The Patient Care Technician Class is a seniors only class offered at Littlefield High School that began being offered in 2020.
The class is taught by Jenna Ozbirn, MSN, RN.
“We began the Health Science program, specifically the Patient Care Technician class, in 2020,” Ozbirn said. “Over the last four years it has doubled in size.”
This class is designed for students who are interested in the field of healthcare and who want to pursue a healthcare job.
Ozbirn stated that this year she has 21 students taking the class.
The goal of this course is to take the principles learned in entry level health science and apply them to real world situations and careers.
The student use hands-on practice to solidify classroom learning. Students will dive deeper into concepts such as healthcare employer expectations, health science com- munication skills, use of the electronic health record, problem solving in healthcare, wellness, illness, anatomy, leadership, ethics, patient care, phlebotomy, and safety.
“The kids enjoy being able to learn hands on skills and having the opportunity to do clinical rotations,” she said.
The student will put the knowledge learned into practice by applying skills to simulated situations as well as clinical rotations at Lamb Healthcare Family Medicine and Covenant Medical Center. Students will also earn their CPR certification.
Ozbirn explained, “The majority of the students wish to go onto Nursing once they graduate, but we also have students that wish to go into radiology or some other healthcare avenue.”
She added, “This course allows them to explore the healthcare career options. It also gives them the chance to have a good paying job right out of high school while they are going through college. Or, they can make being a Phlebotomist or Patient Care Techician their full time career.”
The goal of this course is to prepare them to work as a Patient Care Technician or Phlebotomist in Acute Care or other approved healthcare settings. They also learn Phlebotomy skills through this course.
Once they have completed the course and all requirements, the school district pays for their first attempt on the certification exam for both Certified Patient Care Technician and Certified Phlebotomy Technician. “ Throughout the past four years we have had approximately 50 students take this course and have maintained a 95% pass rate on the certification exams,” Ozbirn stated. “ Many students have gone on to work at Covenant Medical Center or another hospital or long care facility once they pass the certification exam and graduate high school.”