If you’ve ever wondered why students are dressed in blue scrubs, medical coats, and gloves around school you wouldn’t be alone. Senior Logan Berry, who’s interested in a career in nursing, asked her counselor, discovering a unique medical assistant class. The course is offered at the metropolitan career tech center, or ‘metro’. Students ride a bus to take Mrs. Cynthia Booker’s, a former medical laboratory technologist, class which provides a head start for students who are interested in healthcare.
A typical day in class begins with mock checkups. Students split into groups and check one another’s vitals, including respiration, pulse, blood pressure, and BMI. Additionally, they learn skills like working with patents and how to perform CPR.
“We do a lot of hands-on practice. We also go to UAMS labs and lectures,” said senior Charity Crumpton.
Students hear from guest speakers from UAMS about the class’ content from medications to diseases. They also take field trips to work in their facility.
“In the spring we get to volunteer as medical assistants at medical offices,” said senior Camron Green.
These programs will help prepare students for a future in healthcare by providing hands-on experience in medical assisting. It also allows them to observe a medical assistant first hand so that they can learn how to do their tasks correctly.
“I want to go into the healthcare field as a physician assistant, doing this program is the first step,” said Green. “I’ve been a lifeguard for the past two summers and learning how to save lives. That’s what started my love for the healthcare field.”
The class is helpful for a variety of healthcare professions. Senior Jericka Brown plans to work as a pediatrics nurse.
“I’ve always had an interest in nursing, my sister is a nurse and my mom was a nurse. So I felt like it would be right,” said senior Jerkia Brown. “I love working with kids, I had a summer camp job and I really enjoyed it. It was with parks and recreation for the city,” Brown said. “I enjoyed it because the kids would go on field trips and go outdoors.”
