On Saturday, December 10, the BHS Healthcare Science class took the state Nursing Assistant Certification exam and the following students passed: Kaitlyn Bennett, Kristin Bennett, Victoria Chaney, Kaylee Dallas, Abigail Swain, Kennedy Sweet, and Tirar Wade. The writing portion of the test took place from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. The written portion contained 60 questions, 10 of which are field questions that do not count. The number of questions a student must get correct to pass is unknown, as the state does not release this information.

After the writing portion finished at 10 a.m., the class began the hands-on portion. The hands-on portion is judged by a state contractor from Credentia. This contractor blindly evaluated the students during their 30-minute portions. The students were required to complete 5 skills that were randomly chosen by the contractor. There are a total of 22 skills that could have possibly been chosen, so the students must be able to do them all. If the students go over time, they immediately fail. They will also fail if they miss a step, especially the steps that are bolded, which shows a safety issue. 

Abigail Swain is one of the students who passed the exam. When asked if she was nervous going into the exam, Swain responded, “I was really nervous when I was going to take my exam.” She also stated that she had “studied very hard for months.” Swain completed the exam and was working within days of receiving her certification. Swain works as a CNA at Pinewood Health and Rehabilitation Nursing in Whigham, Georgia. She currently attends school full-time, as well as working full-time.