FONTANA, CA – Fontana High School’s Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) students are qualified to enter the workforce and gain experience – all while pursuing degrees and career opportunities in the medical field – after achieving a 92 percent pass rate on the state board exam during the 2022-23 school year.

This is the second year in a row FOHI CNA students’ exam pass rate has exceeded 90 percent. The program – offered through the Patient Care career technical education (CTE) pathway at FOHI – provides hands-on training at nursing facilities, offers the opportunity to earn credit at Chaffey College, and prepares students to earn state certification.

“Encouraging and showing students the path to success gives me the greatest sense of joy and accomplishment,” FOHI nursing instructor George Tiwari said. “Many students keep me posted on their journey through college and even after they become nurses and medical professionals. It is always exciting to run into former students at hospitals, nursing facilities in and around our community.”

The one-year program consists of a nursing assistant course, followed by a course focused on acute care. The 360-hour nursing assistant course focuses on preparing students for the state CNA exam –a rigorous assessment that tests students’ knowledge and skills related to basic patient care services. Students also earn their CPR Basic Life Support certification from the American Heart Association.

CNA students do not have to venture far to gain hands-on training. At the Citrus Nursing Facility, located across the street from Fontana High School, students assist residents with direct patient care that includes feeding, dressing, bathing and more.

Many of this year’s program graduates have committed to nursing programs at two- and four-year colleges and universities, where they will build on the fundamental skills learned in FOHI’s CNA program. Some students are in the process of being hired at nursing facilities, where they will work part-time as they attend school and work toward careers as registered nurses, licensed vocational nurses or other medical professionals.

PHOTO CAPTION:

FUSD_FOHI_CNA: Students in the Fontana Unified Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) program – housed at Fontana High School – achieved a 92 percent pass rate for the state board exam in 2022-23.