Western Boone High School student Jacelyn Wison is timed as she dons personal protective equipment during the mock regional competition for HOSA: Future Health Professionals on Friday at Ivy Tech Community College Terre Haute. Staff photo by Joseph C. Garza
Western Boone High School student Jacelyn Wison is timed as she dons personal protective equipment during the mock regional competition for HOSA: Future Health Professionals on Friday at Ivy Tech Community College Terre Haute. Staff photo by Joseph C. Garza
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As part of a health care skills test, high school student Jacelyn Wilson had four minutes to properly put on and take off personal protective equipment in response to a mock scenario involving an elderly person with a colon infection.

Lori Winings, Ivy Tech faculty member and registered nurse, outlined the scenario and then graded Wilson on her response to the nursing assisting test.

Wilson carefully put on a gown, mask, goggles and nitrile gloves, and then just as carefully took them off.

Afterward, Winings told her she did a good job, but offered a few suggestions, including hand hygiene before and after as well as making sure her gloves extend over her gown for full protection.

Wilson was one of about 120 students from several area counties competing in a regional competition for HOSA: Future Health Professionals. HOSA is a student-led organization that promotes career opportunities in the health industry.

Ivy Tech Community College Terre Haute, in partnership with West Central Indiana Area Health Education Center, hosted the event, which was in preparation for statewide competition in Indianapolis this spring. Students can qualify for scholarships at the state event.

Students demonstrated CPR/first-aid skills, nursing assisting skills, medical assisting and biomedical lab skills and more. Some participated in a research poster or health career display event.

Wilson, a Western Boone High School student, participated in three events. “It’s fun. It’s a good experience,” she said. She plans to become a registered nurse and work in a children’s hospital.

Also participating in the health care competition were Madalyn Griswold and Aubrey Switzer, both seniors at Terre Haute South Vigo High School. They participate in the Vigo County School Corp. health careers program.

The two worked on a health care display about pediatric nurse practitioners.

The health care competition “reinforces the skills we learn in our class,” Griswold said. She is pursuing both EMT and CNA (certified nursing assistant) certification while in high school and hopes to eventually become an emergency room nurse.

Angie Morales, VCSC health careers program director, said 22 Vigo students participated in the event Friday. By participating, they are learning professional skills that will help them prepare for college and may earn them scholarship money in future competition, she said.

Jackie Mathis, director of the West Central Indiana Area Health Education Center, said the event helps students determine if a health career is the right choice for them.

“It’s a fun, competitive way to put their skills to the test, and sometimes it’s a little high pressure. They are walking into a room and they see a simulated injury and they have to act,” she said. “It’s very much like a real-life scenario.”

Many students who complete their high school programs can earn certifications and “jump into a job right out of high school” or pursue higher education, Mathis said.

Elsewhere in the competition, students Caidence Hutson and Nikkia Metsker, both from Crawfordsville, presented a health care display on elementary school nurses “because they are so cool,” said Hutson, a student at North Montgomery High School.

Both students are doing internships at elementary schools and they’ve learned a lot. “Patience is definitely key. Even though students might seem dramatic, something little can be major to them,” Hutson said. “I have to put myself in others’ shoes to help them and get them what they really need.”

Metsker, who attends Southmont High School, said of her internship experience, “I’ve learned it takes a lot of sacrifice and can also be scary for many students; we have a lot of students who don’t speak English, and we have a lot of students not in very good home situations. We do take a lot of things into consideration while also making sure they get the care they need.”

Hutson wants to be an emergency room nurse, while Metsker hopes to be a traveling nurse.
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