Nurse Aide

🧑‍⚕️ Is This a Good Fit for You?

🔍 Prerequisites: Nurse Aide Program

  • Must be a Junior or Senior

  • Biology: Grade “C” or better

  • Algebra I: Grade “C” or better

This program may be a great fit if you:

✅🫂 Are compassionate, dependable, and eager to make a difference in the lives of others—and drawn to healthcare, hands-on learning, and fast-paced environments.

✅🧍‍♂️ Are prepared to meet strict expectations for attire, appearance, and professional behavior in clinical settings.

✅🧼 Understand that direct patient care includes exposure to bodily fluids such as vomit, urine, fecal matter, and blood—and are ready to handle the less glamorous but essential parts of healthcare with professionalism such as post-mortem care.

✅🧠 Are emotionally resilient, attentive to detail, and committed to maintaining high standards of ethics and patient care.

✅🏥 Are ready to train in real healthcare environments with real patients—not simulations—using current industry-standard equipment and procedures.

✅⏰ Understand that this is a rigorous course with strict attendance requirements—students who do not meet the required hours will not be eligible to sit for the Virginia Board of Nursing licensing exam.

If you're serious about pursuing a career in healthcare and committed to meeting high expectations in both classroom and clinical settings, this program could be the perfect next step.

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Nursing Students at Statefair competetive events

Program Description

1 year –3 credits – Advanced Career Education (ACE) Center at Hermitage

This program is designed to be completed in one year during the 11th or 12th grade.

Nurse Aide (1 credits): This is an occupational preparation course regulated by the Virginia Board of Nursing and designed for students beginning in the 11th grade. The course prepares students for careers in nursing, health professions, and STEM-H fields through a comprehensive study of the healthcare system, patient care, and clinical practice. Students explore human growth and development across the lifespan, basic body structure and function, medical terminology, infection prevention, and disease processes. Instruction emphasizes both foundational and advanced clinical skills, including patient-nurse aide relationships, measuring and recording vital signs, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and general patient care. Students receive hands-on training in healthcare settings, with work-based learning integrated into the course to reinforce classroom instruction. The curriculum includes care of acute medical-surgical patients, the chronically ill, and the elderly, along with instruction in the approved opiate competencies for health and medical sciences education. Students must maintain American Heart Association CPR and Emergency Cardiovascular Care (ECC) certification throughout the course and complete the Virginia Board of Nursing’s required clock hours to be eligible for the National Nurse Aide Assessment Program (NNAAP) exam.

Mental Health Assistant Career (2 credits): This course provides classroom instruction and hands-on learning in preparation for a career as a mental health technician or in the mental health field. Students gain an understanding of how to provide routine care and perform therapeutic procedures, respond to emergency situations, provide patient rehabilitation, and facilitate patient recreational activities. They prepare to assist mental health professionals in hospitals, outpatient clinics, and community mental health facilities.

Program Structure and Benefits

  • Career Technical Student Organization - Future Health Professionals (HOSA): This organization prepares students for careers in the health sciences.

  • Real-World Experience: Students learn and practice their skills in professional patient care settings complete with all current industry-standard equipment. Students are tested on 23 skills necessary to pass the Virginia Board of Nursing state licensing exam for nurse aides. They engage in 45 hours of hands-on experience with residents in a long-term care facility under the supervision of registered nurses.

  • Certifications: Students will earn their Basic Cardiac Life Support (BCLS) and Workplace Readiness Skills (WRS) certification prior to attending clinicals. Successful completoion of this course and clinicals qualifies a student to sit for the Virginia Board of Nursing - Nurse Aide Licensing Exam

Instructors