This summer, 40 Cristo Rey St. Martin students—26 rising juniors and 14 rising seniors—are participating in an intensive Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) program through a valued partnership with Dominican University. Running from June 17th through August 15th, the program equips students with both academic and hands-on training to prepare for the Illinois Nurse Assistant Competency Exam (INACE) this fall.
Classes are held on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with students spending their mornings in the classroom and afternoons in the Sim Lab on CRSM’s campus. By the end of the program, each student will have completed 40 didactic hours, 18 lab hours, and 40 clinical hours at local healthcare facilities such as Whitehall in Deerfield and Presbyterian Homes facilities The Moorings in Arlington Heights and Lake Forest Place. Taught by an experienced instructor from Dominican— who also serves as Program Coordinator—this program offers students a transformative entry point into the healthcare field and underscores the power of partnerships in shaping future leaders in medicine.