Pursuing Their Dream Jobs | Palatka Daily News, Palatka, Florida

Experience key to students’ health care aspirations

Melanie DeLeon, the Health Occupations Students of America program president at Crescent City Junior-Senior High, practices CPR on a mannequin.
Members of the Crescent City Junior-Senior High School Health Occupations Students of America program stand outside the school Wednesday morning.
Crescent City High students Elianna Ramirez, Emanuel Lopez, Malia Garcia and Melanie DeLeon prepare to practice CPR on some of the program’s mannequins.
Positively Putnam FL

CRESCENT CITY – Seeing students wearing scrubs in their maroon school colors isn’t out of place at Crescent City Junior-Senior High School.

They learn the tools of the trade of the medical field via Crescent City High’s Health Occupations Students of America program. It encompasses two class periods and has 24 students, all of whom are seniors.

Students learn about how the body functions and the practical aspects of the medical field like CPR or how to check vital signs. Later in the year, students will practice techniques on mannequins and themselves.

Student and program President Melanie DeLeon said the class will present to younger grades. Wednesday’s lesson was about heartbeats, she said.

DeLeon said she wants to be either a physician’s assistant or a psychologist and the class can advance her in the physician’s assistant field. Students have an opportunity to earn certifications and get jobs in the medical field.

“You can get a good job right after school,” DeLeon said.

Malia Garcia, who is the program’s reporter, said Health Occupations Students of America can serve as on-the-job training or a way to assist medical professionals. She said her goal is to become a physical therapist because a family member is in the same profession.

“I used to hear stories about her talking to patients, having a good connection with them and being able to help with their mobility,” Garcia said. “It’s not about figuring out what’s wrong with them. It’s more about them figuring out how to retain mobility for themselves. … Doing that helps them gain their sense of independence.”

Instructor Patricia Sauls, a registered nurse with more than 30 years of experience, said the four-year program has doctors, veterinarians and pharmacists among its alumni. The school has had the program for more than 25 years. It is also offered at Palatka and Interlachen junior-senior high schools.

Depending on their grades, Sauls said, the students can qualify for Florida Gold Seal Vocational Scholarship through Bright Futures.

“They get a ton of stuff out of this class,” Sauls said. “This program makes them job-ready. Some of them actually get jobs before they graduate from high school, so it’s awesome.”

Emanuel Lopez, the program’s historian, said he’s wanted to be a doctor since his freshman year, and he is grateful to get hands-on experience early.

“Even if I don’t get into a medical school, I’ll have the experience of working alongside other people,” Lopez said.

Program Vice President Elianna Ramirez is targeting a future as an environmental scientist. She said COVID-19 restrictions have limited the scope of what the program does.

A lot of students don’t know what to do immediately after high school, Ramirez said, and she is thankful the program gave them options.

“This is the last bit, kind of like holding somebody’s hand, guiding them to go to college,” Ramirez said. “It also gives you a taste of the real world before you actually go into it.”