By Alison Echeverria-Soto ’26
This year, Derby High School had its first CNA program held by Griffin Hospital, with five seniors participating: Chelsea Ayala ’25, Aliyah Morales ’25, Trioni Wright ‘25, Brianna Quilles ‘25, and Zomara Moya ‘25.
The program started March 10 and was held Monday-Thursday, 12-3 p.m. From March to May they completed 108 hours of classwork and clinical experience, where they learned about things from infection control to personal care skills. They did their clinical experiences at Bishop Wicke in Shelton once a week, while the rest of the week they were at Griffin Hospital. Upon completion of the course, they are qualified to take the Connecticut CNA state exam and earn their certification as a certified nursing assistant. “It became really stressful. The teacher we had would give us workbooks and every chapter was due in a week and we had to do Apex as well, but overall I handed the work in on time,” stated Ayala. Multiple girls struggled with managing their school work and the work they had to do for the program, but still got it done on time.
This program helped students who want to become some kind of nurse in the future. This makes it much easier for them to find jobs, even if they’re starting from a CNA position. “Not all nurses become CNA first, so I think I’m going to have more skills than other nurses as I worked with patients and saw what they do on a daily basis” says Wright. This helps them with finding a job and having a better opportunity in the field compared to someone with zero experience.
Even though not all of these students will pursue a career in nursing, this still is a huge step in their lives, leaving high school with another type of certificate. They will be ahead of others, getting paid a little better than an average wage job.
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