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA).

“These kids are training to be CNAs and are earning credit in high school and at Madison College,” Family and Consumer Sciences teacher Jordan Leider said. “In order to be certified by the state to run a class like this, we needed the hospital beds, sinks, and a certain level of equipment. We also have full-sized geriatric manikins.”

Students learn and practice important skills needed in the workforce to be able to attend to a patient’s everyday needs. This includes repositioning a patient in their bed, bathing, dressing, transporting a patient, taking blood pressures, temperatures, feeding and maintaining the patient’s hygiene. The students practice these skills on each other in class.

The students dedicate many hours to their practice not just during school, but after and weekends as well.

Student nurse transferring a patient
Aisha Kebbeh uses a gate belt to
transfer classmate Olivia Norton from
the hospital be to the wheelchair.

“This class requires commitment and dedication,” CNA student Ashwath Vijayaraghavan said. “You can’t just give 50 percent effort. If you want to actually pursue a career in this, you have to be dedicated.”

The students complete mandatory labs and clinicals in order to pass the class. Labs run for three hours at a time after school and give students the opportunity to practice their skills learned in the online instruction. Labs are taught by Madison College Nursing Assistant Instructor Beth Dunlap.

“I travel to them for labs,” Dunlap said. “This makes the course feasible and convenient for the students.”

Following labs, each student completed 24 hours of clinicals at the UW Rehabilitation Clinic under the supervision of Dunlap and staff nurses. Students completed these hours on weekends or weeknights.

“Clinical experience is vital at a young age,” Leider said. “Our district covers a majority of the costs of the course including tuition, books and test reimbursement. This can save students close to $1,000 out of pocket and set them up with a job/career option starting $20 plus an hour in a very high-need position.”

Dunlap said all 10 students did well this semester and passed their labs and clinicals. They can now register to take the state exam that would officially certify them as a nursing assistant. The students have up to a year from the end of this semester to take their state exam.

“The state test can employ these students in many healthcare facilities such as nursing homes, assisted living and some hospitals,” Dunlap said.

Dunlap emphasizes in her teachings that students need to perform these skills “correctly, safely and with passion.”

“They showed true professionalism and maturity,” Dunlap said. “I ask if I want them to take care of me or take care of a family member. I would trust any one of them.”

Student nurse taking temperature
Bella Navarette provides oral care to
fellow CNA student Anya Yang.

Some students said they joined the class to begin their health care journey because they want to be better equipped to help people.

“I want to go to medical school for pediatrics to work with kids because I want to help them and just help the world be a better place,” CNA student Nathan Tedjakusuma said.

Tedjakusuma’s classmate, Bella Navarrete, had a similar response.

“I joined this class because I want to be a trauma nurse or surgeon in an emergency room,” Navarrete said. “I like hands-on work and helping people.”

All of the students collectively agreed that Dunlap is a great instructor and makes the class less stressful.

“Clinicals were a lot of fun,” CNA student Courtney Rice said. “Ms. Beth is an amazing instructor that helped guide us.”

Leider said she’s worked with Dunlap for a couple of years.

“She’s just fun and truly cares about the kids and wants them to be successful,” Leider said. “She holds them accountable to a very high standard.”

According to Leider, not many schools offer a dual enrollment program to become a CNA as young as 16 years old.

“A lot of schools that have it will send their kids over to a technical college rather than have the college come to them,” Leider said.

Multiple students agreed and said they have many friends in other school districts that wish they had a class like this.

“I feel very fortunate that we get to do this,” CNA student Anya Yang said. “I have friends that go to other schools that want to do something like this but it isn’t offered so I feel really lucky.”

Dunlap echoed the student statements, adding an appreciation for the commitment the Sun Prairie Area School District and the people in the community give to school programs like this.

“Sun Prairie has two state-of-the-art Department of Health approved lab facilities,” Dunlap said. “I love the support I get from Jordan and Nancy Everson. I want to stay teaching with Sun Prairie for as long as I can.”

In addition, Dunlap wanted to thank the community for supporting referendums to be able to fund programs like this that give Sun Prairie students unique opportunities.

“I wish I would’ve had an experience like this in high school,” Leider said. “For them to be able to have hands on a patient and get the experiences now where they can decide whether or not this is something they want to actually do before having to invest all their time and money is amazing.”

Dunlap said the nursing assistant class is a prerequisite for any students wanting to get into their nursing programs.

It’s also a stepping stone to many other health care professions. The students in the class have a diverse range of goals and aspirations for themselves in the future, from careers in sports medicine and nurse practitioner, to trauma surgeon and pediatrics. Many of them want to continue their education at UW-Madison after graduation.

The same class will be taught next semester, but at Sun Prairie East High School.