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Students interested in going into healthcare can get a preview through the Floyd County College & Career Academy’s healthcare sciences pathway.
Ann Rickman, a registered respiratory therapist, Niki Henderson, a registered dental hygienist, and Janda Canalis, a registered nurse, all teach at the CCA. Between them, they help get students started on a wide range of medical and dental careers.
“I knew I wanted to teach eventually,” Henderson said. “This place really was a great fit for me. It teaches the students so much and it
really gives them a good idea of what to expect.”
In fact, the high school students get hands-on experience that most do not encounter until much later in their studies, starting with a course on anatomy and how it works.
“They do dissections they normally wouldn’t do until college,” Rickman said. “We also teach them about empathy, which is a big part of this career.”
The “empathy masks” students make and wear during lessons helps them learn what it feels like to be a patient who is hearing- or vision-impaired.
“For instance, they learn to keep their hand on a patient’s shoulder if that patient can’t see,” Rickman explained. “It reassures the patient.”
The lessons are then put into practical use when the students conduct clinics at the Golden Living Center rehabilitation facility.
Experience that counts
The healthcare sciences department offers a dual enrollment with Georgia Northwestern Technical College, with access to a Certified Nursing Assistant course.
That puts graduates a step ahead, Canalis said, because many nursing programs now require students to have a CNA license before they can enroll. They’re also qualified to work in the industry while studying for a degree.
“Many here want to be (a registered nurse) or a physician’s assistant,” Canalis said. “Knowing what it is like to work as a CNA just helps them know more about the team they will be leading. They appreciate it more.”
Currently, 40 of the students are interning at local hospitals — an experience Rickman calls “intense” from the start. They go through the job search process, from creating a resume to interviewing for the position. Once chosen, they work much like a regular employee.
“Many of our students become so loved during their internships, they get offered jobs after they graduate,” Rickman said.
Another benefit of the CCA healthcare pathway is that it lets the students explore options. Rickman talked about a student who lost a family member to cancer and came in thinking she wanted to work in oncology.
“Once she started interning, she realized it wasn’t a good fit for her,” she said. “Now she is interning at a local orthodontist’s office and she loves it.”
Henderson said guest speakers such as pharmacists, public health workers and sports medicine physicians also expand the students’ horizons.
“Many times, they come in here thinking: Ok, doctor or nurse, but there is so much more out there,” she said.
Student perspective
The students say they come away from the CCA feeling as if they’re prepared to take the next step in their careers.
Carly Carter, a senior, will have completed her CAN course by the time she graduates and will be ready to take the state board exam. She’s studying to be a physician’s assistant.
“I’ve worked in a nursing home as an intern and I’ve been able to do so much that I wouldn’t have been able to do if not for this academy,” she said.
Carter also said the CCA makes it easier to prepare for college, in part because it hosts students from all the county high schools.
“Here, the teachers are able to take more time with you, too,” she said. “You can really build a relationship with them.”
Skylar Groves, another senior, toured the school as a sophomore with the idea of becoming a pharmacist. He said the program has helped him zero in on what he enjoys about the healthcare profession.
“Once I got here, I realized I wanted that patient interaction,” he said. “I’ve taken the CNA course and I am focused now on being a physician’s assistant. This school is kind of like a funnel. You can experience what you think you might be interested in and figure out what really works for you.”
Groves likened the academy to a building block.
“It can give you a great base level to build on for college or work,” he said. “You have a vast advantage over anyone who just jumps right into the workforce.”
A nonscientific — but fun — way to measure the success of the academy’s healthcare science department is by perusing the colorful artwork on the ceiling in one of the classrooms. Rickman said each student who completes their pathway is given a tile to decorate.
“We have quite a display now,” Rickman said with a smile. “I honestly think that if we can get one student on the right path and have them enter a career they love, then we’ve succeeded.”
The CCA is one of Georgia’s first charter school career academies. Students may take academic classes or follow “career pathways” such as teaching, dental hygiene, robotics and graphic design.
This is part of an occasional series on what the Floyd County College & Career Academy offers its students.
Source: Rome News
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