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The Review April 12, 2016
Putting the in career
care
EDUCATION | WHITESIDE AREA CAREER CENTER
Students take bedside manners into their own hands as they learn whether nursing is their calling
BY CHRISTOPHER HEIMERMAN
STERLING – Two aspiring pediatric nurses walk into the health occupations classroom. It’s not a setup for a punchline, but the move that opened the eyes of at least two Whiteside Area Career Center students. As Bureau Valley High School senior Savannah Dean realized the myriad challenges that come with being a CNA, she gave herself a hard look. What she saw was someone who wants to stay the course. “It’s opened my eyes,� the 17-year-old said Wednesday afternoon. “I’ll be honest. I didn’t know all the challenges and tasks that come with it. I thought it was going to be different, but I actually really like it. I feel really bad when little kids are hurting, and I want to help.� Newman Central Catholic High School senior Hillary Grennan, 17, is leaning the other way. To take the state CNA exam May 19, students must be competent in 21 skills in the lab and clinical sites. They need 40 hours of clinicals and 120 hours of instruction. WACC students get
far more than 120 hours, first-year instructor Pat Gaumer said. As the hours have added up, Grennan hasn’t written off nursing just yet, but she has been thinking about pursuing a different career. “As I got further and further into the class, I saw different aspects of it, and I’ve kind of changed my mind,� she said. Nonetheless, Grennan is plugging away and was happy to role play as a nursing home resident Wednesday for Newman classmates Maddie Newman and Erin Allen, who were learning to adjust elderly residents’ positions, which must be done every 2 hours to prevent pressure sores. Gaumer walked the Newman teens through the adjustment while classmates observed. A few minutes later, Dean and her BV classmate, Anna Harshman, adjusted a mannequin. “It’s different with a real person than with a mannequin,� Harshman said. “They don’t stay as well.� Pediatric nurses often have to help infants who have little muscle control, so “this is good practice,� Dean said. Gaumer, with 20-plus
years’ experience in nursing, has a competitive class of 32 students in the afternoon, the third of three class blocks. Success as a CNA centers around mastery of three systems: skin, respiratory and cardiac, and she drills home the key to caring for them all: It’s not just knowing how to do it, it’s knowing why you do it. “If they understand the principles of the care they’re going to give, they’re going to understand why it’s so important,� she said. “They might love the elderly, but that’s only going to get them so far. If they understand why what they’re doing is important, they’re going to be less apt to take shortcuts.� That point resonates with Newman, who’s already witnessed a certain amount of going through the motions at nursing homes, and has taken residents’ reactions to heart. “Residents thank you for giving them special attention and making sure it’s done right, because they always say how people who actually work there might not have the time or might be as caring as
Photos by Alex T. Paschal
Bureau Valley senior Savannah Dean, 17, works with classmate Anna Harshman, 18, to position a pillow underneath a mannequin Wednesday afternoon during health occupations at Whiteside Area Career Center. The students are learning about safely repositioning patients to avoid pressure sores. we students are,� Newman said. “It reassures me that I want to go into nursing for my career.� Health occupations is a dual-credit course with Sauk Valley Community College, fulfilling eight credits (Nursing 101 and 103). Newman, Allen, Dean and Harshman all plan to attend Sauk next. Understanding why CNAs do what they do has been enlightening to Dean and others: not only why you adjust residents
The class practices a number of procedures on one of several mannequins. every 2 hours, but why you chose to be a CNA. “I’d say focusing on the relationships is the
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