The coronavirus has caused a shift in the way students are learning, and instructors are working hard to find new ways to teach through e-learning. Hands-on classes, however, prove to be more of a challenge.
For the Certified Nursing Assistant class, it is a requirement by the state to present skills in front of an instructor and to be in class for 60 hours. With social distancing rules put into place, future nurses must find an alternative way to achieve their CNA certification. Mrs. Kim Wasalaski, the instructor of the CNA class at GHS, works hard to find these alternatives.
“Plan B due to the pandemic is given to me by the state and MCC,” Mrs. Wasalaski said. “The state & college will approve of a class of 60 hours of classroom time and 16.5 hours of clinical time that is not on mannequins, so GHS students would do mock clinical & scenarios to cover this.”
While working with the state, and Metropolitan Community College, Mrs. Wasalaski has come up with a way for students to meet expectations. With online Zoom classes and study websites, these students can get the hours they need. It is the job of the student to decide how many hours they need to spend each day to reach the 60-hour mark. Although it is not an ideal situation, the students are relying on themselves and their classmates to receive their certification in the end.

While there is a “plan b” set in motion, students participating in this class are expressing their worries. With the uncertainty of when people will be allowed to get together again, students stress about the unknown.
“My worries regarding COVID-19 and the CNA class is that I won’t be able to get my CNA certificate and that I won’t have adequate training,” senior Elizabeth Ryan said. “We have to rely on ourselves to make sure we are learning everything we need to learn and practicing the skills by ourselves.”
The future nurses will not give up. Each student is working hard to meet the expectations. With the determination of the students and the plans set in place, it will be possible for these students to achieve their certification in the end. Despite this setback, these students will continue to do everything in their power to become a CNA.