Santa Barbara City College’s School of Nursing is healing the community while preparing students for rewarding careers. Nowhere is that truer than with City College’s Vocational Nursing program.
“These are dedicated students who are determined to make a difference,” said Director of Vocational Nursing Rosette Strandberg. “This is a rewarding profession, a profession I am passionate about, and I can say with certainty that Santa Barbara City College has among the best LVN programs in the state.”
Licensed vocational nurses perform much of the same duties and have many of the same responsibilities as registered nurses, with the exception that LVNs work under the supervision of a physician or registered nurse when performing certain procedures. They are critical members of health care teams at hospitals, doctor’s offices, and elsewhere, and are often the ones on the front lines at assisted-living and long-term care facilities.
“There is an array of jobs that licensed vocational nurses are doing,” said Strandberg.
The pay is just as rewarding. According to the South Central Coast Center of Excellence, Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses comprise a top middle-skill job, earning a median wage of $60,722 in the region. Projections call for a 9 percent growth in employment over the next five years.
Students must be committed to the journey. The curriculum calls for 15.5 units each semester and LVNs-in-training are putting in an average of 40 hours each week between classes, homework, and clinical assignments. Courses run the gamut from Medical Terminology and Interpersonal Communication to Human Anatomy, Understanding Pharmacology, Cardiovascular and Respiratory Problems, and Introduction to Mental Health Nursing. Labs include Integrated Medical-Surgical Lab, Maternal and Child Nursing Lab, and Foundation for Nursing Practice Lab.
Clinical sites offering critical hands-on training include Lompoc Valley Hospital, Cottage Urgent Care, Covenant Living at the Samarkand, the Valle Verde Skilled Nursing Facility, the Channel Islands Post Acute Skilled Nursing Facility, and the Vista del Monte Retirement Community. Students in the LVN program also volunteer and earn clinical hour experience at the Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital community vaccine clinic.
Santa Barbara City College’s School of Nursing offers among the top-ranked allied health programs in the nation, including degree and certificate options in Registered Nursing, Licensed Vocational Nursing, and Certified Nursing Assistant and Home Health Aide. In addition, the Santa Barbara City College School of Extended Learning offers a four-month Personal Care Attendant Certificate of Completion program that provides the training for in-demand jobs and allows those interested in a health-care career to get their feet wet.
“If you want to start taking care of people, it’s a class that you can grow and learn from,” said program graduate Gina Moreno, who works with private clients as well as a home health care agency.
The Vocational Nursing program is a full-time, three-semester course of study with new cohorts of students beginning every 18 months (applications for the next cohort, which starts January 10, 2022, are being accepted now). Graduates of the program earn a Certificate of Achievement in Vocational Nursing and can also earn an Associate of Science in Vocational Nursing if associate degree requirements are met. Approximately half of LVNs in the region continue to become registered nurses.
“The faculty at Santa Barbara City College are incredibly committed to our students, determined for them to succeed, and are proud of their achievements,” said Strandberg.
