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Nursing program maxed out

April 1, 2009 1:47 am

By PAMELA GOULD

Greta Haggerty has a dozen nursing students in her wellness program but because of space constraints, can only allow half of them in the consultation area at a time.

Even then, students are squeezed into a room so small they can meet with just a handful of patients per day.

"Space is definitely an issue," said Haggerty, a clinical instructor in Germanna Community College's nursing program.

Germanna's program for practical and registered nurses is enrolled to the max and interest is skyrocketing.

Located on the Locust Grove campus in eastern Orange County, the nursing program has an increasing number of students who already hold bachelor's degrees as well as those who started training while still in high school.

More than 1,000 people are in the "pre-nursing pipeline" this year, taking their prerequisite courses with hopes of getting into the program, said Jane Ingalls, dean of nursing and health technologies.

That's a 68 percent increase in four years, a 25 percent increase in the past year.

Germanna President David Sam said he would love to double the size of the nursing classes but with a lack of funding for buildings and staff, his ability to meet the region's needs is stymied.

The federal stimulus bill provided no funding to Germanna. And with diminishing state funding, he's unable to create new programs to meet the area's need for health care professionals, develop programs for technology training or begin construction on a third building at the Fredericksburg campus that would provide needed laboratory space.

With one hospital opening in Stafford County two months ago and another under construction in Spotsylvania, demand for nurses and other health care professionals is high, both Sam and Ingalls said.

And with the nation in the throes of a dreadful economy, more people are turning to community colleges for help, as they do any time the economy falters.

People are looking for a bargain to begin their higher education, are trying to retool their skills or are seeking to develop new skills to start a new career.

"Community colleges are engines of turning the economy around," Sam said.

The question is how effective the engine can be without additional fuel.

"People need us. We're going to do everything we can to try to meet that need," Sam said. "Nonetheless, you can only do so much with that [funding]."

CAMPAIGN PROMISES

Germanna Community College and the students on its three campuses are still looking for President Barack Obama to follow through on the education portion of his "Blueprint for Change."

During the campaign, Obama proposed an annual tax credit that would have made community college free for every American needing assistance.

But that annual $4,000 American Opportunity Tax Credit hasn't materialized as yet. That and the lack of stimulus funds leaves Germanna's administration and its 13,000 students struggling at a time when more individuals and employers are looking to community colleges for help.

But Germanna President Sam said things could be worse.

The omnibus spending bill passed by Congress last month contained $285,000 for training and equipment for Germanna's nursing program.

And before the state legislature met this year to craft its fiscal 2010 budget, Sam had anticipated a 5 percent to 10 percent cut in funding on top of 5 percent cuts seen in both fiscal 2008 and fiscal 2009.

Instead, because of stimulus funding that shored up other areas of the state's budget, Germanna was spared such deep cuts and should wind up with a budget of about $22.5 million to be used at its Orange, Spotsylvania and Culpeper campuses.

Sam now expects a less than 1 percent cut in state funding--$500,000 or less.

State funding makes up about 55 percent of the college's budget; tuition makes up the remainder.

The tuition rate for the 2009-2010 school year won't be set until May when the state Board of Community Colleges meets, said Rick Brehm, Germanna's vice president for administrative affairs.

Whatever the funding, Brehm and Sam said the college won't be allocating all of the money it receives.

They expect the economy to be flat throughout the year and want to be prepared in case they get a midyear funding cut as they did this school year.

With possible cuts on the horizon, the college probably will hire just a handful of full-time faculty rather than the 30 people it would like to add to the payroll, won't expand all the programs that need to grow and won't start new programs.

"You don't want to incur recurring costs without a revenue stream that is able to support that," Brehm said.

WORK FORCE GROWTH

In a sound economy, switching careers and developing new job skills has become a repeating cycle for employees--with career changes coming every seven years for some people, said Jeanne Wesley, vice president of Germanna's Workforce and Community Education program.

"People need to retool and reinvent themselves over and over again to get jobs," she said. When times are tough, it's all the more critical.

Participation in Germanna's work force program has grown 53 percent over the past decade--reaching enrollment of 6,177--and Wesley doesn't think it has hit its peak for this economy.

Already she's seen a shift in the noncredit courses people are taking.

They're moving from personal-enrichment courses to those providing job skills such as courses on computer software or digital photography, said college spokesman Mike Zitz.

Because of the shift in demand from both employers and job seekers, Germanna is shifting its noncredit offerings to fast-track programs that help people get a foot in the door. That includes certificate programs in the health care field for positions such as phlebotomists, nurse assistants and pharmacy technicians, as well as classes that provide training in computer basics.

The college is also trying to meet the needs of companies wanting to employ green technology as well as those interested in developing listening and teamwork skills in their employees.

"We're working on fast-track programs that lead to a certificate that allows people to work," Wesley said.

JOURNEYS TO NURSING

Elizabeth Middleton was at "a crossroads" in her work life when she decided to leave the hospitality industry and study to become a nurse.

"It was always in the back of my mind," the 28-year-old Spotsylvania resident said.

She holds a bachelor's degree in psychology but is now in her first year of registered nurse training.

She likes the idea of being in a field with great job prospects and the practical application of her training.

"You're always going to have a job and be employed," Middleton said, "and there's a direct correlation between your education and your job."

Robb Steele had a bachelor's degree in English literature and a perfectly good career at Geico but was drawn to nursing after a few trips to the emergency room.

At age 32, he's in his last year of nursing training and feels he's found his niche.

"I absolutely love it," said Steele, who left his insurance job with his wife's blessing.

Middleton and Steele are part of a trend in the nursing program, Dean Ingalls said.

"Now we see it more and more--people with baccalaureate degrees," she said.

And with today's economy, many straight out of college are realizing they need an associate's degree rather than a graduate degree to become marketable.

"I am seeing an increase in the numbers [of students] between the ages of 21 and 25 who have gotten the baccalaureate degree and found out they can't get any work," Ingalls said.

After two decades as a licensed practical nurse, Suzanne Sanders had hit the ceiling as far as advancement options, so she enrolled in the registered nurse program.

The Spotsylvania resident will continue working for Mary Washington Hospital after she gets her RN credentials but understands in today's economy some people may be switching to the field for survival.

"It's more of a job security issue now," she said. "Because of the nursing shortage, we know job security is not going to be an issue."

Whereas she and most of her classmates didn't choose nursing because of the prospects, she realizes that could change.

"That may be a motivating factor for the future classes," she said.

Pamela Gould: 540/735-1972
Email: pgould@freelancestar.com