Real Life Nursing Experience With The EHS CNA Program

Hands on experience in nursing!

The EHS CNA program gives EHS juniors and seniors a real world experience in healthcare. The program is run by Keri Friesenegger, a registered nurse with 36 years of nursing experience and has a background in long-term care.

Many of the students who are part of the program have an interest in nursing, pre-med, respiratory therapy and other areas of the healthcare industry. The students take part in lab time, clinical time and theory.

They start in the classroom and then there are two clinical days where they do hands on care for residents in a long-term care facility.

This program is managed by the state and if the students do well, they will get a recommendation by the state for certification testing. Overall, the program gets them read to take state certification testing. Once they pass that, they will then become certified nurse aides.

Frisenegger says there are two valuable parts to the program. One part is that for students who are interested in healthcare, it gives them an entry level hands on experience with it. The other part is for students who are still exploring whether they would be interested in the field. It allows them to decide whether it is the right path for them without parents having to pay pre-med tuition expenses at the college level.

Interested in the program? EHS sophomores are encouraged to talk to their school counselor to express their interest. It is first come, first serve and the first spots are given to EHS seniors.