By JOYANNA LOVE/Senior Staff Writer

LeCroy Career Technical Center offers a variety of programs to help students prepare for future careers.

One of the most popular programs is health science. This year, there are 93 students enrolled in the health science classes.

Nancy Taylor teaches the basic courses, while Misty Cleckler teaches the skills and clinical setting courses.

Students enroll in the program after planning courses with the school counselors at their high school. The majority of students will ride the bus from their high school to LeCroy for the courses, however some will take all of their classes at LeCroy.

Taylor said her courses cover the fundamentals of health science, including the systems of the body, infection control, medical terminology and an overview of jobs in the field. Taylor said she also covers how to check vital signs and CPR.

“We offer two certifications: CNA, certified nursing assistant, and patient care technician,” Taylor said.

LeCroy is a certified testing site for both certifications, so students do not have to go off campus to take the test.

“They have to take a written test and a skills test,” Cleckler said.

Taylor said it is an all-day test.

Cleckler said her courses focus on giving students the skills they need to care for patients and pass the certification test.

“Your CNAs are the certified nursing assistants that are mainly employed in the nursing home setting or the home [health and] hospice setting. Hospitals like to hire patient care technicians. The difference in that is a little bit of additional skills with the EKG, reading an EKG, performing it and … drawing blood,” Cleckler said.

As a part of the Patient Care Technician training, students will learn how to use the equipment used for EKGs and drawing blood.

Students also visit health care facilities, such as a hospital and nursing home, as a part of Cleckler’s courses.

Both teachers are nurses and worked in the field before moving into the education field.

Taylor said the classes also give students needed information for going into physical therapy and other healthcare fields.

“I wish I had taken a course like this in high school. It would have helped me in nursing school,” Cleckler said.

The teachers follow up with the students the summer after they graduate to see what they are doing. Cleckler said 75 to 80 percent are working in the field. Other students are pursuing a higher-level degree in the field.