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Jordan-Matthews instructor developing next crop of nurses
SILER CITY — Safety is the main thing when nursing students at Jordan-Matthews High School are learning to administer manicures. It’s about preparing for patients with unkempt fingernails that could cause scratches, sometimes the byproduct of extended hospital stays, Jordan-Matthews health-sciences instructor Tammy Cheek Walden explained.
But nursing, for all of its practicality, is about pampering, too, Walden said.
Jordan-Matthews nursing student Katye Morales said she was leaning toward becoming a doctor until coming to the conclusion that nursing would give her more time to deliver tender love and care, the sort of personal touch she was applying while manicuring the nails of Northwood High School teacher Sharon Mercer during a networking breakfast hosted by the Chatham County Schools Career and Technical Education Program earlier this year.
The networking session was an opportunity for community members to engage with Jordan-Matthews students. The interactions could lead to internships. For students like Morales, the connections could lead to jobs right out of high school, because she is on target to graduate from Jordan-Matthews as a certified nursing assistant. The district would cover the cost for her and students like her to take the state exam that would stamp them as bona fide nursing assistants.
Once upon a time, Walden walked the same halls that Morales does. It’s where Walden got some early training in nursing that led to a career in that field, and now she’s back on campus developing the next nurses who’ll make the rounds.
At another station in Walden’s classroom, Jordan-Matthews seniors Cathlyn Holt and Steven Sanchez Flores were working up sweats while furiously pumping the chest on a simulation dummy, practicing cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
But nursing, for all of its practicality, is about pampering, too, Walden said.
Jordan-Matthews nursing student Katye Morales said she was leaning toward becoming a doctor until coming to the conclusion that nursing would give her more time to deliver tender love and care, the sort of personal touch she was applying while manicuring the nails of Northwood High School teacher Sharon Mercer during a networking breakfast hosted by the Chatham County Schools Career and Technical Education Program earlier this year.
The networking session was an opportunity for community members to engage with Jordan-Matthews students. The interactions could lead to internships. For students like Morales, the connections could lead to jobs right out of high school, because she is on target to graduate from Jordan-Matthews as a certified nursing assistant. The district would cover the cost for her and students like her to take the state exam that would stamp them as bona fide nursing assistants.
Once upon a time, Walden walked the same halls that Morales does. It’s where Walden got some early training in nursing that led to a career in that field, and now she’s back on campus developing the next nurses who’ll make the rounds.
At another station in Walden’s classroom, Jordan-Matthews seniors Cathlyn Holt and Steven Sanchez Flores were working up sweats while furiously pumping the chest on a simulation dummy, practicing cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
A simulation dummy at another station told Jordan-Matthews senior Odessa Hernandez that is was OK for her to check its blood pressure. A little later, the dummy virtually vomited on her. It was practical training for the aspiring oncology nurse.