With employment in the healthcare industry expected to grow faster on average than positions in other industries, Santiago Canyon College continues to add certificate programs to help meet this demand.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics, this trend will continue through 2032.

A little more than five years after launching its certified nursing assistant program, SCC now offers an acute care assistant program designed to train nursing assistants for employment in an acute care setting.

In the CNA certificate program, students earn a practical nursing certificate and have the knowledge needed to work in a health care environment, said Chrissy Gascon, dean of teaching and student services, continuing education at Santiago Canyon College.

The program is based on professional standards established by regulatory agencies, she added.

“A student can complete the entire program in one semester and then immediately begin working in a health care setting, under the supervision of a nurse, and earn a decent salary,” Gascon said.

Students enrolling in the Acute Care Practical Nursing program must already have a CNA certificate.

Students in the acute care program are currently completing their clinical training at Providence St. Joseph in Orange, where they rotate through 10 different units under the supervision of a nurse.

These include Pulmonary Kidney, Clinical Decision, Mother and Baby, Orthopedics, General Surgery, Medical Telemetry, Oncology, Childbirth and Emergency.

By being exposed to each specialty, students might be attracted to a particular specialty and pursue a position in that specialty, she said.

“St. Joseph has been very welcoming and supportive to our students, giving them access to training on different floors,” said Cristina Morones, assistant professor of career education. “The goal is to develop our students so that they can then move on from working in skilled nursing facilities to hospitals and then hopefully a pay raise because we always want our students to progress and earn a good living wage to get better. their living conditions and help them support their educational and personal goals.

Hospital-based training also puts students in a space where they can network and make connections in a hospital, Morones said.

“So the goal is really to give students access, upskill them and hopefully get placement in hospitals and also pay increases,” she said.

SCC began offering healthcare career pathway programs about 15 years ago, Gascon said.

SCC will continue to focus on health care pathways, Gascon said, especially since the college is located in a city with four major hospitals and a county booming in health care.

“There are a lot of really good jobs for our students,” Gascon said. “When we ask our community what they need, this is what they want. »

SCC recently received a grant from the California Apprenticeship Initiative to create apprenticeships for its health care program. The initiative aims to provide students in community college apprenticeship programs with a direct path to certificates and diplomas for credit.

SCC is currently developing an accredited professional nursing program, Gascon said.

The college simply meets the needs of local hospitals, she said.

Other medical profession certificates offered at SCC include Behavior Technician, Caregiver/Personal Aide, Lactation Educator Specialist, and Medical Billing.

Gascon said a possible health care pathway could look like this:

Caregiver at CNA, CNA acute care, LVN, then eventually get an RN.