Career prep taught at FCHS

Students share basic lessons in elementaries

  • Fannin County High School student Mackenzie Johnson practices the skill of repositioning a dependent patient on their side in Healthcare Science teacher Anne Gibbs’ Patient Care Fundamentals course, which is one of the courses offered in the Healthcare pathway where students can gain state certifications.
    Fannin County High School student Mackenzie Johnson practices the skill of repositioning a dependent patient on their side in Healthcare Science teacher Anne Gibbs’ Patient Care Fundamentals course, which is one of the courses offered in the Healthcare pathway where students can gain state certifications.
  • Fannin County High School student Ella Richardson, left, is shown being evaluated by her fellow student, Karly Waters, on the proper application and removal of personal protective equipment in Healthcare Science teacher Anne Gibbs’ Patient Care Fundamentals course.
    Fannin County High School student Ella Richardson, left, is shown being evaluated by her fellow student, Karly Waters, on the proper application and removal of personal protective equipment in Healthcare Science teacher Anne Gibbs’ Patient Care Fundamentals course.
  • Fannin County High School Essentials of Healthcare student Cassidy Culpepper recently completed the course’s comprehensive assignment by providing a “Basic Healthcare” lesson to students at Blue Ridge Elementary School with her fellow classmates. She is shown teaching “Hands-Only” CPR to the students.
    Fannin County High School Essentials of Healthcare student Cassidy Culpepper recently completed the course’s comprehensive assignment by providing a “Basic Healthcare” lesson to students at Blue Ridge Elementary School with her fellow classmates. She is shown teaching “Hands-Only” CPR to the students.

    By Sydney Criteser
    sydney@thenewsobserver.com
    Students at Fannin County High School (FCHS) are able to prepare for various careers in the healthcare field through classes offered in the high school’s Career, Technical, Agricultural Education (CTAE) department  each year.
    One example of this is seen in Healthcare Science teacher Jeremy King’s Essentials of Healthcare course, where students complete a student-chosen comprehensive assignment to complete the course.
    This year, they chose to present a “Basic Healthcare” lesson to elementary school students in the school system.
    “The lesson included how students could recognize an emergency and how to contact 911,” King said. “It also includes having students make a cheat sheet with their home address and important information they may need to know during an emergency. The lesson also taught student how to recognize signs of stroke and heart attack as well as what to do if someone passes out, has a neck injury, or is in a fire situation. The FCHS students also taught and demonstrated how to use an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) and how to do ‘Hands-Only’ CPR.”
    According to King, each of the students enrolled in the Essentials course will have the opportunity to enroll in any of the following classes to complete their pathway: Sports Medicine, Emergency Medical Responder, Patient Care Fundamentals, Pharmacy Operations and Fundamentals and Allied Health and Medicine.
    “Each of the third level classes offer some form of certificate or credential. Classes such as the Patient Care Fundamentals and the Pharmacy Operations and Fundamentals offer students a chance to sit for their credentialing exam,” King said. “If students successfully meet all requirements and pass the state exam, students can graduate from FCHS as a Certified Nursing Assistant or Pharmacy Technician. Many of these students have plans to complete multiple or even all of the 3rd level courses offered which could allow them to graduate with multiple credentials.”
    Healthcare Science teacher Anne Gibbs’ class, Patient Care Fundamentals, prepares students to become state certified nursing assistants following the course.
    “Students can complete all the course work required and become state certified in this field before graduation,” Gibbs said. “State certification as a nursing assistant allows students to get a job in this field immediately upon certification. Many students use their CNA license as a stepping stone to allow them to not only work in the health care field, but also to assist them in getting into competitive college health care programs like nursing and physical therapy.”
    School System CTAE Director Lucas Roof expressed his pride in Gibbs, King and the students in the pathway, stating, “As the Fannin County CTAE Director, I am extremely proud of Mr. King, Mrs. Gibbs, and our Health Science pathways at Fannin County High School. We truly have one of the best Health Science programs in the state of Georgia thanks to these teachers, our students, and the support of the community.  It is great now, and I only see it getting better. As Mr. King said, students at Fannin County High School are able to graduate as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) and/or a Pharmacy Technician. Starting next school year, FCHS students will be able to graduate as a Medical Assistant (MA). These opportunities can help propel a student interested in any career in the healthcare industry to an extremely bright future.”