MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. — School of the week is here!
This week we're celebrating Baldwin County High School for setting up their students with skills they can use outside the classroom all while addressing the shortage for healthcare workers.
“My mom and my dad didn't go to college, so I wanted to be the first to go to college in my family” student Kierston Warren said.
Warren isn't aiming only for a college diploma for her future but she has aspirations of being a nurse.
“I really like to help people, so seeing the need of nurses really makes me want to do it," Warren said.
She and other dual enrollment patient care students at the school passed their state certification.
“They learn to be very proficient with blood pressures temperatures respirations,” program chair for nursing assistance at CGTC Frances Hewell said.
Hewell says the program prepares students for taking their state tests.
“It's a written exam. 70 questions, then they have the 21 skills they must complete. They usually choose not all of them just five. They have to do that within 25 minutes," she said.
Since Warren passed the test she is now a certified nursing assistant.
Now, she's one step closer to her goal becoming a nurse
“When I do enter college I will be very grateful. I'll be ahead of students that's in my class because I'll have the CNA, experience with patients, and medical terminology. I am very grateful for that," Warren said.
The US Bureau of Labor statistics projects that the nation will need more than 275,000 additional nurses are needed from 2020 to 2030.