Teaching Nurses

    In the midst of an economic recession, Dodge City Community College's allied health department has updated its program with the help of a federal Community-Based Job Training nursing grant.
    The three-year, $1.9 million grant was awarded to the allied health department in January 2007. The school received the funding to address an increasing need for health care workers in this region of the country.
    "Primarily the goal is to increase the registered nurses in the work force," said Janelle Oliver, nurse and CBJT project specialist.
    Oliver said the nursing profession offers job security and more flexibility than many people realize. People have the option of working as a teacher, a manager or a part-time nurse in hospitals, nursing homes, clinics and hospices. 
    "It's a very diverse field, and it works well for moms," Oliver said. "As your life changes, your job can change with you."
    The U.S. Department of Labor predicts there will be about 1 million new job openings for registered nurses by 2010, with a 27 percent shortage for registered nurses projected in southwest Kansas.
    If the shortage is not addressed, the Labor Department predicts that 1.4 million registered nurses will be needed by 2014, with an average starting pay of $38,000.
    Fifty percent of nurses are over the age of 48, so this shortage could worsen as the baby boom generation retires.
    Jan Harding, professor of online nursing courses at Dodge City Community College, said that many people are needing jobs in the worsening economy, and the allied health department offered a great opportunity to start a new career.
    "They can keep their jobs and go through the program," she said. "Opportunities are vast for people out there looking for a new career."

Addressing the shortage
    To actively address the shortage and adapt to changes in the nursing industry, the college's allied health department has implemented several new programs. 
    The department has also made improvements to reach more non-traditional and distance-learning students. 
    With an average student age of 27, DCCC needs online and night classes. Harding said college officials considered adding an evening program to allow those with full-time jobs to take classes, but with the high gas prices this summer, officials instead decided to add Web-based courses.
    The two-year nursing program at DCCC is divided into two levels. Approximately 40 seats are available for Level 1, 30 for Level 2, and an additional 20 were created for the new online program taught by Harding.
    Online classes also utilize four interactive television sites that were recently built with money from the grant, including one in the allied health building.
    ITV sites are now in nine surrounding counties allowing certified nurse's aide and certified medication aide courses to be broadcast to high schools in the area and other sites in Jetmore and Kinsley.  
    DCCC's nursing program cooperates with hospitals and medical centers throughout Kansas so people do not have to relocate to Dodge City to complete their clinical site training.
    The college has also purchased advanced technological equipment to help train students for the modern health care industry. This includes multimedia teaching stations and the use of human patient simulators.
    Harding said that it is important for nursing students to learn how to use technology, and that the younger generation of students may even learn better online.
    "It might even be a better way to learn, not just by lectures," she said. "We were just excited that we have this program."
    The allied health building now has human patient simulators, including one that is pregnant and simulates labor. The highly advanced models simulate many human functions so nursing students can have a "person" to practice procedures on. Students can practice listening to heartbeats, placing an IV and even delivering a baby.
    The department is also getting two more human patient simulators that are capable of performing even more functions.
    "That provides all these opportunities if they want to go in to practice that are there for them," Harding said.
    Harding said one of the program's main goal is to inform prospective nursing students about the opportunities that the program can provide.
    While many people think they will have to devote years to school before beginning a health care career, Harding said that students in the program can be placed in a certified medical position as early as six months into the course. 
    For the rest of the program, other steps have been taken to retain students and help them succeed in the work force.
    The department developed its Nursing Success Center to provide information, support and advisement to pre-nursing students. It also works to provide ongoing support to students for the duration of the program.
    Over the past two summers, allied health has hosted a one-week Future Nurse Academy for high school and nontraditional students interested in pursuing a nursing career so they can receive information and start preparing to enter the health care industry. 

 Reach Cherise Forno at (620) 408-9931 or e-mail her at cherise.forno@dodgeglobe.com.