Health care studies offer hope for troubled students.Byline: Matt Cooper Matt Cooper may refer to:
Even in a heady class like Health Occupations, there's room for levity lev·i·ty n. pl. lev·i·ties 1. Lightness of manner or speech, especially when inappropriate; frivolity. 2. Inconstancy; changeableness. 3. The state or quality of being light; buoyancy. . Amanda Field wrapped a blood-pressure cuff around the arm of Kevin Jenks, took a reading and delivered the punch line punch line n. The climactic phrase or statement of a joke, producing a sudden humorous effect. punch line Noun the last line of a joke or funny story that gives it its point Noun 1. : "Well I got some good news and some bad news ...' Jenks said, "Give it to me straight, Doc." "He's fine," Field joked to the class, "but I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. about his mental sanity. ...' Instructor Linda Stickels was happy to hear the laughs. Field and Jenks, both teens, have started a challenging new program in a school of second chances, where the risk is failure and the reward could be a fulfilling job in the health industry. The Health Occupations program was added last year at the Riverfront School and Career Center, an alternative school just north of the University of Oregon The University of Oregon is a public university located in Eugene, Oregon. The university was founded in 1876, graduating its first class two years later. The University of Oregon is one of 60 members of the Association of American Universities. . Riverfront is run by Looking Glass Looking Glass - A desktop manager for Unix from Visix. Youth and Family Services, a local nonprofit that provides education, vocational training, counseling and more. Riverfront provides job training for out-of-school students ages 14 to 21. Considering our aging society, those who choose a career in health care could one day turn that training into a paycheck, said Cheryl Zwillinger, program director. Between 2000 and 2010, Lane County jobs in health services health services Managed care The benefits covered under a health contract are expected to grow by almost 18 percent. "One of our emphases is preparing young people for the world of work," Zwillinger said. "We picked an occupation that we knew there would be jobs - jobs that have living wages and professional growth." The program is funded by the Lane Workforce Partnership, U.S. Bancorp and local school districts. It involves nine weeks in the classroom and 60 hours in hospitals, laboratories and medical offices. Some graduates earn credit they can use at Lane Community College or Pioneer Pacific College, an employment-based school, if they want to continue their studies. Others go directly to work, usually in entry-level jobs as assistants in pharmacies, laboratories or patient-service facilities, or ward clerks and aides in nursing homes. But the curriculum - anatomy, physiology, patient care and medical files - is no picnic. Students must make a three- to four-month commitment, and cutting classes could cause grades to flat line, instructor Stickels said. "It isn't the type of class you can skip out on," she added. Take the word "otorhinolaryngologist Otorhinolaryngologist A physician specializing in ear, nose, and throat diseases. Also known as otolaryngologist. Mentioned in: Vocal Cord Nodules and Polyps otorhinolaryngologist ," for example. That's an ear, nose and throat specialist ear, nose and throat specialist n → oto-rhino-laryngologiste m/f ear, nose and throat specialist n → Hals-Nasen-Ohren-Arzt m, , and it's one of the thousands of medical terms the students must learn to get college credit. The program can be daunting daunt tr.v. daunt·ed, daunt·ing, daunts To abate the courage of; discourage. See Synonyms at dismay. [Middle English daunten, from Old French danter, from Latin , especially for teens from low-income backgrounds, some of them mothers and fathers, all of them unsuccessful in traditional school settings. Eighteen-year-old Renee Hartzo, for example, quit Springfield High School Springfield High School may refer to:
Field moved around repeatedly with her family but found, in Riverfront, the program she needs to become a nurse. Jenks, chronically unruly at other schools, prefers Riverfront's "comfortable setting" and a staff that will calmly explain the material as many times as it takes. Jenks, a plain-spoken kid who wears a spiked wrist band and likes to skateboard, wants to be an orthopedist. "It's just an interest of mine," he said. "I break a lot of bones. I know how it feels to break bones." Twenty-five students have enrolled since the program's inception in September 2002: Among them, 12 are in training or continuing in health education at the college level, while three have landed health-related jobs and three have dropped out. Celeste Celeste is a woman's first name. Celeste may also refer to: in Music
She finished the program last year and took a job with PeaceHealth Medical Group, where she makes $8 to $10 an hour as a pharmacy technician trainee. She handles money and prescriptions and translates for Spanish-speaking patients. "The (health occupations) program gives you a feeling of what it's like," Lopez said. "It's a really good start, especially for kids at that school." Zwillinger would prefer to see more of her kids gainfully gain·ful adj. Providing a gain; profitable: gainful employment. gain  ful·ly adv. employed,
but she accepts that the state's high unemployment rate isn't
their only challenge.
"These are at-risk youth and they are doing a very positive thing for themselves," she said. "We're offering them the basics, and the beginning." RIVERFRONT SCHOOL AND CAREER CENTER The school provides instruction toward a high school diploma A high school diploma is a diploma awarded for the completion of high school. In the United States and Canada, it is considered the minimum education required for government jobs and higher education. An equivalent is the GED. or a general equivalency diploma, offering training in health occupations, electronics manufacturing, culinary arts and natural resources. For more information, call 302-2554. CAPTION(S): Kevin Jenks tests classmate Amanda Field's blood pressure as Renee Hartzo waits her turn at Riverfront School and Career Center. Celeste Lopez retrieves patients' prescriptions Friday at PeaceHealth Medical Group's pharmacy on Willamette Street. Lopez, 21 and a mother of two, got the job after receiving health studies training from Riverfront School and Career Center. INSIDE Education Extra: Achievements, opportunities, Book Picks / B4 Faces and Places: Head Start's teacher of the year / B4 |
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