A win win situation takes place when two parties participate in some event and both benefit from the experience. At Eldon Career Center the Health Occupations students and the elementary students benefit from annual health screenings. Each year over 600 elementary aged children at Eldon receive hearing and vision tests which are conducted by Eldon Career Center students.
Students enrolled in technical fields seek hands on experience to determine if a career field is right for them. Mikayla Letchworth is a high school senior who decided she wanted to pursue a career in healthcare at a young age. Mikayla says the Health Occupations class has confirmed her decision. Working with children is very different than working with adults or even senior citizens. Mikayla adds that it is harder to work with kids because they don’t listen as well.
According to Eldon elementary nurse, Lyndsey Williams, students have their height, weight, vision and hearing recorded as required by the Department of Health and Senior Services. If any concerns are discovered then the parents are notified by the nurse’s office. Nurse Lyndsey explained that health screenings can improve a child’s education in the event they are struggling to hear or see the front of the classroom.
Health Occupations instructor Rebecca Dickerson also known as Mrs. D, organizes the screenings between her morning and afternoon students. Mrs. D delegates her students to work at stations and record the medical information accurately. Mrs. D pointed out that screening about 620 children requires her students to work in a fast paced environment. This teaches time management and organization skills.
As you can tell Health Occupation’s students certainly benefit from the experience of conducting the health screening of elementary students.When asked how the Health Occupation’s students help with health screenings Nurse Lyndsey said, they do it all, they are amazing! At Eldon Career Center, we happen to agree.
Photos and Story by: Gabe Branstetter
Eldon Career Center 
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