CNA class provides job skills

  POPLARVILLE – A 12-week course at Pearl River Community College has given four women the skills they need to become certified nursing assistants and fulfill dreams of becoming nurses.
  Applications for the spring semester certified nursing assistant course are being accepted through Nov. 14 with interviews scheduled on Nov. 18. Classes begin on Jan. 5 and meet from 5 to 9 p.m. Monday and Thursday through March 30.
  “I want to do something to help people and make a difference,” said Brittany Marlborough of Picayune who completed the fall course and will take the state certification exam in December. “I wanted to learn the basics.”
  She hopes to follow several relatives into a career as a licensed practical nurse or registered nurse.
  “I wanted to expand my education,” said fellow student Bertha Conley of Brooklyn. “I have a three-year-old and have to provide for him.”
  She, too, wants to further her nursing education. The PRCC course prepared her well for the state exam, she said.
  “We have wonderful instructors,” Conley said. “They made sure we knew everything.”
  CNAs work in a variety of health care settings, including hospitals and nursing homes, said instructor Sandra Culpepper. They assist patients with meals, walking and using wheel chairs and relieve nurses of such tasks as taking vital signs and giving bed baths.
  Cost for the spring course is $500 and includes a workbook and fee for the NACES state exam. Students must provide maroon uniforms.
  Applicants must be 18 years old before the class begins and a high school diploma or GED is preferred. Those selected for the class must provide the following by Dec. 15: Clean drug screen results, background check, one-step TB skin test and payment of $250. The balance will be due by Jan. 29. Students must go to the PRCC business office to make payments and obtain receipts.
  For applications, telephone Cheryl at 601 403-1113 or Shelia at 601 403-1241. Applications must be returned to cfrierson@prcc.edu.


Certified nursing assistant student Brittany Marlborough of Picayune asks instructor Sandra Culpepper a question as she takes the blood pressure of fellow student Quannetia Lockhart of Hattiesburg. The women have completed the 12-week course at Pearl River Community College and will take state certification exams in December.
PRCC Public Relations photo

Sandra Singh of New Augusta, left, practices giving a patient – fellow student Bertha Conley of Brooklyn – a drink as part of their certified nursing assistant training at Pearl River Community College. Looking on is instructor Sandra Culpepper.
PRCC Public Relations photo

Each community college president is asked to bring two (2) wrapped door prizes, minimum value of $50 each. We will have a station set up at the conference for you to drop off the door prizes.

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