At a young age, Erin West took note of the hard work nurses put into every shift. At the time, West sat next to her dad’s hospital bed as he battled stage 3 Lymphoma cancer. West remembers nursing staff gently breaking the bad news to her family and taking care of him during his appointments.
“When you're younger and you watch TV shows, you think the doctor does everything,” she recalls. “This kind of gave me a new appreciation for nurses.”
After successful treatment, nurses also shared the good news of his remission, which he’s still in today.
“It literally felt like they wanted nothing but the best for us,” she looks back. “It just really made me kind of want to make that same difference in somebody else's life.
Now, West is on her way to becoming a nurse and making that difference for future patients in our community. The 17-year-old senior is in the high school’s Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) program.
In 2014, Mrs. Brenda Mummert, who has an extensive background in healthcare, created the hands-on program and became its instructor. Mummert believes the drive to help others like West is something her students must have when enrolling in the elective.
“First and foremost, I tell the kids, somewhere in your DNA you have to care about people,” Mummert says. “You've got to have some compassion for people.”
Other requirements are outstanding attendance, being on time for classes, good behavior, and passing core classes like Math, Science, English, and History.
Sophomore year, students learn the foundations of healthcare:
History of medicine
Medicaid/Medicare
Health insurance
Healthcare funding
Ethics
CPR certification
Other components include personality inventories so students can learn more about their strengths and weaknesses, and guest speakers coming into the classroom to share about their experience in healthcare.
“I have amazing people in the community that come in,” Mummert explains. “They bring things for students to do and talk about. Surgical technology, respiratory therapy, physical therapy, pharmacy, anything you can imagine.”
Junior year, students get the chance to job shadow to narrow down which branch of medicine suits them best like physical therapy, surgery, obstetrics, and more. Students also gain their Emergency Medical Responder certification.
“They’re licensed as an emergency medical responder,” Mummert says. “So they learn basic first responder skills, they take a test, and they are licensed. I'm very proud of that.”
The senior level marks the capstone of the class, the CNA program. In the first semester, students must take the state CNA test and pass. Then in the second semester, they have the option of work-study as a pharmacy technician or phlebotomist.
Soon, West will start working toward her pharmacy tech certification at Deaconess Illinois Medical Center—a path inspired by another family member.
“My middle sister did the same (CNA) program with Mrs. Mummert,” she says. “My sister also did pharmacy tech and I kind of saw how much it helped her in nursing school. One of the most infamous classes in nursing school is pharmacology, and she said it was really nice to be able to work with a pharmacist and be right up close to it before ever starting nursing school.”
West and fellow CNA student Taylor Woolard will both have to juggle work-study along with softball and working part-time at Blondie’s Bakery.
“I would say the biggest challenge is just balancing my time and studying for the CNA class,” says the 18 year old. “And, you know, being up early to go to the hospital isn't the easiest thing, but I know that it's gonna benefit me.”
Woolard already started her work-study at Deaconess in Marion, opting for phlebotomy over pharmacy technician. She starts her day at the hospital two hours before school starts and spends four hours on-site.
“Honestly, I just wasn't that interested in the drugs and stuff like that,” she explains. “I thought sticking people was cool.”
The two girls are best friends and have high hopes of attending Rend Lake College for its nursing program. Then, getting a job in southern Illinois, which will help to fill the need for healthcare workers.
“I'd like to stay local just because I have everything here and my family's here,” Woolard explains. “I'd like to work either in the ER or in a labor and delivery unit. “
Before Woolard and West can take those next steps, family and friends will support them during the program’s CNA pinning. The ceremony recognizes CNA students' hard work and accomplishments. The ceremony will take place in the high school commons on February 28th at 6 p.m.