This year Terrace is home to the intra-district healthcare professions class, taught by registered nurse (RN) Julie Baxter.

The focus of the class is to teach very beginning health care skills and to help students become nursing assistants through real-life experience.

“If you think you like working with people and you think you’re interested in health care this is a good chance to try it out,” Baxter said. “We actually get to go to the nursing home and help with real people and get a feel for it.”

As an intra-district class, it is available to not only students from MTHS, but also students from Meadowdale, Edmonds Woodway, Lynnwood and Scriber Lake High School.

The class was previously taught at Edmonds Woodway High School (EWHS), but was moved to Terrace this year due to lack of space at EWHS.

“The staff [at Terrace] is very warm and inviting. [I’m looking forward to] meeting new staff and collaborating with them. I’ve made technology my goal so I’m incorporating more technology into my teaching,” she said.

This class is only available to sophomores, juniors, and seniors. To register, students must first fill out a Shared Student form, which are available in the career center.

According to the MTHS course catalog, the pre-requisite to take the class is “maturity and the ability to do college level work; motivation and physical strength to participate in direct patient care and Tuberculin skin test or chest x-ray prior to direct patient care.”

Students are also required to purchase surgical scrub uniforms, white shoes and a watch with a second hand so that they are able to participate in clinicals.

However, students are not the only ones who have prerequisites for this class.

To teach the course you must be an RN, meaning Baxter had to go to nursing school for four years and then add on another two years to earn her K-12 Teaching Certificate.

The healthcare professions class takes up two class periods every day and is a yearlong class. Though it takes up at least a third of one’s schedule, it’s an opportunity to earn more than just high school credit.

In addition to the one high school CTE credit, you earn 17 community college credits and a CPR and First Aid card, which is good for two years. If you plan on going into any health care field you’ll need seven hours of HIV training, which is also provided by this class.

After taking the class you have the opportunity to take the Washington State Nursing Assistant Certification exam to obtain a C.N.A. certification.

“No matter where you go, you’re ready to go,” Baxter said.

Still, it’s not all about credentials and training.

“I really want to expose young people to the career and all it has to offer and help juniors and seniors in high school see if it’s a career they’d be interested in,” Baxter said.

Baxter stated that she hopes if students get anything out of the year with her, it’s to be a more compassionate and understanding person.