Daniel Entz, a recent South Medford High School graduate, said that his mother was for him “a real beacon of light” — a woman who became a registered nurse while raising him.

“After she graduated, she explained in detail about how much she loved her job,” Entz said. He remembers thinking, “‘Well, if you enjoy it this much, you know, maybe I will, too.’”

Entz has landed a job as a certified nursing assistant at Providence Medford Medical Center.

So has his fellow class-of-2023 alum Alura Ponzar.

Aspiring CNAs typically need more education to get certified. But Entz and Ponzar began their professional path at South Medford, taking increasingly advanced health careers courses — moving from medical terminology to CPR — that launched them as seniors into Rogue Community College’s CNA program.

“It was almost like a dual enrollment kind of thing,” Entz said. “We can start our CNA while we’re still in high school, and even finish it before we graduate.”

At Providence, Entz and Ponzar did their clinical rotations, aka “clinicals,” where they shadowed nursing staff, read reports on patients, checked their patients’ vital signs, kept them fed, helped them to the bathroom, responded to their needs.

Currently in orientation, their first shifts begin Friday. Entz and Ponzar are in the “float pool,” filling roles in the least-staffed departments.

The partnership among the Medford School District, community college and hospital helps fill gaps in health care staffing.

Kerensa Ritchie, manager of education and clinical development at Providence, said, “As most of the community is aware, health care is hurting. We need more staff that’s patient-facing — so nursing, CNAs, patient care techs.”

Ponzar had a patient who had clashed with other caregivers. They did not know how to handle the woman’s demeanor.

“When I went in there, she was stubborn and she did have a tone,” Ponzar said, “but I’m very adaptable to that. And I just communicated with her about what was frustrating to her, and to me that was important, because she was feeling really disregarded.

“And part of her frustration — why she was so difficult to work with — was because she felt like they weren’t understanding her,” Ponzar continued. “And I can understand how it feels to be misunderstood, like, intentionally.”

In that moment, something clicked for Ponzar.

“I was like: This is what I’m meant to do,” she said. “I’m supposed to help people who don’t know how to tell people what they need in a way that others will understand.”

Reflecting on how well they performed in clinicals, Ritchie said, “That’s a lot to ask an 18-year-old, to do some of these tasks when they haven’t had certain life experiences yet. And yet they’re helping take care of our patient population — the poor, the vulnerable.”

Entz said he wants to continue his education and work toward becoming a RN like his mother. Ponzar may ultimately go into home care for patients with physical and mental needs, she said.

“Some people kind of put health care into this category of, ‘Well, you’re kind of working your life away,’” she said. “But you’re also helping other people and helping their quality of life.”