Nicole Bernal receives the KENS 5 EXCEL Award for Randolph Field ISD

UNIVERSAL CITY, Texas. Most students graduate from high school with a diploma, but at Randolph High School, some high school students graduate with medical assistant, phlebotomy, and electrocardiography certification.

It’s all thanks their teacherwho built the program from scratch, using it for many years in the medical field.

She has a reputation for being tough, but she has a 100% passing rate during the first five years of her program.

KENS 5 host Sarah Forgani and KENS 5 partner Credit Human presented Bernal with the EXCEL award for Randolph Field ISD.

Immediately after graduating from high school, Nicole Bernal hit the ground running, working as an ER doctor and going to college.

“I have always been fascinated by the human body and it just fits. I worked at a university hospital in the emergency room.”

She spent ten years on it before making the switch. Her room looks very different these days.

Bernal is still a certified EMT, only she no longer drives a truck or works in a hospital.

“I’m a CTE Health Sciences Educator.”

She has been teaching students at Randolph High School for many years.

“She’s doing everything in her power to make sure we’re ready for college,” said Erica Washington, a senior at the school.

Bernal’s extensive science program includes seven grades, from freshman through senior year.

Her courses begin with the basics of science and end with practical sessions where students gain hands-on experience in a classroom that has been turned into a makeshift clinic. But before they get to that final course, they must pass an interview with Bernal herself.

“They should be interviewing me as a boss and potential employee so they can start getting used to the process.”

The process is rigorous, but Bernal sees it as a necessary preparation for the real world.

“You will graduate from high school with a CCMA certificate, a phlebotomy and an ECG,” said Zoe Rawls, who nearly graduated from the program. She is graduating from high school this year.

Rawls and other children learn how to assess patients, vital signs and even how to draw blood.

“They train on each other,” Bernal said, “they train on me and other teachers. They volunteer and then we have family members who come and volunteer.”

Bernal says they have internships at clinics where they volunteer in doctors’ offices to gain more hands-on experience.

She says a million-dollar health and wellness grant from the Department of Defense has helped expand her courses.

Her students agree that Bernal’s lessons are hard, but say she makes them better.

“She lets me know that I can do it,” said one of the elders, “and she believes in me, which pushes me to work harder. “

Principal Mark Malone says Bernal’s dedication to the program has enabled these kids to succeed.

“I was talking about how she is a strict teacher and I mean she has very, very high expectations. And in today’s society, often kids don’t want to be pushed, but she makes sure they know she loves them, Dr. Malone said. Every child who took the test in her class passed. She has 100% penetration. It’s just a phenomenal level of success that she has had with her children. “

Bernal says physical readiness is critical, but mental readiness is just as important. She doesn’t hold back when talking about her emotional issues and the reason she left the hospital system.

“I’ve had a lot of patients who didn’t survive and I just had a really hard time and decided I needed to do something different.”

Since then, teaching her program has been her happy place. She says that, like in medicine, it is useful, but in a very different way.

“I’m a girl with blood and guts, I love the adrenaline rush and I love helping people. “

Bernal is also the sponsor of the swim team.

She received a $1,000 check from KENS 5 partner Credit Human as part of the KENS 5 EXCEL award.

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