A new two-year program in the works at MiraCosta College should mint about 40 new registered nurses per year when it starts operating in the spring of 2010.

Until now, MiraCosta has focused on training licensed vocational nurses, leaving registered nurse programs to neighboring Palomar College and Cal State San Marcos. But with many hospitals eliminating licensed vocational nurses from their rosters and hiring more registered nurses instead, the coastal community college is making a change.

MiraCosta's planned RN program requires final approval from the California Board of Registered Nursing at its Nov. 18 meeting. MiraCosta began accepting applications on Oct. 5 and will continue through Oct. 30.

Sandy Comstock, associate dean of MiraCosta's Nursing and Allied Health Department, said the new program will compliment an existing "LVN to RN" program that already graduates about 30 registered nurses per year at the college. The new program requires no previous nursing training.

Comstock said that, while there has been a recent dip in once-raging nursing shortage, demand is expected to spike again soon.

"With Palomar Pomerado (Health's) new facility, and with Scripps (Memorial Hospital) Encinitas expanding as well, I think there is going to be a great influx in need for RNs very soon," Comstock said.

Judith Eckhart, chair of Palomar's nursing program, agreed that the extra capacity is necessary. Palomar started its program in 1968 and graduates about 70 registered nurses annually.

"I think it will definitely help fill a community need," Eckhart said, of MiraCosta's plan. "They've had an excellent LVN program there for a long time, and I think they'll do a great job."

MiraCosta will offer an associate's degree in nursing, which both Eckhart and Comstock said allows graduates to sit for the registered nursing exams administered by the California Board of Registered Nursing.

Comstock said she has received commitments from all of North County's major hospitals to conduct the in-hospital portions of MiraCosta's new nurse training program.

About two thirds of the training occurs in hospital wards, rather than in classrooms. A teacher, she said, generally oversees only about 10 students, meaning the program is relatively expensive for MiraCosta to administer. However, for students, the program could be considered a deal.

Comstock said it will cost only about $2,000 to complete a two-year associates nursing degree at MiraCosta, compared to about $16,000 for a four-year bachelors degree in nursing from Cal State. She said an associate's degree is generally considered adequate by hospitals for bedside nurses, though a bachelor's degree is generally required for promotion.

"No matter where they graduate from, they all sit for the same registered nurse exams," Comstock said. "To move up into management, or to become a nurse practitioner, (that) usually requires at least a bachelors."

Lorie Shoemaker, chief nursing executive at Palomar Pomerado Health, said that, though the hospital isn't hiring many newly-graduated nurses, because of the region's economic downturn, she expects that to change in the next year or two.

"Within the next couple of years, as soon as the economy turns around, everyone who sort of put off their retirement will retire and the nursing shortage will return," Shoemaker said. "MiraCosta's program is huge for our long-term strategy in the North County."

Applicants to MiraCosta's program must have proof of high school graduation or an official score report for a graduation equivalency diploma or an official transcript of an associate's or bachelor's degree from an accredited college.

They must also have an overall grade point average of 2.5, and have completed college-level courses in human anatomy, human physiology, microbiology, composition and reading and intermediate algebra. Additional requirements and an application are listed on MiraCosta's Web site.

Call staff writer Paul Sisson at 760-901-4087.