Certified nursing assistant students recently showed district superintendents the realities of working in long-term care, highlighting both challenges and rewards in healthcare careers.
In March, the CTE Certified Nursing Assistant program invited the Copper Country’s superintendents to tour the Canal View long-term care facility. The purpose of the visit was to show education leaders how the program can benefit students, healthcare and the community.
While at the facility, the group, including Houghton Portage Township Superintendent Anders Hill, were led by students. Hill said it was interesting to hear from his students about the important soft skills they’ve learned while inside Canal View, such as bedside manner, challenges and rewards of working with dementia patients, and how to remain calm in emergencies.
“It was really impressive. They get a real hands-on experience and they talked about some of those challenges but also the really positive things about finding out how much they enjoyed it and seeing real careers ahead of them,” Hill said. “So that’s really an exciting thing.”
The program addresses healthcare worker burnout by preparing students for situations they may encounter and teaching appropriate responses. This preparation helps passionate workers stay in healthcare fields.
Adam LaPlander, CEO of Canal View, said the CTE CNA program serves multiple purposes for students exploring healthcare careers.
“A lot of CNAs realize that they want to be caregivers. I’ve talked to several that have gone on to go to nursing school and they realize that that wasn’t for them. They’d rather be a CNA and be the direct care staff, which is great too, because those are harder to find now than before, and we need them just as much as we need our nurses,” LaPlander said.
Bobbi Jo Bonini learned firsthand the benefits of the program before furthering her education and now serves Canal View as the Director of Nursing. She said the facility has been able to hire students after graduation who earn their CNA license with the program. That opportunity has offered students high-paying jobs they can work while pursuing additional education or while building skills for another field. Bonini said students have been able to transfer skills from working in long-term care to working in other industries.
CTE also offers a health careers program exploring different career tracks within the healthcare industry. Those interested in learning more about the Copper Country Intermediate School District Career and Technical Education CNA program can find more information here.
Comments