For Immediate ReleaseContact: Frances Squire
Jan. 10, 2010 Phone: (559) 934-2134 or 250-6389
West Hills College Lemoore RN application deadline approaching-other training also offered
The application period for the West Hills College Lemoore registered nurse program is fast approaching for the August 2010 class that will accept 24 students in a traditional two-year RN program.
Also accepted into the class will be 12 licensed vocational nurses in an articulation program that will help licensed vocational nurses become registered nurses.
Applications are also being accepted in the college’s health careers office for students in nurse assistant, medical assistant, EKG technician and emergency medical technician training classes, according to Charles Freeman, director of health career programs for the college.
In a recent news release by the Bureau of Labor Statistics ( , health careers are expected to be among the fastest growing occupations during the coming decade.
Freeman said that West Hills works closely with local hospital boards and other medical providers and county workforce investment boards to determine what kind of training is most needed to help prepare students for available jobs in the community.
Registered Nurse
The two-year RN program has a number of prerequisites, Freeman said, with details available on the college website at:
Nurse Assistant
A new nurse assistant program, which just graduated its first class of 12 students, will be accepting applications for the next nine-week course that will start in March. Students who complete the class are eligible to do a checkout performance evaluation through the American Red Cross.
The nurse assistant class is also available through West Hills College Coalinga.
Jobs for CNAs are readily available in extended care facilities and as home heath aids, Freeman said, with starting salaries in the $10 an hour range.
Medical assistant
Another new program at WHCL will prepare students for jobs as medical assistants—both front and back office. Both programs last 18 weeks.
Freeman said the front office training is more focused on business operations and the back office prepares students to take blood pressure, help set up and assist with procedures and give injections.
Classes will meet nine hours a week during the day with back office classes starting in January and front office classes next fall. Each will have a cohort of 20 students.
EKG technician
Offered in cooperation with local hospitals, an EKG technician program will start in February and still has limited openings. The course involves 32 hours of lecture and 120 hours of clinical practice in area hospitals.
Freeman said an EEG technician training is also being planned in the future.
EMT
Emergency medical technician training is offered at WHCL and WHCC in an 18-week evening course that meets once a week for several hours. Jobs are available as ambulance attendants with starting salaries in the #12-$13 an hour range, Freeman said.
Sterile processing technician
Another program being offered in cooperation with area hospitals in Hanford, Fresno and Madera is sterile processing technician training. Freeman said the training runs for a semester and students spend about five hours a week at the hospitals with some skills lab simulation on campus. Starting salaries are also in the $12-$13 range.
Psychiatric technician
The West Hills College Coalinga psychiatric technician training program is another option for health career training that is offered in West Hills Community College District. It is offered in either a 12-month or 18-month program at the Coalinga campus. For details on that program, call 559 934-2760.
Program costs
Freeman said that cost of the programs at WHCL range from just the cost of a book (the EKG program) to about $5,000 for the nursing program and $800 each for the nurse and assistant and medical assistant programs.
For more details on any of the programs, email or visit the college website. The health careers office is open weekdays from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. It is located at 555 College Ave. in the 800 building on the northwest corner of the West Hills College Lemoore campus. The office phone number is 559 925-3490.
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