Natasha Young-Bailey, MSN, RN, CSN, CNL

Preparing the Next Generation of Healthcare Professionals

When most people think about preparing the next generation of healthcare professionals, they probably think about colleges, nursing schools, universities, or hospitals. Through my work as a nurse educator, I have learned that this preparation can begin much earlier. Some of our future nurses, medical assistants, patient care technicians, physicians, and healthcare leaders are sitting in high school classrooms right now. Many of them are still trying to figure out who they are, what they are good at, and what they want their futures to look like.

Working with high school students has allowed me to see firsthand what can happen when young people are introduced to healthcare careers early. Some students enter the classroom knowing exactly what they want to do. Others simply know that they want to help people. Then there are students who have never seriously imagined themselves becoming healthcare professionals until someone gives them an opportunity and tells them that it is possible.

Those are some of the moments that remind me why I do this work.

My journey into healthcare began with nursing. I became a nurse because I wanted to care for people and make a difference in their lives. Over time, however, I realized that my purpose in healthcare extended beyond the bedside. Becoming an educator gave me another way to serve. Instead of caring for patients myself, I now have the opportunity to prepare young people who may one day care for thousands of patients throughout their careers.

That responsibility means a great deal to me.

The Woman Who Influenced Me First

Long before I became a nurse or educator, I had an example of what it meant to be a strong woman. That example was my mother.

My mother is my hero and the woman I have always looked up to. As I have grown older, I have come to appreciate her influence on my life even more. She taught me lessons about strength, perseverance, compassion, responsibility, and the importance of showing up for the people who depend on you. Those lessons have followed me into adulthood and have shaped the woman, mother, nurse, and educator I have become.

One of the things I have learned from her example is that influence does not always come with a title, recognition, or an audience. Sometimes the people who influence us the most simply live their lives in a way that gives us something to follow. They show us what strength looks like before we understand that we are learning from them.

My mother did that for me.

As an educator, I think about that often because I know my students are watching me in much the same way. They notice more than what I teach from a textbook. They notice how I communicate, how I handle challenges, how I treat people, and whether I demonstrate the same professionalism and accountability that I expect from them.

My mother gave me someone to look up to, and I hope that, in some way, I can provide that same example for the young people I teach.

Career Education Is About More Than Passing an Exam

Healthcare career education cannot simply be about preparing students to pass a certification examination. Certification matters, and students must demonstrate that they have the knowledge and skills necessary to enter healthcare safely and competently. However, passing an examination is only one part of becoming a healthcare professional.

Students also have to learn how to communicate with patients, accept constructive feedback, manage their time, work with people who are different from them, and take responsibility for their actions. They have to understand that professionalism is not something they turn on when they enter a clinic or hospital. It is reflected in how they prepare, how they communicate, how they respond when they make a mistake, and whether they are willing to continue learning.

Teaching these expectations to high school students can be challenging because they are still teenagers while simultaneously being introduced to an adult professional environment. However, I have learned not to underestimate what young people are capable of accomplishing.

Students can meet high expectations when those expectations are clear and when they are given the tools and support necessary to reach them.

That balance between accountability and support has become an important part of who I am as an educator.

Looking Beyond the Score

Education has also taught me that a student's performance does not always tell the entire story.

Test scores, certification results, and other measurable outcomes are important. As educators, we need data to determine whether students are learning and whether our instructional approaches are working. However, when a student struggles, I do not believe our responsibility ends with documenting the score.

We have to be willing to ask why.

Sometimes there is a knowledge gap. Other times, a student understands the material but struggles with test-taking, time management, reading comprehension, confidence, or knowing how to study effectively. Some students need additional structure. Others may benefit from individualized coaching, remediation, repetition, or simply having an educator help them recognize where they are going wrong.

It is easy to look at a number and determine whether someone passed or failed. It takes more effort to look at the person behind that number.

Supporting students does not mean lowering expectations. Healthcare requires competency, and patients deserve professionals who are properly prepared. I believe educators can maintain high standards while still giving students meaningful opportunities to develop the skills necessary to meet those standards.

Sometimes students need encouragement. Other times, they need someone willing to challenge them and tell them that wanting something for their future is only the beginning. They also have to be willing to do the work required to achieve it.

Starting the Healthcare Workforce Pipeline Earlier

The healthcare workforce continues to need qualified professionals, and I believe we have an opportunity to begin developing that workforce before students graduate from high school.

When young people are introduced to healthcare careers early, they have time to explore different professions and begin developing skills that can lead to employment, college, and continued career advancement.

A student who earns a Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA) credential in high school does not have to remain a medical assistant forever. That credential may simply be the first step. That same student may eventually become a licensed practical nurse, registered nurse, nurse practitioner, physician assistant, healthcare administrator, educator, or physician.

I want my students to understand that their first credential can be a beginning rather than a limitation.

For some young people, that first opportunity can completely change how they think about their futures. When students begin completing college-level coursework, developing healthcare skills, earning credentials, and interacting with professionals, healthcare stops feeling like a distant career that belongs to someone else.

They begin seeing themselves in those spaces.

That change in perspective can be powerful, especially for a young person who has never had a clear picture of what life after high school could look like.

Workforce Development Can Become Community Development

When I think about the long-term impact of healthcare career education, I do not only think about how many students earn certifications during a particular school year. I think about where those young people may be five, ten, or even twenty years from now.

I think about the student who may work as a medical assistant while completing nursing school. I think about the student who may become the first person in a family to graduate from college. I think about the young professional who may establish a stable career and create opportunities for their family. I also think about the possibility that one of my former students may eventually return to the same community as a nurse, healthcare leader, physician, or educator.

That is when workforce development becomes something much bigger.

When we invest in a young person's education and career development, the impact can extend beyond that individual. It can affect families and eventually entire communities.

That is one reason I believe partnerships among secondary education, colleges, healthcare organizations, and community leaders are so important. Students need pathways that make sense. They should be able to see how what they are learning today connects with employment, higher education, and the career they ultimately want tomorrow.

What Being an Influential Woman Means to Me

Being recognized as an influential woman has caused me to think about what influence actually means.

For me, it is not simply about accomplishments, degrees, credentials, titles, or professional recognition. I am proud of the things I have worked hard to achieve, but I believe the greater measure of influence is what happens because we were willing to pour something into someone else.

I learned that from my mother.

Her influence helped shape the person I became. Now, as a mother myself, a nurse, and an educator, I understand the responsibility of carrying that example forward.

I want my students to remember that someone believed they were capable before they completely believed it themselves. I want them to remember being challenged to do better rather than being allowed to settle for less than what they were capable of achieving. Most importantly, I want them to leave my classroom understanding that where they start does not have to determine where they finish.

My journey from nursing into education has shown me that there are many ways to care for a community. Providing direct patient care is one of them. Preparing the next generation of people who will provide that care is another.

Every student I teach will not follow the same path, and success will not look the same for everyone. Some will enter the workforce immediately. Some will continue into college or nursing school. Others may discover that a different healthcare profession is the right fit for them. What matters is that they leave with more knowledge, more confidence, and a clearer understanding of what is possible.

For me, this work has never been only about teaching a class or preparing students for an examination. It is about opening doors, creating opportunities, setting expectations, and helping young people build a foundation that they can continue building upon long after they leave my classroom.

My mother gave me an example to follow. I hope that the life and career I am building will allow me to do the same for someone else.

If we want to strengthen the future of healthcare, we have to invest in the people who will become that future. Sometimes that investment begins much earlier than we realize, with a young person sitting in a classroom who simply needs an opportunity, someone who believes in them, and an example that shows them what is possible.