GSEC 2018 | Page 5

Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts
SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT
INTEGRATING, EMPOWERING, AND ACHIEVING
Sacramento is home to the newest campus of Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts offering allied-health and
nursing programs, including radiologic technology, ultrasound technology, magnetic resonance imaging
technology, and medical assisting.
In 2004, Gurnick began in San Mateo as an
ultrasound technology school with 15 students,
and added other allied-health programs including
vocational nursing. In 2005, a second campus
was launched in Concord, followed by campuses
in Modesto and Fresno in 2007. The Sacramento
campus opened in 2017 and today has full
enrollment of about 150 students. Today, the five
campuses serve approximately 2,000 active students.
“Many people seeking training were traveling from
Sacramento to our Concord campus, so to help
meet demand, it made sense to have a Sacramento
campus,” says Burke Malin, Chief Operating Officer.
“We were invested in the Sacramento region,
though, more than two years before we opened our
campus here. We had students in clinical rotations
here, and those students were known among
employers for their desirable qualities. Ultimately
those affiliations through clinical rotations
became our employer partners for our students.
Through partnerships with hospitals and health
organizations, we can make our curriculum as
relevant as possible for Sacramento’s needs.”
Gurnick’s four programs – radiologic technology,
ultrasound technology, magnetic resonance imaging
technology, and medical assisting – mesh organically
with the school’s relationship with clinical sites in
the area, including Sutter, Dignity, UC Davis Medical
Center, and RadNet to name a few.
“Philosophically, Gurnick is about the end result,
which is the patient care people in Sacramento will
experience,” says Ted Vanderlaan, Vice President
of Strategy and Innovation. “We have a very high
goal for student satisfaction that directly relates to
their performance as employees and caregivers.
Our student experience, or STx© as we call it, can
turn out better, happier students which translates
to more productive employees who take superlative
care of patients.”
Another of Gurnick’s hallmarks is community
outreach. “Our connection to the community is very
different from other schools and very well received,”
says Vanderlaan. “We have events with nationally
known or world-renowned speakers, and have master
scanning labs which all of our clinical sites can send
their employees to at no charge.”
Gurnick’s medical assisting and imaging programs
in Sacramento are fully accredited and offer
significant hands-on training through on-campus
lab environments as well as hospital and outpatient
clinical settings. As a result, their graduates are
highly sought after by employers. The campus also
stands apart from competitors by being all digital, an
innovative, integrated model for teaching, learning,
and interaction.
“We’re accepting only 25-40 percent of applicants
who pass our initial evaluation tests,” says Malin.
“We’re in a unique position, especially in comparison
to community colleges, to offer enrollment to the top
candidates using a thorough vetting process.”
The academy boasts Gurnick Edge, an online
platform accessible by students, alumni, and
potential employers. “It’s a nexus for those three
groups,” explains Malin. “Students can engage
with each other and interact with alumni already
working in the field and acting as mentors. Alumni
can interact with each other and stay current in their
modalities, too, and employers can reverse search
student profiles based on skill sets and experience to
find the most ideal employees.”
Abraham Cicchetti, Campus Director, concludes,
“We’re a student-centered organization committed to
excellence by ensuring our students are provided with
an education that leads to highly successful careers.
Our superior student experience translates to superior
patient experience in the Sacramento region.”
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8810 Cal Center Dr. 3rd Floor | Sacramento, CA 95826 | [phone] | www.gurnick.edu