Our Staff

Meet our healthcare teachers: Rob Del Greco and Karen McDonald

Periodically we’ll be sitting down with our standout educators to talk about their unique perspective on the world of Career and Technical Education and what motivates them the most.

Rob Del Greco and Karen McDonald are just beginning their second year teaching at Southern Westchester BOCES’ Center for Career Services. Both oversee the health-related classes offered here: Mr. Del Greco teaches the EMS class and Ms. McDonald the Nurses Assistant course.

Rob Del Greco, EMS

Teaching was not something Rob Del Greco intended for a career.

“I did it because it was fun and because I enjoyed doing it,” he said of being asked to help with orientation of new members of the Valhalla Volunteer Ambulance Corps. He has been a volunteer there since 1999. Later, a friend asked if he would teach CPR to a high school health class. Soon he was in front of the classroom at Westchester Community College teaching skills to an EMT class.

“It was not something I expected to make a career out of, because who gets to do what they love every day?” he said. “Apparently, I do!”

Mr. Del Greco joined the staff last year and like his students had to adjust to remote instruction via Zoom.

“The pandemic really forced me to look at how I manage my digital classroom,” he said. “For many years it was really just a gradebook and place where I’d post the occasional announcement. It’s more interactive now and contains a lot more resources for students.”

He continued, “I am still learning Google Classroom, since we use a different ecosystem at the college, but I’ve learned a lot about how to present information digitally. I’d love to go back in time and impart the experience I gained through trial and error, but there is value in going through that process.”

Mr. Del Greco is a graduate of Siena College and Pace University with a Master of Science for Teachers. He has been an EMT since 2002, and also serves as a volunteer firefighter with Valhalla Fire Department.

 

One of the things he highlights with his students is how being an EMT is the fastest way for them to begin working directly with patients.

“People who work as EMTs usually use it as a stepping-stone job into other careers in healthcare such as paramedics, nursing, physicians’ assistants, and doctors,” he said. “Many of the people who become EMTs don’t work for paid agencies, instead using their knowledge and skills to give back to their community.”

“I want my students to learn that these volunteer opportunities can lead to valuable experience and networking that will shape the course of their life,” he added.

Karen McDonald, Nurse Assistant

Karen McDonald earned her nursing license in 1974 and said she has never stopped working since.

She began her career studying at Saint Luke’s Hospital School of Nursing and later earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Columbia University. She worked 14 years in a trauma center and loved it. When the physically demanding work began to take a toll, she segued to other areas in the health field before becoming an LPN instructor for Southern Westchester BOCES’ adult education division.

When her predecessor retired, she took over the program at the Center for Career Services.

“Here with the high school students, many of them are interested in using this as a foundation for a nursing career,” she said. “Those who have a certification in nursing assistance do better in a nursing program. They advance more quickly. They are more comfortable and have more confidence in a clinical setting.”

“It’s wonderful to see students embrace it at this level,” she said of the enthusiasm her students have. “The energy is so good.”

The students are learning how being a nurse assistant means they take on the responsibilities of performing activities of daily living that patients are unable to do for themselves, such as getting dressed, using a toilet or feeding themselves.

She has heard from several of her students who graduated last year and have found jobs in the field.

“The environment is ripe for that new energy,” Ms. McDonald said. “I like being a part of it, it’s exciting for me,” she said, adding that she knows those currently working in healthcare will eventually have to “turn the keys over” to those coming into the field now.

“That’s a huge responsibility. You see the ones who are hungry and embrace it. You think, ‘We are going to be OK,’” she said.

Last spring her students completed their clinical work at the Bethel Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Croton-on-Hudson. Ms. McDonald brought two groups of five students to the facility. She said the staff they were “delirious,” when the students arrived and appreciated the extra set of hands.

As a matter of fact, the facility was so impressed with the students’ work, they were invited to fill out job applications. The facility was willing to hire them on the stipulation that they be certified within a certain period of time.

“They were tremendous, very welcoming,” Ms. McDonald said.

She is developing an additional component to her seniors’ final project. Traditionally students keep a binder of their work and write a final essay. She is working out the details to incorporate a community service component.

“Healthcare is for those who are compassionate and socially conscious,” she said. “We should be attempting to meet the psycho-social needs of patients. I want to develop a senior project that makes them more socially conscious, do something that shows compassion for those they interact with.”