Nursing students in YUHSD record highest test scores in Arizona
Through its Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs, Yuma Union High School District aims to develop vocational leaders who enter the postsecondary world with the necessary skills and qualifications to achieve success. With their most recent accomplishments, the district’s nursing students are right on track.
Among 11 Arizona school districts, YUHSD had the highest average score on the fall semester’s technical skills assessment. Thirty-eight students across three campuses – Cibola, Gila Ridge and Kofa – accrued an average score of 80 with a 97% pass rate. Cibola’s score was the highest of them all, with an average score of 85 and a 100%pass rate.
Ask their instructor, Ezra Mendoza, about their success and you’ll catch the elation and pride in her voice.
“One of the best experiences of being their instructor is seeing their growth from day one,” she said. “Some of them are actually tremoring when they come in; they’re so timid and shy and scared to even touch a patient.
But then they gain knowledge and skills and confidence. They grow and mature in a matter of weeks; in a few short months, they’re fullfledged grown ups.”
The first part of the two-year program introduces students to the basics: medical terminology, the legal and ethical aspects of nursing and basic skills. During their second year as a CTE nursing student, they’re launched into a clinical environment where they practice techniques like taking vital signs, transferring patients and providing therapeutic treatments.
If you’ve received care at Haven of Yuma, chances are you’ve seen some of these nurses in action as they’re working to earn the 80 hours of supervised clinicals required to obtain their Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) license. Starting next semester, they’ll be shadowing healthcare providers at Yuma Rehabilitation Hospital as well.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity to tie in the stuff they learn in class and apply it to real scenarios, because it’s never like the book,” Mendoza said. “Every patient and every scenario is different.”
When they graduate, the students are fully equipped for the state board exam, which is half comprised of questions and half comprised of randomly selected skills that “show what they know” in a limited amount of time. To fully prepare them to excel in this, Mendoza administers a “mini skill exam” midway through the course and another at the end that mimics what they might come across in the one that grants their state licensure.
“It gives them a taste of what the state exam will be like,” she said. “We practice these skills throughout the semester, because the test is very stressful. They do so much work and studying outside of class as well. This isn’t one of those classes where you can just show up and expect to pass – it’s a lot of work and my students go through a lot of trying times in it, but they are extremely dedicated.”
Out of 167 students who have gone through the program at one of the three campuses in the last two years, 164 have earned their CNA licenses after completing the program. In January, San Luis will join them as it launches the program on its campus and begins generating future nurses into the workforce.
While many of those now licensed professionals are performing duties in the hospitals and nursing homes around town, many also end up with jobs that lead them to Phoenix or Tucson. Some are even offered positions before receiving their high school diploma, giving them a “head start” on working in the settings of their dream job.
“I’m so proud to be part of the beginning stages and foundation of their nursing career,” Mendoza said. “Out of all the students I’ve had, these are top-notch, dedicated, preserving people. You can see it in the way they do things that they are taking their skills and knowledge into the real world with empathy and care.”
“It’s a wonderful opportunity to tie in the stuff they learn in class and apply it to real scenarios, because it’s never like the book. Every patient and every scenario is different.”