|
Continued from Page 1
After Ricardez's father saw how much he enjoyed the
OR, he suggested that his son consider it as a career.
Ricardez began to consider becoming an OR surgeon and
has been part of the academy ever since.
Students must apply for acceptance into the academy
and are chosen based on their interest in health care.
The academy has 64 juniors and sophomores, seven of
whom are male.
Academy students prepare for college nursing programs
by taking an "Elements of Nursing" class their
sophomore year, a physiology class their junior year
and chemistry and algebra II their senior year. Sophomores
in "Elements of Nursing" learn how to take
vital signs and become certified in CPR.
Students also take intensive English classes and participate
in a mandatory book club, in which they're required
to read and discuss health care novels and works of
nonfiction. The classes and book club are designed to
help the students meet college nursing program requirements
by raising their reading levels to the 12th grade. For
many of them, English is not their first language.
Support for the academy comes from various hospitals
and local colleges, including De Anza College, where
students can take a medical terminology class.
During their senior year, students can take the CNA
course at Mission College, which involves theory and
supervised clinical work. After they complete the course,
they can take the exam to become licensed as a CNA.
As CNAs, the students can earn about $13 an hour, Bliss
said. She added that many of them would not be able
to afford college unless they received scholarships
or worked while in school.
During Columbus Day weekend, the juniors visited five
university nursing programs in the state. At the University
of California, Davis, students saw cadavers and got
a close-up look at brains, silicone implants and nerves.
Ten students also observed operations on a horse and
a dog at the School of Veterinary Medicine.
Junior Tuyen Vo, 15, who plans to attend the San Jose
State University School of Nursing, said she enjoyed
seeing different college environments and what their
medical and nursing programs required.
Vo, who is considering emergency room nursing, also
said she liked how the academy has introduced her to
different kinds of nursing.
Like Vo, junior Zulema Hernandez, 16, applied for the
academy knowing that she wanted to be a nurse, but wasn't
sure what kind of nursing she wanted to do. But ever
since she saw health care professionals perform a cesarean
while she was job shadowing, she has considered L&D
nursing.
Hernandez added that she enjoyed a trip the students
took to the Santa Clara County Coroner's Office, where
she saw real organs for the first time. She said that
her mother, a former medical assistant, was impressed.
The academy has succeeded well beyond Bliss' expectations.
"It seems like every time I turn around, someone
else is approaching me with a new idea," she said.
However, she isn't sure if she'll be able to admit
more students into the academy next year. The Johnson
& Johnson money is funding only current students.
She said she needs more funds by February, when she
would like to begin recruiting freshmen for the 2004-05
school year, and she is still looking for sources.
Right now, however, Bliss and other faculty members
are excited about the academy's potential impact on
health care.
"I'm so glad we're able to do something that is
giving back to health care a little bit," said
nursing instructor Chantal Chatman, RN, who worked as
a nurse for several years before becoming a teacher.
"The opportunity to give the kids that part of
me has been a great experience."
Contact Rebecca Ray at rebeccar@nurseweek.com
|
Reply
to Article
