MiraCosta class targets military folks in transition

By: PHILIP K. IRELAND - Staff Writer
Navy corpsmen move toward becoming licensed vocational nurses | Tuesday, March 4, 2008 12:47 AM PST ∞

OCEANSIDE -- War-wise Navy corpsmen, Marine reservists and recent retirees are among those learning to be licensed vocational nurses through a MiraCosta College class that helps them transition from military medical service to the civilian sector.

About 24 students are enrolled in the class, held each Monday at Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton, said instructor Julie Vignato.

"There's a definite need in our community to help military enlisted medical members transition into our civilian workforce," Vignato said. "Because we're at war, we do have more people in the military looking to transition out."

Student Freddie Chapoco, 52, said he decided to take the course after recently retiring from a 20-year career as a Navy corpsman.

Chapoco said he discovered the MiraCosta program while seeking information on the GI Bill of Rights at the college's career center.

"It was an accident that I found that MiraCosta College offered a certificate course, and I grabbed it," he said.

Vignato said most of her students enroll in the class to prepare for a state examination that is required to earn a license to practice vocational nursing in California.

Chapoco said he'll take the test in May. The class should help him land a nursing job quickly in this high-demand market, he said.

Licensed vocational nurses are in demand, Vignato said. Nationally, there is expected to be a need for about 105,000 more such nurses by 2016, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

The federal agency shows the median pay for a licensed vocational nurse is about $36,000. Hospital jobs pay more, but are harder to get.

The MiraCosta class is designed to fill in gaps in medical understanding between Navy corpsman and practicing licensed vocational nurses, Vignato said.

"They (the corpsman) have the hands-on experience, but not the theory," Vignato said.

While in the service, Navy corpsmen get a few months of training in basic field medicine, such as dressing battle wounds, how to begin an intravenous drip and how to prepare a catheter.

The 17-week MiraCosta class offers theory and critical thinking skills on how to create a patient care plan. The five-step process includes assessing the patient, diagnosing need, planning care, implementing that plan and evaluating the plan's effectiveness.

Vignato said students also learn to speak the language of civilian medical care.

Vignato, a former Navy corpsman, said she created the class last year after military officials noticed a troubling trend. About 60 percent of Navy corpsman failed a state examination on their first try.

She said 23 students started the fall class and 17 finished. All but one of her students went on to take the LVN test. She said she'll know this spring how many students passed.

During a Feb. 23 class, instructor Latifah Davis told students the goal of the program is to prepare students for the state exam.

Davis led students through a mind-mapping activity to help them collect patient complaints and conditions. The process will help them assess a patient's situation -- a key to planning care.

James Buchanan, a 34-year-old resident of San Clemente, said he'll leave the Marines in April after more than five years as a corpsman. He said he hopes to pass the state's licensed vocational nurse examination, then find a "pay-the-bills" job as an LVN while seeking work with the FBI.

Another student, Tonya Issacs, 33, said she travels from Hemet each week to attend the MiraCosta class. A Marine reservist, she works as a medical assistant now and said she hopes the MiraCosta class will help her advance her career and make more money.

-- Contact Philip K. Ireland at (760) 901-4043 or at pireland@nctimes.com.

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