The medical field is one of the most in-demand career fields one can choose to go into, especially in the years following the COVID-19 pandemic that began in 2020.

More and more, doctors and nurses are needed to keep up with the increasing population of patients who are in need of healthcare. Although the responsibility that comes with such jobs is often intimidating, six students at PHS are on the path to begin working in the medical field after they graduate.

Seniors MacKenzie Gilliatt, Mackenzie Neal, Abigail Bruner, Raven Urbano, Kyrsten Fehribach and junior Savannah Key have each taken several vocational classes at the Lost River Career Cooperative under Health Science Teacher Mara Eisele.

All six of these students are on track to receive their Dementia Care Certification. Gilliatt, Neal, Bruner, Fehribach and Key will also take the Indiana State Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) certification test at the end of this school year in order to receive their official CNA license.

Urbano is completing the Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA) Program and will take the certification test for licensure at the end of the school year as well.

After fifth period each school day, these six students offer their services at Paoli Health and Living, the local nursing home, as patient care attendants. After arrival, the girls work until school hours end at 3:10 p.m.

The students have a variety of duties to attend to while at the senior facility.

They help the residents with everyday activities such as shaving, brushing teeth, bathing and trimming nails. The students also provide a set of listening ears to any resident in need of company.

“They do for the residents what we do for ourselves each and every day and just take for granted. We must not only meet the residents’ physical needs, but also their mental, emotional, social and spiritual needs,” said Eisele.

As they are not yet officially certified, they are supervised by employees at Paoli Health and Living. They also are relatively new to the job, as they started at the beginning of second semester.

Students must meet many requirements in order to receive their CNA certification.

Eisele provides four different classes to students in order to assist them in their education. She provides principles of health care, medical terminology, healthcare specialist CNA Prep and healthcare specialist capstone. Each of these courses are prerequisites in order to leave campus to work at Paoli Health and Living.

“I hope that each and every one of my students takes away from my classes a new awareness and appreciation of their own body systems and knowledge and motivation to live a healthy lifestyle,” said Eisele.

In addition to these courses, students must complete 100 class hours and 75 hours of clinical training in the long-term care facility performing hands-on patient care.

It is a long process to receive these certificates and licensures. However, Eisele and her students feel that their hard work will pay off.

“Not every student will decide to work in the healthcare industry, however they will gain knowledge and skills to take care of themselves, their children and possibly a loved one in need of care some day,” said Eisele.