My Technical State Highschool Experience
Health Technology
I went to H.C Wilcox Technical High School, and there they have a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) program as one of our technical trades, also known as Health Technology. This trade specifically is called Health Technology and embedded in the curriculum is the skills to be able to obtain a CNA certification.
The way my highschool worked is we have Freshmen (9th graders) and Seniors (12 graders) in the same cycles. Cycles are small periods of times where students are either in shop or academics. Then, there are Sophomores (10th graders) and Juniors (11th graders) in the same cycle. So, While Freshman and Seniors are in Shop the Sophomores and Juniors would experience Academics and vice versa.
All together there are 3 shop teachers, unfortunately there was one shop teacher who retired and the other one was transferred to a different technical school. Now there was only one substitute teacher and a brand new shop teacher. Each teacher present within the Health Technology program had a specific set of grades they worked with in each cycle.
Throughout the years of being in Health Technology the things learned and the responsibilities held begin to escalate. In Freshman year (9th grade) the student’s are choosing their shop in about the middle of December. By choosing Health Tech this provided students at a young age the opportunity to learn very basic things in relation to the medical field. Freshman year students only have half a year to learn information before summer break. This is a very introduction and just scratching the surface of what the program's expectations were and overall what it had to offer as well! At this time the main focus was medical terminology and basic skills like bed making and hand washing.
Then there is Sophomore year, this is the first full year you will have in shop. Sophomore year students learn more in depth things about the healthcare field. I learned how to be a good healthcare professional, the standards and more in depth about the human body. Also, this is the year students gained the opportunity to go out on “clinical” for the first time. What we did for clinical was go to Midstate hospital as Junior volunteers and we helped around. This is for us to get introduced to the healthcare work field and to start getting comfortable talking to people. This was something many people in my age group and population did not get the opportunity to do. This definitely assisted in the development and readiness to be a professional within the world of work.
After this there is Junior year, where it all begins to get harder and more in detail. Everything learned within sophomore year is reviewed in preparation for Clinical within a senior assisted living setting, as well as, the CNA Certification Exam at the end of the year. Junior year we as a shop cohort went to 2 separate nursing homes and helped the nurses and CNA’s with the residents. We do this to get our hours for the CNA test, as well as gain experience within the field. We attend clinical Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday out of the week. Then around April is the time the CNA test is taken. Which I passed!
Finally, Senior year this year I took a UCONN medical terminology course. As well as preparing for my senior portfolios, which is a graduation requirement. Basically, what had to be done was to present something learned within the shop. Senior Year is a special year because since there is no longer work to be done to obtain a CNA there is an opportunity to participate in Work-based Learning. Due to this I had an opportunity to work at a daycare instead of going to school. Which was awesome at the time to experience.
Health Technology really provided me with an open mind and introduction to the healthcare world. This trade really prepares you for the real world. I have learned so many things that I can do with my life just in the healthcare field. Although I did not use my CNA as much as I would have liked, this was the first step that set me up to enter the field of social work within my college experience. Through this shop I always considered being a nurse, but there were also so many options shared in regard to career paths within the healthcare field that I was exposed to through this program experience.
The way my highschool worked is we have Freshmen (9th graders) and Seniors (12 graders) in the same cycles. Cycles are small periods of times where students are either in shop or academics. Then, there are Sophomores (10th graders) and Juniors (11th graders) in the same cycle. So, While Freshman and Seniors are in Shop the Sophomores and Juniors would experience Academics and vice versa.
All together there are 3 shop teachers, unfortunately there was one shop teacher who retired and the other one was transferred to a different technical school. Now there was only one substitute teacher and a brand new shop teacher. Each teacher present within the Health Technology program had a specific set of grades they worked with in each cycle.
Throughout the years of being in Health Technology the things learned and the responsibilities held begin to escalate. In Freshman year (9th grade) the student’s are choosing their shop in about the middle of December. By choosing Health Tech this provided students at a young age the opportunity to learn very basic things in relation to the medical field. Freshman year students only have half a year to learn information before summer break. This is a very introduction and just scratching the surface of what the program's expectations were and overall what it had to offer as well! At this time the main focus was medical terminology and basic skills like bed making and hand washing.
Then there is Sophomore year, this is the first full year you will have in shop. Sophomore year students learn more in depth things about the healthcare field. I learned how to be a good healthcare professional, the standards and more in depth about the human body. Also, this is the year students gained the opportunity to go out on “clinical” for the first time. What we did for clinical was go to Midstate hospital as Junior volunteers and we helped around. This is for us to get introduced to the healthcare work field and to start getting comfortable talking to people. This was something many people in my age group and population did not get the opportunity to do. This definitely assisted in the development and readiness to be a professional within the world of work.
After this there is Junior year, where it all begins to get harder and more in detail. Everything learned within sophomore year is reviewed in preparation for Clinical within a senior assisted living setting, as well as, the CNA Certification Exam at the end of the year. Junior year we as a shop cohort went to 2 separate nursing homes and helped the nurses and CNA’s with the residents. We do this to get our hours for the CNA test, as well as gain experience within the field. We attend clinical Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday out of the week. Then around April is the time the CNA test is taken. Which I passed!
Finally, Senior year this year I took a UCONN medical terminology course. As well as preparing for my senior portfolios, which is a graduation requirement. Basically, what had to be done was to present something learned within the shop. Senior Year is a special year because since there is no longer work to be done to obtain a CNA there is an opportunity to participate in Work-based Learning. Due to this I had an opportunity to work at a daycare instead of going to school. Which was awesome at the time to experience.
Health Technology really provided me with an open mind and introduction to the healthcare world. This trade really prepares you for the real world. I have learned so many things that I can do with my life just in the healthcare field. Although I did not use my CNA as much as I would have liked, this was the first step that set me up to enter the field of social work within my college experience. Through this shop I always considered being a nurse, but there were also so many options shared in regard to career paths within the healthcare field that I was exposed to through this program experience.
Final Year Reflection
Throughout my 3 ½ years in the Health Technology shop what I will be able to take with me is that whenever you need to read or study for something health related in this shop there is ALWAYS a quizlet to help you! Another thing that I will always hold with me is to be flexible, no matter what obstacle I or anyone faces we were trained and raised in this shop to be flexible. I feel that this helped us as a whole shop. One thing I am feeling good about is that we are graduating as a family, not everyone likes each other and are best friends but at the end of the day we are a unit. My greatest contribution to this shop class I feel is my contribution, I always helped people or made study guides to help everyone when asked. Another thing is really being the soul organizer for class events. I organize and usually bring up ideas and vocalize them to make them happen. One of the biggest challenges I have faced is coming to terms with organizing my whole life. I did a lot of Work-Based Learning as well as multiple college classes. All in all, my struggles I got through gracefully.
My summer plans are to work at the daycare I have been working at all year, hang out with my family/boy. I also will be going on vacation for a week and then end up going to a pre-fall program for Sacred Heart University. My future plans are to go to SHU and become a nurse. I plan on studying abroad and especially going to Dingle, Ireland. I am so grateful to have had such an amazing opportunity at Wilcox tech. Working hard and getting me to my dream school and program really overall makes me feel so blessed. Thank you for being such an amazing teacher of the year and molding me into the health tech student I am today.
Note: Although I had a plan in 2019 within my final shop reflection to Study abroad in Dingle and become a Nurse I share this experience to show you, you can think you have everything figured out and planned, but it may not go that way. I love the field of social work and without this part of my journey who knows where I would have ended up!
My summer plans are to work at the daycare I have been working at all year, hang out with my family/boy. I also will be going on vacation for a week and then end up going to a pre-fall program for Sacred Heart University. My future plans are to go to SHU and become a nurse. I plan on studying abroad and especially going to Dingle, Ireland. I am so grateful to have had such an amazing opportunity at Wilcox tech. Working hard and getting me to my dream school and program really overall makes me feel so blessed. Thank you for being such an amazing teacher of the year and molding me into the health tech student I am today.
Note: Although I had a plan in 2019 within my final shop reflection to Study abroad in Dingle and become a Nurse I share this experience to show you, you can think you have everything figured out and planned, but it may not go that way. I love the field of social work and without this part of my journey who knows where I would have ended up!
Career Portfolio (2019)
Check out the career portfolio (by clicking the link below) I developed as a Highschooler. There was so much potential and development from now to today with my website development skills.
