After being a stay-at-home mom, Paulette Malcome was ready to try something new in the medical field. Now she is a member of the first graduating class of the new Licensed Vocational Nurse Program, offered through Lompoc Adult Education. She also is the first of the graduates to receive her license.

The program, which not only recently graduated it's first class, also received a four-year accreditation on its first try.

“They have an extensive curriculum and a very difficult curriculum,” Malcome said. “It's an incredible program.”Adult Ed's LVN program is small but intensive. The program admits 15 students plus two alternates. Those 15 students must complete 1,530 hours - 576 hours of theory and 954 clinical hours - in 18 months to graduate.“

I warn them that it is intense - no social life for the duration of 18 months,” said Yvonne Cooper, a registered nurse and the director of nurses for the program.Because the program is small and facilities are limited - they have two classrooms, one is set up as a lab with beds and equipment for hands-on lessons, the other is a regular classroom with computers - it has fostered partnerships with local organizations that can give students the various types of clinical experience they need.

The LVN program's partners include the Lompoc Valley Medical Center, the Convalescent Care Center, Sansum Clinic, state preschools through Santa Barbara County offices and the Santa Barbara County Health Clinic.

Having partners such as these helped in the accreditation by allowing the program to provide access to clinical experience that otherwise would not have been possible for such a small program.

In the nursing hierarchy, LVN are right in the middle with certified nursing assistants (CNAs) requiring less training and having fewer duties and registered nurses (RNs) requiring more training and having greater duties.

While CNAs can be certified after completing a 12-week or 160-hour program, LVNs must complete 1,530 hours of theory and clinical training.

RNs require either a bachelor's degree or completion of accredited programs that last at least three years.

CNAs work under the supervision of nursing staff, performing such tasks as helping patients to eat, dress or bathe.

LVNs work under RNs and do work such as recording patients' vitals, preparing and giving injections, dressing wounds and dispensing medications.

RNs plan or contribute to plans for patient care, work in surgeries and consult with physicians among other duties.One area that garnered a commendation from the accreditation team was in the close relationship between the teachers and students.

“The teachers and staff really try to make themselves available to the students,” Cooper said.The teachers, all RNs who have been recognized by the State Board of Vocational Nurses as being eligible to teach and who have a teaching credential from the state, observe their students closely.

This attention to students' progress not only ensures that the program's high standards remain intact, it also allows for early remediation when needed.If the teachers see that a student is falling behind, they meet with the student and create a plan to help them succeed.

Other students even get involved by forming study groups.Malcome said that the staff were very supportive. “We had instructors phone numbers and could call them day or night.”The instructors also provided extra tutoring when needed and would join the students' study groups on the weekends, spending hours going over what they could expect on their next clinical rotations or helping to understand concepts, Malcome said.

Because each learning module builds on the one before it, it is important to catch problems early.Cooper said the students are monitored particularly closely during the clinical hours.“A student can do well on theory, but not well in clinical,” Cooper said. “We watch them like a hawk.”This program, though small, does admit students who have been waiting to get into either Allan Hancock College's or Santa Barbara City College's programs.

Those schools, as do many others throughout the state, select students via a lottery. No lottery system is used for the Adult Ed LVN program and admission is competitive. According to Cooper, candidates must apply and meet certain criteria: They need to have a high school diploma or the GED and be an active CNA.

They must also take a test for occupational math and language skills. If they have met the criteria and passed the tests, they are then invited to an interview, after which the students are ranked.

The top 15, plus two alternates, are accepted into the program.Though this is rigorous, it allows students the opportunity to enter a program through their own efforts rather than leaving it to chance, Cooper said.

In November 2007, the program graduated its first class. The class started with 14 students. Eight graduated. The next class starts in April and there are already 85 applicants for the 15 spots, according to Adult Ed Principal Susan Williams.Malcome also liked that the program allows working people with families a way to continue their education while still helping to provide for their families.

“Other programs are full time, which means you can't work and go to school,” Malcome said. “This program is ideal because classes are in the evenings and on Friday and Saturday, making it possible to juggle work, family and school.

”She also said that since the clinical rotations are all done locally rather than in cities such as Arroyo Grande, as in other programs, it makes it easier on the students.“And now that they are accredited, the students will have more opportunities for financial aid and scholarships.

”Malcome said now that she has passed her exams and gotten her license from the state she will be applying for work in Lompoc. The others who graduated with her are also planning on working locally, she said.Many LVNs get work locally at the CCC or in long-term care.

Adult Ed started the program because one of the mandates from the state is that adult education programs offer classes that meet local job needs.“So nursing was a logical choice because there is a need for nurses here,” Williams said. ( source)

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