BC nursing students carry only 10 1/2 units, but the work they do is just as difficult as the work of full-time students: 6 hours in the classroom, 16 and half hours in the clinic, 4 hours in the skills lab, and the time spent studying every night for 2 to 3 hours.
According to Cindy Collier, nursing director, there are two types of nurses, the Registered Nurse and the License Vocational Nurse with the RNs being the backbone of the health-care system and LVNs being the caregivers in acute and extended care facilities.
Collier has been nursing director for six years with a total of 15 years in the instructional profession. Collier also said, “that with a severe shortage of nurses, there is no need for a job placement program.”
Right now the nursing students are working at Kern Medical Center and Memorial Hospital, learning everything from geriatrics, medical, surgical, labor and delivery to psychiatric and pediatrics.
The majority of students do internships during the summer taking on total care, changing bedpans to doing I.V.’s to following doctor’s orders. Collier went on to say that “You don’t need any type of degree to get into the nursing program; you just need to complete the prerequisites.”
She also said that the average size of the nursing program is about 90 students with a dropout rate of about 25% to 30%. The students spend about 75% to 80% of their time in the hospital. Bakersfield is at only 25% capacity for nursing staff, so there is no problem for the graduates of the program finding a job locally.
Calvin Williams is attending Bakersfield College studying to be an RN and is in his second semester. The RN program at BC is, in itself, a two-year course, and Williams is in his second semester.
There are four semesters on campus and distance education with eight different classes going on at one time. The lowest grade for passing is 78%.
Williams went on to say that they do a lot of group studying, and the students are in class from 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Wednesday 12:30-2:30 p.m., along with spending 8 1/2 hours at the hospital.
According to Williams, most of the nursing students work part-time or full-time jobs and many have kids.
They must pass the state board with 42 units, and some may go to Cal State to get their bachelor’s degree, which takes about a year.