Why Everyone Should Take a Nursing Course

Especially if you're building something that's supposed to help people.

I’m halfway through my Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) course at Houston Community College. I didn’t join this program because I wanted to change careers. I joined because I needed to understand the work.

I’m building NextStep - a mobile nursing service that helps people get home and recover after same-day surgery. My logic is that if I’m going to build something that matters in this space, I need to understand what it means to actually care for someone-not in theory or pitch decks but in real life. Also, I’m very hands-on as a leader so it feels on brand.

What I’m Learning

At one point we looked at the idea of letting any kind of healthcare professional be a NextStep companion - medical assistants, EMTs, even trained caregivers. But the more I listened to patients, remembered my own experience, thought about recovery, and paid attention to what people actually need after surgery, it became clear:

What people need is nursing.

When you come out of surgery, your #1 goal is to heal. To get your independence back. To start walking again. Bathing. Eating. Going to the bathroom without help. All the basic things you take for granted until your body stops cooperating.

And what are those things called? Activities of Daily Living (ADLs)-which just so happen to be the foundation of the nursing profession.

It’s perfect alignment.

CNA Work is the Backbone of NextStep’s Model

I’ve been listening to a lot of CNA stories. Stories of being overworked, emotionally exhausted, and underpaid. Stories of going from patient to patient with no real support. It’s also crazy to think many of them could make more in retail or fast food than they do caring for people full-time.

I want NextStep’s business model to pay CNAs who work with well enough to supplement or even replace their income. I want them to feel respected, to have flexibility, and to feel like this is a job they can choose but aren’t stuck in. If we could manage it, there should also be a portion of the model that injects capital for career changers and other interested parties to transition.

Somewhere in this I feel like better conditions for caregivers will lead to better care experiences for customers.

Centering Care in our Lives

There’s an element to the CNA course and licensure that includes executing clinical skills correctly. These are actions such as moving a patient from bed to wheelchair, washing your hands, and many other activities. As I practice these more and more it makes me reflect on how I wish I had these skills long ago in my personal life. I would’ve probably provided better care to those I loved. I think we should also curate more spaces to discuss what it means to care for each other - maybe those spaces exist and I’ve been late to the conversation. Either way, I’m happy to be here now.