Educating Nurses and Changing Lives
From Working Nurse Magazine 12/15/05

Los Angeles, CA – In the few years that RCAT has been around, they’ve not only trained hundreds of nursing students in theoretical and practical skills—they’ve also changed lives. In partnership with local hospitals, RCAT and ELAC designed a for-credit career ladder-training program which leads to an Associate of Science degree and a Registered Nurse license.

RCAT provides hands-on, skill-based training to seven major industry clusters, nursing being a major focus. With the current shortfall of Registered Nurses, Licensed Vocational Nurses and In-Home Health Aides, RCAT and ELAC have stepped in to fulfill East Los Angeles College’s need to provide training to the healthcare community, while helping students find a meaningful career path.

Through initial $1.2 million grants, RCAT was able to design a training center from the ground up to perfectly meet the needs of students and the community. Located one mile from the ELAC campus, its central location and easy access to local and regional public transportation makes it ideal for working students.

Most participants work full time—often multiple jobs—n order to provide support for their families. A large number of trainees are also single parents and women of color, oftentimes overcoming difficult socio-economic conditions in order to increase their wage-earning potential and secure better employment. Mary, a single mother of three, has worked as an assistant at nursing homes and hospitals throughout the LA county area.

"I wanted to get better training," she said, "I want to earn my degree and become an RN so that I can get a better job at a hospital, with benefits for myself and my children."

The career ladder training program at RCAT is designed specifically to meet the needs of people like Mary—working people wanting to increase their skills and marketability, but in need of flexible training options and instructors that understand their background and needs.

Lurelean Gaines, Head of the Nursing Department at ELAC, worked with RCAT in designing a program that would meet state and national requirements while providing extra resources that are critical to the students’ success. "These students often need additional support in specific areas, including technical English as well as tutoring assistance," she said. "Further, the support even includes such things as child care, parking fees, transportation, sometimes a meal or two, gas, and a place to live temporarily. RCAT is used to such challenges."

Dr. Susan Fox, RCAT Director, also has keen knowledge of the nursing community and current industry needs. "The Health Care industry is experiencing tremendous growth with more personnel needed to handle the aging population of the state." Dr. Fox continued, "RCAT is currently training home health care aides and Certified Nursing Assistants, as well as training Licensed Vocational Nurses to complete the requirements to become Registered Nurses."

The RCAT training center utilizes a state-of-the-art computer laboratory, media enhanced smart classrooms, and a variety of conference rooms. Practical classes are taught on the ELAC campus and in local hospitals.