Becoming A CNA For Free: How Minneapolis Teens Are Taking Advantage
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- In an effort to address the growing labor shortage of healthcare workers, Minneapolis College is offering high school students the chance to get their start in the field – for free.
More than a dozen teens from Roosevelt High School are taking the 10-week training course, which blends virtual and in-person instruction, to prepare for the certified nurse's assistant qualification exam. Normally, the course would cost nearly $1,500 for applicants.
"I've always wanted to go into some form of the medical field, and I just decided nursing is the best way to do that," said Alexia McCullough.
She says she one day would like to become a midwife.
"The biggest deciding factor is that it's free," she said. "I know college is really expensive and this is a fairly inexpensive training to go through by yourself – to have an opportunity to get that paid for is something I was really looking forward to being able to do."
The course comes as the need for CNAs grows throughout the state.
"In Minnesota, there's about 15,000 openings for nursing assistants right now. That's a huge number," said Traci Krause, Dean of the School of Nursing, Science and Wellness at Minneapolis College. "There comes a point where you kind of reach a critical mass of who've you've attracted as adults. Getting younger individuals interested and on that career journey, that's really important."
The course will teach students skills ranging from cleaning and caring for a patient, to making an occupied bed and taking vital signs.
"It's an opportunity to have a really great paying job," Krause said.
"To make a difference in one person's life -- to give them a better care in the field and be able to make them happy at the end of the day -- is why I do it," McCullough said.
