Open House for prospective nurses a success

1/16/06

More than 50 locals interested in becoming a Registered Nurse (RN) or Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN) participated in an Open House at the College of the Redwoods on January 9.  A panel of five presenters outlined the wide range of nursing career options and the depth of training required to become an RN.  Panelists included three nurses from Mendocino Coast District Hospital, and representatives from College of the Redwoods and Santa Rosa Junior College.

Due to the statewide shortage of nurses, pursuing a career in nursing virtually guarantees work that includes a competitive salary, challenging work and job satisfaction.  Nurses can choose a specialty which best suits their personality, whether as an emergency nurse, obstetrics, surgical, home health, military, management, or a nearly endless variety of options.  New opportunities are constantly emerging in the field of nursing.

Nursing programs are two- to four-year intensive programs (depending on the type of degree) that include clinical experience in a hospital setting.  The cost is about $5000 for the two-year program, plus up to $2000 for books.  Scholarships and financial aid are available to help offset the costs.

Prior to entering a nursing program, prospective nurses must complete a series of prerequisites, including anatomy, microbiology, physiology and English 1A, in addition to general education requirements.  Some programs also require chemistry, biology and algebra.

The College of the Redwoods is working to make all the prerequisite courses available locally, as well as the possibility of some of the nursing curriculum via distance learning in collaboration with Santa Rosa Junior College.  MCDH can provide preceptors at the hospital to supervise a portion of the clinical training, in addition to scholarships and a loan repayment program for nurses who come to work at MCDH.

This represents a new and innovative approach to provide nurse training opportunities in rural Northern California.

The College and MCDH partnered to host the Open House, which had two goals: to determine the local level of interest in a collaborative RN training program, and to present proposed training options.  The level of interest seems sufficient to pursue development of the educational program, though the required local needs assessment is not yet complete.

As part of the needs assessment, participants in the Open House were asked to complete a survey detailing their current level of education and plans for completing the prerequisites for a nursing program.  These surveys are vital to local planning efforts. 

If you know someone who is interested in becoming an RN, LVN or CNA but was unable to attend the Open House, please call the College of the Redwoods at 962-2663 to complete a survey by January 27, 2006 and receive future information regarding local training opportunities.