More local students will now have the opportunity to pursue careers in nursing, through Hanford Adult School programs. Hanford Adult School officials were notified this week of approval by the Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians to expand the program to 24 students per cohort, up from the previous 20 students per cohort. Cohorts start for the school's Licensed Vocational Nursing (LVN) program three times a year -- meaning that, in addition to the 120 Certified Nursing Assistants that Hanford Adult School educates each year, there will be 72 new LVNs each year.

Hanford Adult School's LVN program is a 44-week full-time program, and completion leads to eligibility for the National Council of Licensure Examination for Practical Nursing.

Expansion of the program is a positive thing for both the community and potential students. Mark Dutra, principal of Hanford Adult School, said that there are about 78 completed folders for applicants for the upcoming cohort of the program, but two-thirds of the applicants can't enter the program right away due to the capacity limits regulated by the Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians.

Acceptance into the impacted program used to be done on a lottery system, but Dutra disliked it because it did not ensure that the most qualified applicants were entering the program. So about 18 months ago, less than a year after Dutra was hired as principal, the application process switched from the lottery system to a merit-based system.

"We want to raise the bar," Dutra said. "Our theme [for Hanford Adult School] is 'Dare To Soar' and we encourage all students to do that. The top students should be in the program."

In order to be considered for the program, applicants must pass the Test of Essential Academic Skills, pass prerequisite classes, get letters of recommendation and go through an oral interview. But under the merit system, students who aren't accepted become applicants for the subsequent cohort and can receive feedback from school administrators on how to improve their chances of acceptance in the future.

"We want to make sure students are successful in the program," said Gary Marr, assistant principal for Hanford Adult School. "That's why we do all the groundwork."

But the program is not begging for more students, Dutra said. Rather, the school's officials often suggest that potential students -- especially those who might soon pursue a Registered Nurse (RN) education -- get their educations through a community college or university, because it would be more beneficial to the students in the long run, he said.

And that's the whole basis of Dutra's philosophy: what's best for the students. And he said it's what makes the program so successful. Program and school administrators count it as a loss when only 18 or 19 of the previous 20 students in a cohort successfully complete and become LVNs.

Hanford Adult School's LVN program is one of few in the state that finishes in less than one year, and doing that is more expensive for the school, more difficult to acquire clinical time and less attractive to potential faculty -- but more beneficial to students, Dutra said.

Though it may be attractive to potential students to complete the program in under a year, former program student Alfred Benavides said the compact duration makes the program fast-paced and intense. Benavides, a trustee for the Hanford Joint Union High School District who entered the LVN program in January 2007, advised potential students not to commit to the program if they have a full-time job, because the program requires at least five days a week.

But if students can commit, Benavides said the program and its director and site principal are excellent.

"It's very competitive, it's very intense," Benavides said of the program. "You really have to know your stuff. But it is regarded as one of the best jewels here in the Valley."

Benavides isn't the typical student; he is 51 years old and returning to school more than a quarter of a century after earning his bachelor degree in science from University of California at Santa Cruz. But his science background and his parents' health problems inspired Benavides to pursue a career in the medical field. Due to his and his family's health problems, Benavides did have to leave the program shortly before completion, but he plans to return to it.

Benavides said he is pleased with the program. He said the application process is fair because students need to have competence and be able to think on their feet and quickly make good decisions. His only desire would be for it to continue to expand, and maybe establish a Medical Assistant program option.

Continued expansion, even if it was just of the existing program options, would be a positive move, since the United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics Web site projects that 14 percent more LVNs will be needed between 2006 and 2016.

Christine Pickering, director of marketing and communications for Adventist Health's local establishments, said that between the company's three local hospitals and 15 rural health clinics, there are 40 LVNs and 69 Certified Nursing Assistants. Though the need for RNs is in highest demand -- 18 open local positions are posted on the Adventist Health Web site compared to four for LVNs and two for CNAs -- there is a shortage for other nursing positions. Pickering added that the demand for LVNs will increase as more physicians move into the area, and the demand for CNAs will increase when Hanford's new hospital opens, planned in Spring 2010.

Benavides' only other previous concern, which has since been addressed, was the lack of a continuous director of the program. The program has had several directors in the last few years. But upon Benavides' suggestion, the school district trustees raised the pay for the then open position for the program's director and Hanford Adult School was able to secure and hire Sandra Omilianowski.

Although each director had a different philosophy -- and although there have been recent complaints presented to The Sentinel in that regard -- Benavides said he believes Omilianowski is "great" and that discontinuity of direction is no longer a problem.

Dutra agreed that he believed Omilianowski would remain the director at least through the coming school year, and said he was pleased with all of the changes and expansion to Hanford Adult School's nursing programs since he became school principal.

"It's like night and day," Dutra said.

The reporter can be reached at 583-2424.

(Aug. 1, 2008)