by Patsy Joyner

Paul D. Camp Community College’s Nursing Program graduates its sixth class tonight at the college’s Workforce Development Center.

Since beginning in August 2004 with the admission of 30 students, the program has added a certified nurse aid to registered nurse bridge program and a licenses practical nurse to registered nurse bridge program. According to Dr. Candace Rogers, head of the nursing program, these programs were developed to recognize the unique knowledge and healthcare experience the certified nurse aide and licensed practical nurse bring to the educational setting.

Nursing graduates from the first class in 2006 through the current class of 2011 total 180. Most graduates live and work within their rural communities, and several have gone on to earn bachelor’s degrees in nursing.

Nursing Program Highlights

The nursing program has a community focus. Each student is responsible for completing 30 hours community service during the two-year program. The majority completes more.

The nursing students conduct health presentations and participate in an annual disaster drill. Again this year, the nursing faculty partnered with Southampton Memorial Hospital, and had the participation of local emergency medical technicians for the first time.

Students focus on activities to promote good health. During the fall semester, PDCCC employees obtained free health screenings. PDCCC nursing students provided information about various health topics.

All students and faculty attend the Virginia Nurses Association’s Annual Nurses’ Day at the General Assembly. The purpose was to introduce students to their responsibilities as nurses to improve the health of their communities through the legislative process.

During this spring semester, the PDCCC Nursing Student Association exceeded its goal of raising $1,000 at a Bowling for Babies fundraiser at Franklin Bowling Center. Proceeds of more than $1,500 were donated to the Shaken Baby Syndrome of Virginia, a project students wanted to support after hearing the story about the grandson of Steve and Kathy Stowe of Hampton.

For more information, call 569-6731.

Career Readiness Certificate

Another career option at PDCCC is the Career Readiness Certificate, a portable credential based on WorkKeys assessments that verify to employers that an individual possesses basic workforce skills needed for 21st century jobs.

Recognized by thousands of companies nationwide, WorkKeys is a national job analysis and assessment system developed by American College Testing. To earn a Career Readiness Certificate, individuals undergo testing related to reading, applied math and locating information through the WorkKeys system.

These skill areas were identified as the most utilized assessments in the Occupational Profile database at ACT, which contains more than 13,000 job profiles.

Individual participants have the option to earn three levels of Career Readiness Certificates based on their test performance. The Bronze Level indicates possession of core employability skills for about 30 percent of the jobs profiled by WorkKeys; the Silver Level, about 65 percent; and the Gold Level, about 90 percent.

For individuals who do not initially achieve the Career Readiness Certificate, results show the training needed to achieve the skill levels for obtaining the certificate. PDCCC’s Division of Workforce Services offers training and education to assist certificate seekers in boosting their skill levels to obtain a certificate.

For more details on the Career Readiness Certificate, or other career options and programs, call 569-6700 or visit PDCCC’s website at www.pdc.edu.

DR. PATSY JOYNER is the vice president for institutional advancement at Paul D. Camp Community College. Her email address is pjoyner@pc.vccs.edu.