Wildcat Nation Wildcat Nation: Volume 2 Issue 1 (November, 2017) | Page 14

PHS Certified Nurse Assistant Program

Career and Technology classes across the state of Texas are experiencing record numbers in enrollment and certifications. Palestine High School’s CTE department is no stranger to students acquiring their share of those certifications, but there’s a new program on campus that is just as rewarding as it is unique. Palestine High School has one of the few stand-alone Certified Nurse Assistant programs in the state of Texas. A stand-alone CNA program is defined as one which has its own nurse instructor/director who has set up a program with the state specifically for instruction in a high school.

Students at Palestine High School have the opportunity to enter the CNA program starting their sophomore year. The CNA students then have the option to sit for their state boards at the end of their CNA training. After their first year and with their certification, the students may work in a two hour practicum course as a CNA. The students may also participate in a phlebotomy program within the practicum course and take advanced college classes to ease their transition into their first nursing program after high school. One outstanding benefit of a program like this is the students earn college credit while they are still in high school.

Palestine ISD has a seamless transition set with Trinity Valley Community College which allows students who complete their CNA, take all three TSI exams, and the entrance HESI exam to transition directly into the Licensed Practical Nursing Program (LPN). This is the first of many programs to begin an early jump into the world of nursing.

Students in Palestine High School’s CNA Program are actively engaged in learning how to deliver patient care.

In class, the students learn how to deliver patient nutrition, facilitate basic patient care needs, administer vital signs, and promote patient mobility. With their knowledge base, the students move into hands-on practical care. The students, with supervision, perform the tasks they’ve practiced in class on the patients in the facilities in which they are serving their practicum hours. Once they practice their knowledge and skills, the students are ready to move into real world application of their acquired and developed skill sets in the medical field.

By: Jaela Washington