ESCC News

Nursing Careers in the Eastern Sierra

On March 10th 2011, Cerro Coso College's Bishop Campus held an informational reception for those interested in a career in nursing. The program focused on careers as Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA), Licensed Vocational Nurses (LVN) and Registered Nurses (RN).

Greg Kost, ESCC counselor, described the programs offered at the Eastern Sierra College Center for students interested in nursing programs and the courses required to complete these programs. Dennis Jensen, ESCC's full-time Biology Faculty discussed the nature and topics of the science prerequisite courses. Yvette Matthiessen, ESCC's Adjunct Faculty for the CNA program provided an overview of the course as well as job opportunities for CNA's in the Bishop area. Susan Batchelder, Director of Nursing for Northern Inyo Hospital (NIH) and Barbara Smith, Med/Surg Nursing Director at NIH both provided insight into nursing careers at NIH. Fred Heacock, Clinical Director, Mammoth Hospital discussed employment opportunities in Mammoth. Gina Jones and Joanie Hanson from the Owens Valley Career Development Center discussed funding options for CNA, LVN and LVN-RN Bridge Programs.

Several ESCC students and graduates participated in an information panel to answer questions and share their experiences. Gina Jones and Deanna Campbell, Directors of OVCDC and ESCC respectively discussed scholarship and other financial aid options for students.

The event was attended by 70 individuals from Mammoth to Lone Pine. SB70 funds paid for dinner and drinks for the crowd. There was great interest from prospective students – the Q & A session went well over two hours allotted for the presentations, with many students staying after to ask questions of the presenters.

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