Seven students from Berlin High School are jumpstarting their nursing careers by earning college credit and developing their skills early.
Moraine Park instructors have been conducting the Nursing Assistant course in high schools across Moraine Park’s district for several years. The College’s partnership with Berlin High School is brand new, and the first students to take the Nursing Assistant course finished their clinicals at Juliette Manor, a rehabilitation center, last month.
The class met for face-to-face instruction three days a week for two class periods, and six days of the course were spent at Juliette Manor. Students were able to interact with clients, perform skills learned in class and help with daily living activities.
“This partnership allows students to earn college credits while providing skills to students that would allow them to work in the health care environment during their high school years,” Anne Deacy, a nursing assistant instructor at Moraine Park, said. “This course is often a pre-requisite for many health care professions, so having access to the course at their high school is beneficial. They can begin working in the real setting for pay, and accumulate patient care hours to meet college health care program requirements.”