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Jakevia Green (from left), instructor Shirley Williams, Gabrielle Mitchel, Luis Rodriguez and Glenisha Turner work on CPR training in Williams' nursing class at Mount Zion High School in Jonesboro.

Twice a week, about a dozen students leave Mount Zion High School in Jonesboro to work for an hour or so at a hospital or clinic in Clayton County.

They make beds, help check vital signs and teach patients to use walkers. The experience prepares the high school students for medical careers at a time when Georgia faces a shortage of nurses.

"I am very strict, because these students will be dealing with human lives, and that's nothing to play with," said Shirley Williams, a registered nurse who teaches a health care science education class at Mount Zion. "I am looking for one of my students to one day be my physician."

Williams teaches the class of 13 students -- 10 girls and three boys. They study in the classroom but also make visits twice a week to work alongside health care providers at Southern Regional Hospital, Jonesboro Animal Hospital and a Kaiser Permanente clinic.

Students who complete the class and pass a state test can become certified nursing assistants, who provide routine care under the supervision of a registered nurse.

"These students begin their career path in nursing in high school and look forward to continuing their education after graduation," said Julie A. Garrett, health care science program specialist at the Georgia Department of Education. "Georgia truly has the capability of growing our own doctors, nurses and health care providers."

Students take similar nursing classes in about 90 Georgia high schools. About 1,000 students are certified each year as nursing assistants, Garrett said. The state also offers courses to prepare students for careers as dentists and pharmacists.

By 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services expects Georgia to need 32,000 more registered nurses than will be employed, according to the University System of Georgia.

Glenisha Turner takes the nursing class at Mount Zion High School.

"I have dreamed of becoming a pediatrician and wanted a view of what was in store for me in the health care industry," she said. "I value my teacher's knowledge on the things we cannot do until we learn them and the things we can do after we learn them."

Another student, Jakevia Green, said the class helps students better envision themselves working in health care.

"I feel this class gives me confidence," she said.

-- This article is a reprint from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.