Senior Abby Keltner knew she wanted to be a mother-baby nurse just like her mother since she was 5 years old.
The high school’s certified nursing aide and health career programs are helping her achieve her goals.
Keltner recently received her CNA certification through the high school’s program and works at Homestead Assisted Living & Memory Care of Eudora, where she puts her certification to work.
She is working on receiving her certified medical assistant certification, which would allow her to administer medicine and check patients’ vitals.
She said the programs have been instrumental in preparing her for a future in nursing.
“The EdTech programs make my future goals brighter,” Keltner said. “Knowing my medical terminology and getting my CMA will make it easier to take harder classes like pharmacology later on in college.”
The American Hospital Association declared the shortage of health care workers a national emergency last spring, citing a need for immediate attention with 23% of hospitals reporting critical staffing shortages.
The COVID-19 pandemic took a toll on health care workers’ behavioral health, causing burnout.
In the high school’s program, the number of students in the program has varied since the pandemic began. Health science teacher and registered nurse Danielle Young said the program used to host around 40 students, including some from Mill Valley High School and De Soto High School, but now averages around 32 to 36 students.
Led by Young, eight students from Eudora received their CNA certification last semester.
Students seeking their certification take one year of introductory health classes before moving onto Health Career 2, where students earn their CPR and basic life support certifications, learn medical terminology and take a health care research course.
Through a dual credit class at Johnson County Community College, students learn skills like proper handwashing and bathing and feeding patients, practicing these skills on each other and on fake patients.
Students must also complete clinicals and pass a state exam while maintaining at least a C average in Young’s class. After receiving their certification, students learn through working at health care facilities.
A nurse for 25 years, Young said the CNA and health career course are beneficial even to those who do not plan to go into the health care field.
“The skills we are learning are lifelong,” Young said. “These skills can come in handy if you decide or are able to become a parent, if you have family members who need care or even when caring for yourself.”
Junior Norah Oehlert received her certification last semester. Despite wanting to work in psychology, she said earning the certification gave her skills she would use in her future career, such as socialization, and practical experience she could apply in future hospital work.
For Oehlert, earning her CNA certification was a validation of her hard work.
“It was humbling,” she said. “Knowing that I can help people and that if I was in a situation where I had to, I could, is rewarding in itself.”
Due to a shortage in nursing instructors, spots in nursing schools are limited, Young said. She said receiving certifications like CNA and completing clinicals can make a student stand out to nursing schools.
“By doing this in high school, it shows these programs that you are serious,” Young said. “They gain work experience and leave here doing something they enjoy and that will provide them an income beyond minimum wage.”
Junior Holly Baumann, who also earned her CNA certification but is unsure of her future career, said the program offered her a glimpse into what a career in nursing looks like.
“You learn and see a lot of things during clinicals about what nurses do,” she said. “It gives you a first step into the career without having to dive right into it.”
Young said there is great need for more health care providers, especially as the world’s population ages. She said the best part of her job is instilling compassion, empathy and passion for helping others into the next generation of health care providers.
“I know my students are going to go out there and make a difference,” Young said. “We need health care providers — one day a patient could be my mother, or it could be me.”
Reach reporter Jenna Barackman at [email protected]
