High School Healthcare Apprentice

Summary

Job Description:

High School Healthcare Apprentice

PRN

The Baptist Health Paducah's Healthcare Apprenticeship Pathway is an immersive, multi-disciplinary rotational program designed for current high school students exploring careers in medicine and allied health. Under direct, certified supervision, apprentices earn a paycheck while gaining foundational, hands-on clinical and operational skills across three distinct core roles: Nursing Assistant, Orderly, and Phlebotomy Assistant. This pathway builds transferable competencies required for long-term careers in hospital systems, long-term care facilities, and outpatient clinics.

Nursing Assistant Job Duties:

• Activities of Daily Living - assist patients with vital daily tasks including bathing, dressing, grooming, feeding & toileting
• Vital Sign Monitoring - Measure, record and track essential health metrics like temperature, blood pressure, pulse and liquid intake/output under nursing supervision.
• Patient comfort - Respond to patient call lights, change linens and reposition bedridden individuals to ensure skin integrity.
• Clinical Reporting: Document basic patient care notes and immediately notify the supervising Registered Nurse (RN) of any changes in patient condition.

Orderly Job Duties

• Patient Transportation: Safely move patients between their rooms, treatment units, imaging areas, and operating suites using stretchers and wheelchairs.
• Sanitation & Safety: Clean, disinfect and prepare patient care rooms, examination tables, and medical devices according to infection-prevention standards.
• Inventory Control: Monitor, restock, and organize clinical supply closets and PPE stations across assigned units.
• Material Courier: Deliver medical records, laboratory specimens, and pharmacy items securely to authorized departments

Phlebotomy Assistant

• Specimen Collection: Perform or assist with blood draws (venipuncture and capillary punctures) for diagnostic tests, transfusions, or research.
• Patient Preparation: Verify patient identity, explain collection steps clearly to ease anxiety, and monitor the patient for adverse physical reactions.
• Lab Protocol Compliance: Match collection tubes with electronic medical orders, label vials with extreme precision, and prepare specimens for laboratory centrifuges.
• Disposal & Safety: Maintain sterile collection zones and dispose of needles and biohazardous waste strictly according to OSHA guidelines.
  
  

Requirements

• Must be a current high school junior or senior, maintaining a minimum 2.5 GPA.
• Up-to-date immunizations (including TB screening and routine vaccines) and adherence to facility masking policies.

Additional Education or Certification Required Post Hire

• Willingness to enroll in and complete a state-approved Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) course and basic Phlebotomy certification during the program.