High School Healthcare Apprentice

Baptist Healthcare System•Paducah, KY

About The Position

Baptist Health Paducah’s Healthcare Apprenticeship Pathway is an immersive, multidisciplinary rotational program 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 in three core roles: Nursing Assistant, Orderly, and Phlebotomy Assistant. The pathway develops transferable competencies for potential long-term careers in hospital systems, long-term care facilities, and outpatient clinics. As a Nursing Assistant, the apprentice assists patients with activities of daily living, monitors and records vital signs and intake/output under nursing supervision, responds to call lights, changes linens, repositions bedridden patients, documents basic care notes, and promptly reports changes in patient condition to the supervising Registered Nurse. As an Orderly, the apprentice transports patients between rooms and treatment areas, cleans and prepares care spaces and equipment according to infection-prevention standards, maintains clinical supplies and PPE stations, and securely delivers medical records, laboratory specimens, and pharmacy items to authorized departments. As a Phlebotomy Assistant, the apprentice performs or assists with blood collection, verifies patient identity and explains procedures, monitors patients for adverse reactions, matches collection tubes to electronic orders, labels and prepares specimens, maintains sterile collection areas, and disposes of needles and biohazardous waste according to OSHA guidelines.

Requirements

Must be a current high school junior or senior.
Must maintain a minimum 2.5 GPA.
Must have up-to-date immunizations, including TB screening and routine vaccines.
Must adhere to facility masking policies.
Must be willing to enroll in and complete a state-approved Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) course and basic Phlebotomy certification during the program.

Responsibilities

Assist patients with bathing, dressing, grooming, feeding, and toileting.
Measure, record, and track vital signs and liquid intake/output under nursing supervision.
Respond to patient call lights, change linens, and reposition bedridden patients to support skin integrity.
Document basic patient care notes and promptly notify the supervising Registered Nurse of changes in a patient’s condition.
Safely transport patients between rooms, treatment units, imaging areas, and operating suites using stretchers and wheelchairs.
Clean, disinfect, and prepare patient care rooms, examination tables, and medical devices according to infection-prevention standards.
Monitor, restock, and organize clinical supply closets and PPE stations across assigned units.
Securely deliver medical records, laboratory specimens, and pharmacy items to authorized departments.
Perform or assist with venipuncture and capillary blood collection for diagnostic tests, transfusions, or research.
Verify patient identity, explain collection steps, and monitor patients for adverse physical reactions.
Match collection tubes with electronic medical orders, precisely label vials, and prepare specimens for laboratory centrifuges.
Maintain sterile collection areas and dispose of needles and biohazardous waste according to OSHA guidelines.