OliviaFranklin

From June 22 through Aug. 1, seven Marian students completed the Certified Nurses Assistant (CNA) course. During the class, students learned about caring for people with different kinds of needs.

The class, led by Marian alumna, Katie Thompson ‘00, at Metropolitan Community College, taught students how to help patients while remaining compassionate and patient. 

Throughout the course, students practiced and memorized a variety of skills, such as providing nail care to a dependent resident, and learning how to give somebody a bed bath. 

The class consists
of lectures, quizzes, a final exam and hands-on experience in an assisted living facility.

Senior Brianna Sedlak said, “After the lectures, we would practice the skills we had learned from the videos with the help of our instructor, who demonstrated it on the mannequins. We would also occasionally practice on each other, which was even more enjoyable because we had to act like the patient and nurse.” 

After the classes, students spent 20 hours in a long term care facility with residents. 

Thompson felt successful “watching the students interact with the residents,” explaining that, “in class we practice our skills on mannequins, but once we enter the patient care world, I see compassion and empathy. Those are the things I can not teach with a mannequin.”

Junior Sarah Mohammad enjoyed “practicing the skills [she learned] with other Marian girls and having fun with them.” Mohammad, the youngest Marian student in the course, also enjoyed receiving advice from her older classmates.

Sedlak took the class because she hopes to be “one step ahead of the nursing career” by getting her CNA early on. She says that “the job taught them how to be mature, think fast, and provide loving care all at the same time.” 

On Aug. 9, the students took the state test where they got a case and acted out what they would do to help the “patient,” while someone watched and listened to what they did. 

Thompson encourages anyone who has an interest in any area of medicine, to consider becoming a CNA. “It is a great thing to list on applications and resumes, and it also helps them become confident interacting and taking care of patients,” she said.

Senior Kendra Peprah got her CNA license from Methodist Hospital this summer, too.

If you are interested in the course, you must be 16,  pass a background check and provide your high school transcript, displaying a successful completion of two years of English classes. Prior knowledge of nursing or health care is not required.