When Tanaya Pinkston was 5 years old, she witnessed her mother have a stroke. It was one of the scariest moments of her life, but the compassion and care she received from the 911 operator left a lasting impression.
“As soon as they heard that it was a child’s voice on the phone, they were like, this is probably a serious situation, and they had to take a different approach to it,” Pinkston said.
Now a senior at McClure Health Science High School in Duluth, Georgia, Pinkston wants to become a pediatric ICU nurse.
“If I didn’t come to McClure, I feel like I would have known that I wanted to go into health care, but the actual career would have never been solidified, and so I would have been stuck wondering,” Pinkston said.
The $38 million school prepares teens for healthcare careers through hands-on learning using state-of-the-art equipment, including dummy patients, EKG machines and dissection tables. Students also train outside the classroom through partnerships with local hospitals and healthcare facilities.
“When you take a child or a student, and they are getting a chance to put their hands on it and do it — whether they succeed or fail at using it — it gives them a chance to interact with it and they’re gaining so much more knowledge than what they would ever get from a piece of paper,” McClure teacher James Boulware said.
Students typically graduate with certifications that set them up for careers in healthcare. “Our students can go to a hospital and just start working there until they figure out what they want to do with their future, or they can go to college and continue reaching their working experience with these certifications they’re graduating with,” principal Dr. Gypsy Hernandez said.
The school serves a majority Hispanic and lower-income population. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, about 6% of U.S. physicians identify as Hispanic. Dr. Hernandez said McClure is helping bridge the racial gap.
“Students are going to be able to not just provide a service in another language, but also understand culturally where patients or communities are coming from so that they will be able to help them,” Dr. Hernandez said.
Learn more about McClure Health Sciences High School in the video above. Find out more about its curriculum here.
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