Nursing News:
Colleges canıt afford to meet demand as science students beg for more classes

By Becky Bartindale, Mercury News Mission College in Santa Clara opened an $11 million science building this fall, but canıt afford to offer enough of the expensive foundation courses, such as microbiology and anatomy and physiology, that students pursuing health careers are lining up to take.
Like many community colleges, Mission is struggling to keep pace with the dramatic shift in student interest from technology to health-related fields. Money is the main obstacle. Prerequisite courses for nursing, physician assistant, dental hygienist, pharmacy assistant, paramedic and psychiatric technician programs ³have been swamped with students laid off during the high-tech bust,ıı said Diane Lamkin, chairwoman of the biology department at Mission.
Every semester, Lamkin said, she tries to add more biosciences, but funds are limited and equipment and supplies for these gateway courses are costly. So students sweat it out on waiting lists and continue taking other classes until they can land a coveted seat. If a one-year grant comes through, Mission could add one microbiology section each semester next year ‹ but only for next year. ³Itıs the same story at community colleges across the state,ıı said Stephanie Sherman, dean of biological, health and environmental sciences at De Anza College in Cupertino. ³We have tried to increase the number of offerings, but with the steady decline in budget over the past five years, it becomes harder and harder to pay for anything.ıı Five years ago, ³we had trouble getting people into our classes and our nursing program,ıı Sherman said. Now, instructors have to turn tearful students away. The lucky students who made it into Missionıs sole microbiology class this year have appealed to West Valley-Mission Community College District trustees, asking for more sections for those who follow them. They also have begun a petition drive.
Maria Timbol, 27, who is taking microbiology as a prerequisite to continuing her nursing studies, said she tried to enroll in the class for a year and a half before she finally made it. Students say it can take as long as five years to get into all the gateway courses needed to move into a registered nursing program. By the time they are ready to apply to a program, some courses may be outdated, requiring students to repeat them. It doesnıt just hurt students ³The population of North America is getting older,ıı said student Margret Beben. ³To become those nurses who will take care of them, we need microbiology.ıı
Microbiology now fills up the fastest, but is also the most expensive course, said instructor Jean Replicon. ³We have one lab dedicated for microbiology that is being used 10 hours a week,ıı Replicon said. ³We could use it all day and evening and weekend.ıı Compared with an English class, for which the college has to purchase minimal supplies, offering courses such as microbiology, physiology and chemistry is expensive. The college must buy everything from microscopes, biological specimens and cultures to beakers and chemicals. Also critically important are skilled lab technicians who perform such tasks as preparing media and cultures so experiments work.
The college has money to hire additional instructors, especially for classes that are guaranteed to fill, said Jim Burrell, chairman of the division of general sciences. But there is no money for supplies and more technician time. Replicon said it would cost $17,500 a year to offer one new section of microbiology each semester ‹ just for the materials and technician staffing. She estimates there is enough student interest to fill four or five more sections. The need for equipment is another obstacle. Without a bigger sterilizer, called an autoclave, it would be difficult to add more microbiology sections, Replicon said. A new one would cost $25,000, but the money is not there. There are multiple roadblocks to producing enough health care workers, particularly nurses, said Mike Curran, director of the North Valley Workforce Board, or NOVA. Workforce boards, funded by government to meet employment needs, are working with industry and charitable foundations to try to clear the way. ³When you look at job opportunities over the past couple of years, the health care field is always front and center,ıı Curran said. But the public education system canıt meet the demand.
The problem is money. While a community college could be reimbursed $7,500 to $8,000 per student by the state, he said, it could cost the college $25,000 to $30,000 to provide the training. The Regional Health Occupations Resource Center, funded by California Community Colleges Chancellorıs Office, is working with NOVA to raise private funding to train more health care professionals. As the result of a new grant, several area community colleges may soon be offering additional sections of gateway courses next fall. As long as all community college programs are funded the same way, regardless of what they cost to operate, colleges will balk at adding costly courses, Curran said. ³Nursing is an expensive occupation to prepare students for,ıı said health occupations Chairwoman Ann Cowels, who is pursuing grants to launch a registered-nursing program at Mission. ³We say we need it, but we would have to take it from the rest of the college. Math doesnıt want to be reduced. English doesnıt want to be reduced.ıı Itıs a frustrating situation for all involved. ³We have a beautiful building and most of us are happy here,ıı said Burrell, the science division chairman. ³Now weıre just frustrated we canıt put it to full use.ıı Contact Becky Bartindale at bbartindale@mercurynews.com or (408) 920-5459.