By Peggy Walton Staff Writer
From the March 2, 1994 edition of The New Castle Record
Anew class at Craig County high School is giving teenagers interested in health occupations a head start on their future careers. Student sin the health assistant class, which was first offered in Craig this year, say they learn more in the two periods they spend each morning with nurse Wanda Myers than the do the rest of the day.
“We’re more involved in this class than any other ones,” said senior Danielle Huffman.
This week students are becoming certified in the administration of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR. They are also conducting free blood pressure screenings at the CCHS vocational fair Thursday night.
Since August students have become familiar with the proper methods and tools used to monitor patients’ vital signs. The class uses everything from bedpans to two-person stethoscopes, and a dummy with interchangeable sex organs rests on a large hospital bed that dominates the classroom.
Some days the students call the dummy Sam-other days she’s transformed into Samantha. One day some students who heard about the nursing class sneaked in the room to take a peek at the dummy.
“They pulled off the covers and it surprised the,” said Mike Lucas, the only guy in the health aide class.
That day the dummy was equipped with parts of the male anatomy. Health students learn about all the workings of the human body, as the field of nursing exposes people to the blood and guts of life.
Several students in the new class plan to pursue health-related occupations upon graduating Craig. Some hope to go into physical therapy, while others want to become Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN’s) or Registered Nurses (RN’s).
“This will give them a basis,” said teacher Wanda Myers. “They’ll be far advanced when they go into LPN school.”
Myers works nights as a nurse at Catawba Hospital, then teaches the health assistant class at the high school before catching a bit of sleep between the hours of 11a.m. and 6 p.m. Then it’s time to wake up and eat breakfast, while most people are having diner before she starts another day as the sun sets at Catawba Hospital.
“once in a great while I might sit down and sleep,” Myers said.
She said teaching the nursing course takes time, but she enjoys it. She even brought her 95-year-old aunt to class Friday, to demonstrate walkers and wheelchairs. She’s taken class members on an orientation visit to Catawba Hospital, where they will return for classes and clinical studies later in the semester. Sessions at Roanoke Memorial Hospital may also be in the works.
Brandy Huffman hopes the class will help her get into Roanoke Memorial Hospital’s school of Practical Nursing after she graduates this summer.
“I’ve always wanted to go into medicine,” Huffman said.
She and other health students say they like learning from Myers because she can answer their questions about what it’s really like to take care of patients. Myers has specialized in several aspects of patient care, including working as Head Nurse in medical units and supervising the care of people with psychological illnesses. Students also hear what it’s like to take care of cancer patients when substitute teacher Lanelle Fisher helps out in class. Fisher works on the oncology floor at Roanoke Memorial.
Myers goal is to teach all the basics of patient care so students can come out of class with the ability to pass state certification tests for nursing aides. She said the class is now under examination for state approval as a health assistant course.
“We’ll just have to wait and see.”
-Prepared by Shelly Koon