Haskell High School junior Kaylee Boutwell is a big fan of the Health Careers Certification program at Indian Capital Technology Center in Muskogee.
“I’ve got a lot of family that is in health care, and they love it and I’ve always had a love for it so I figured this would be the best first step to get started,” said Kaylee who plays softball and basketball for the Lady Haymakers.
The program at ICTC is under the direction of Jessica McKinney with the help of Julie Phillips who both have nursing backgrounds. Jessica has led the program for five years and Julie has been with the program for seven years and between them they teach nearly 80 students in two separate classes.
“This is a one-year program where students obtain long term and home health care aide certifications through a combination of in-class and clinical rotations,” said McKinney. “After the students have completed their clinical rotations, they take a written and skills exam to complete their certification and then we start working to find them full or part-time employment if they want to do that.”
Kaylee came to ICTC with no previous experience in health care and was understandably a bit apprehensive.
“I was really nervous when I first got here with no experience, but I’ve made a lot of friends and it’s been a great experience. I was also nervous when it came time to do our clinicals with real patients, but it was a cakewalk. I loved the hands-on experience because I learn so much better that way. Just like in my team sports, there’s an element of teamwork involved in these clinicals where you have partners that help you with the patient care.”
Kaylee has made a good impression on her instructors with her work ethic and dedication.
“I really see a change in heart in the students after they’ve completed their clinicals and that was the case with Kaylee,” said Phillips. “She’s very attentive and a good student who works hard to make up work that she might miss with her athletics. When part of the class was off doing clinicals, Kaylee would be in our lab working on her skills by herself which shows her dedication.”
After she completes her high school work next year, Kaylee plans to go to college and study nursing.
“This program at ICTC has set a higher standard for me and I’m stoked to graduate and move on and chase my dreams thanks to ICTC.”
