Eighty adults are looking to change their careers or bolster their employability this fall through the Capital Region BOCES adult Practical Nursing program.
The adults range from those fresh out of high school to those looking to launch a new career, as well as those looking to climb the nursing career ladder, said Louise Bigando, Director of Health Careers and Services.
Among the students enrolled when the new school year launched on Sept. 9 was Rensselaer resident Ziyah Brown.
“I enrolled to better my life. My mom was a nurse, and I want to achieve what she did,” said the Albany resident.
Loudonville resident Fadia Augustine enrolled in the program to enhance her career options and open the potential to work with her husband.
“I have been a CNA for two years and my husband is in medicine. He was a doctor in the Dominican Republic, and he needs to take the test here to become one, but I wanted to advance myself and work with him,” she said.
For Stephania Datts, the program allows her to pursue her dream.
“I have always wanted to go into nursing. I have friends who went through this program, and I heard nothing but good stories about it,” the Schenectady resident said.
As has been widely publicized, demand is high for nurses, and local institutions have renewed their efforts to work with schools, such as Capital Region BOCES, to meet their needs.
Vincent D’Angelo, a nursing administrator at Albany Medical, said last year that the BOCES program offers a great opportunity for healthcare institutions who are facing a “big need for new hires across the board.”
“It’s a great program because you get a lot of variety in the graduates and in what they want. Some want to be on the floor, others in outpatient practice, others elsewhere,” he said.
The full-time Practical Nursing (PN) program at the Capital Region BOCES Career and Technical Education Center – Albany Campus continues into June when the program will graduate its students into the world of being a licensed practical nurse (LPN). The New York state-approved program encompasses 1,100 hours of classroom and clinical study and practice and prepares students to take the National Council Licensure Examination and apply to become a New York state LPN.
Registration is underway for a part-time adult Practical Nursing program that will launch in January. For more information on Adult Health Careers offerings, call 518-862-4709 or by email.