GINA B. GOOD / PVT Chief Nursing Officer Ellen Maborang and Pahrump Valley High School Principal Max Buffi look over course requirements for the new certified nursing assistant program being offered at the school this year.

By GINA B. GOOD

PVT

High school students in Pahrump now have the opportunity to take a year-long course that could lead to a career as a certified nursing assistant, or CNA, thanks to Desert View Hospital.

The class will be taught by Ellen Maborang, who is a registered nurse with a master’s degree working as the chief nursing officer at Desert View Hospital.

Her salary to teach the course is being paid by the hospital.

“This is a great example of the community working together to benefit our students,” said Principal Max Buffi. “With the budget cuts we’ve endured over the past couple of years, we would not be able to offer this course without the hospital supplying the instructor.”

Buffi credited Nye County School District Administrator Karen Holly for initiating contact with the hospital and working with Desert View’s CEO, Susan Davila.

She explained that the course includes both the written and practical aspects needed to apply for a license to become a state certified nursing assistant. In addition to studying subjects such as anatomy and physiology, first semester students will learn CPR and first aid.

On the practical side, students will learn skills such as how to make a bed, take a temperature, change patients’ underclothing, walking and feeding a patient and how to turn a patient in bed. Those skills will be taught at Desert View Hospital.

The second semester classes will give students the opportunity to work in the hospital laboratory and study for the state’s CNA exam.

Fifteen students will be selected to take the course this year. Male as well as female students are encouraged to apply.

“If we have the interest, we may be able to expand for the next school year,” said Buffi. “But we want kids who will stick with the program.

“This is not a course for someone who wants to be a doctor. But for kids who want a nursing career, this could be a first step toward becoming a licensed practical nurse or a registered nurse.

“This would also be a good choice for kids who are not looking to go to college because they don’t have the money. After passing the state certification, working as a nursing assistant during the summer is a great way to earn money to tuition and books. That might lead to getting student loans and grants.”

Buffi said the University of Nevada, Las Vegas has a nursing program and the College of Southern Nevada has a four-year nursing program.

“It’s great to be able to get the first hurdle out of the way while you are still in high school, said Buffi. “Nurses are always in demand, and this will give our kids a first step toward a solid, well-paying career. The job security is pretty good.”

Once the new high school is constructed, in 2012, Buffi said the CNA course “will be a bellwether program for the academic career tech school. I am excited because it shows how the private sector can work with a public school.”

To become state certified, applicants must be fingerprinted and cannot have a criminal record. School records will be reviewed for disciplinary problems.

Online gardening group

Pahrump can be frustrating to gardeners. An Internet group has been formed to learn what does and doesn’t work and to share triumphs and horror stories.

Learn tips on bug control, house plants and get ideas from others.

The Web address is <a href=www.groups,yahoo.com/group/pahrumpgardening.

>www.groups,yahoo.com