Pre-nursing course offered in two locations

Interested in a nursing or healthcare career but need to increase your skills and knowledge before registering for an academic program? Then this MSCTC- and Adult Basic Education-developed pre-nursing course is just for you. It will help you:

• develop academic and personal skills for succeeding in nursing and other college courses;
• know career options, expectations and tasks of professional nurses; and
• demonstrate knowledge of nursing vocabulary, skills and ethics.

The course will be offered in both Detroit Lakes and Fergus Falls. Classes begin in February and run through May.

Learn about the Detroit Lakes pre-nursing course.

Learn about the Fergus Falls pre-nursing course.

“FastTRAC” to healthcare careers now available for CNAs

Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) in west central Minnesota who are interested in advancing their healthcare careers but want to be better prepared for the academic coursework now have help through a new program.

The West Central Minnesota FastTRAC (Training, Resources and Credentialing) program will offer a pre-nursing course at two sites: Minnesota State Community and Technical College (MSCTC)—Detroit Lakes and MSCTC—Fergus Falls. The class is for individuals who have completed the CNA or pre-CNA training and want to prepare to enter more advanced college credit healthcare programs. Classes begin in February.

This course was developed jointly by MSCTC and Adult Basic Education (ABE) with input from local healthcare providers. The training targets those entering nursing or other classes, and includes units in reading, writing and math, as well as instruction in college readiness and workplace "soft" skills.

FastTRAC is funded by The Joyce Foundation, the Office of the Chancellor, the Minnesota Department of Education-ABE, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development and the Minnesota Department of Human Services.

If you would like to learn more about the pre-healthcare course or West Central Minnesota FastTRAC, please email Judy Suiter, Fergus Falls ABE Coordinator, or call her at 218-998-0544, ext. 1602.

Randy says goodbye....

The West Central Initiative staff is sad to say goodbye to colleague Randy Wanek, WCI's healthcare worker project coordinator for the past two years. Randy will begin his duties as administrator of the Pelican Valley Health Center in Pelican Rapids in July.

Randy oversaw the research and development of three major components outlined by the Building the Healthcare Workforce Steering Committee that was convened by WCI and the Labor Force Development Council to address the regional healthcare worker shortage:

1. The Nursing Profession Selection Assessment Tool, which was piloted this spring with high school students and other individuals interested in pursuing a nursing profession, as well as individuals that work in the field and are interested in transitioning up the nursing career ladder from CNA to LPN to RN to MSN.


2. Clinical Nursing Preceptor Program, to provide on-site supervision for nursing students at their facilities.
   
3. Clinical Preceptorship Training Curriculum, an eight-hour course designed to empower preceptors in nursing to provide a quality, positive clinical experience.

WCI will miss Randy's healthcare expertise and leadership, and the easy camaraderie he creates wherever he goes.

Around here, Randy is know for his amazing joke repertoire--at least one joke, if not more, for every occasion. His latest contribution: A funeral procession was going up a big hill when the doors of the hearse opened and out rolled the casket. It rolled down the street, through many intersections of Main Street, went through the front entrance of a drug store and crashed into the pharmacy desk. The lid of the casket opened slowly and the person popped up and asked the astonished pharmacist, "Have you got anything to stop this coffin?"