36 OUR COMMUNITY — 2023
Candice Milam , medical assistant program director , gives area high school students a glimpse into the certified medical assitant program at DACC during February ’ s Health Care Professions Day at the college . Milam said CMAs are in high demand in the area recently and urged those interested in joining the health care field to consider starting with the CMA program .
we don ’ t have any prerequisites , so anybody can start the program .”
Students can use this program as a stepping stone to further their careers in health care , too , she said .
Certified Nursing Assistant
The certified nursing assistant program at DACC is another program that could serve as a stepping stone for someone in the health care field .
The program awards students with a CNA certificate upon completion . The program involves just one course that consists of a theory component and a clinical component . Students finish the clinical portion , they take the state exam that consists of written and skills portions and they become CNAs .
Derek Watson , DACC ’ s dean of nursing , said DACC is in the process of changing the program . Right now it ’ s offered in a normal 16-week session . In the spring , they are going to offer two eight-week sessions and one four-week session .
“ Employers want to see their potential employees get in and get out ,” Watson said . “ Most students want that too … It ’ s really going to be a trial . We created a partnership with the VA and they want us to train their CNAs . They need that quickly , so I suspect that particular ( four-week ) course will be filled by their employees .”
Watson said he is also working on marketing to other facilities in the community to offer to train their CNAs .
“ They are truly the backbone of nursing ,” Watson said of CNAs .“ I will tell you the CNAs either make you or break you as a nurse . They are really an integral part of the team .”
He said about 35-45 percent of students are CNAs , adding that getting the certificate is a good bridge into the nursing program . Watson , who was a CNA first , said he had an understanding of how a medical floor ran as a CAN , so he didn ’ t have that learning curve when he became a nurse .
Nursing
Many institutions offer a standalone LPN program , RN program or LPN to RN program , but Watson said DACC is “ a little bit unique .”
“ You start the nursing program , and after the first year of completing the associate degree , you can study for the LPN boards , become an LPN and then begin working as an LPN ,” Watson said . “ DACC is one of a handful of programs in the state that offers that option .”
This allows students to take the National Council Licensure Examination for Practical Nurses ( NCLEX-PN ), which then allows them the opportunity to start making an estimated $ 31- $ 34 an hour while they ’ re still in school .
“ It gives students an opportunity to get their feet wet while they ’ re finishing their RN ,” Watson said .
It also helps facilities work around staffing shortages in a way , too , he said . Though nursing shortages aren ’ t anything new , Watson said the COVID-19 pandemic definitely didn ’ t help to ease the shortage .
“ Since I entered the profession in 2000 , I can tell you we have always had a nursing shortage ,” he said . “ When I entered , they were offering $ 25K sign-on bonuses and all this other kind of stuff … we ’ re doing that again . It ’ s cyclical . But what the pandemic did is it caused a lot of really good nurses to leave the profession . It exacerbated that shortage , so now facilities are struggling to find those nurses .”
To help combat this particular challenge , Watson is trying to increase enrollment
36 OUR COMMUNITY — 2023