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Carroll launched its first-ever associate degree program in partnership with the United 社区 Center in Milwaukee this fall, helping students interested in nursing to find an accelerated path into the field while also tackling a shortage of nurses in the community.
The 社区-Based Latinx 护理 Education Initiative (CBLNEI) is an educational degree pathway primarily – but not exclusively - targeting residents living within the UCC area on Milwaukee’s south side. Students enrolled are educated as nurses who can then serve the community’s healthcare needs. The program’s aim is to increase diversity in the nursing workforce but also to build a pathway for students who cannot pursue a four-year nursing program because of social determinants that might provide obstacles to education, 博士说. 泰瑞·考尔博士.D.卡罗尔护理系主任.
来应对这些潜在的障碍, Kaul emphasized that “number one for us is that we are bringing the program to them, 这和我们习惯的不一样.” Carroll has equipped the program at the UCC with a lab and classroom space. 威尼斯游戏大厅的教师教授这些课程.
“这是快节奏的. It’s rigorous still but it is one of the fastest ways to becoming a nurse,考尔说. She said of UCC, “This was the route they chose and we chose with them. We were really dedicated to making this program come to fruition because it is our 任务 在行动.”
The UCC sought to establish the program on its site after identifying a shortage of nurses in the community but also to find those who are bilingual or bicultural to serve a growing Hispanic population, UCC执行董事Laura E. 古铁雷斯，1995年毕业于威尼斯游戏大厅. She said the organization chose Carroll as a partner because of the UCC’s history with the school to create programs designed to increase the diversity of candidates pursuing healthcare careers.
Plans for the program were in the works prior to Kaul’s arrival at Carroll in 2018 but she was given the directive when hired to see it through to fruition, 她说. That day came in the fall of 2021 when 19 new students ranging in age from 18 to 60 began their journey in the two-year associate degree program. Kaul said the group includes students just out of high school but also non-traditional students who are older and have been in the workforce but are seeking another career.
哈维尔•卢西亚诺, 26, 密尔沃基的, is working as a certified nursing assistant at 沃基肖 Memorial Hospital and said he sees the need for not only bilingual nurses but male nurses as well. After the associate’s degree, he would like to pursue his bachelor’s degree.
他谈到这个项目时说, “I think this would really help build upon those caring lessons that we learn from when we are children until we’re all the way up adulthood that we keep giving back to our communities.”
Luciano said he thinks some people in the Latino community might see the pursuit of a nursing career as “too hard” or as an area where they might be treated fairly as a person of color.
在社区里开展这个项目, 虽然, might encourage others to seek enrollment when they realize their peers are finding success, 图里奥·冈萨雷斯说, 另一位注册护士助理参加了这个项目.
冈萨雷斯, 25, received a culinary arts degree from Madison Area Technical College and worked as a sous chef before later discovering his passion for health care when he took a job at an assisted living facility. Now employed in the Intensive Care Unit at Meriter Hospital in Madison, 他发现他的双语技能在帮助照顾病人方面很有需求. He also recognized the lack of Latinos in the nursing field and wants to change that.
“Maybe it’s time to push people from different backgrounds into the field so we can build a better system in the hospitals,冈萨雷斯说。, 谁打算在获得副学士学位后继续深造. 他想成为一名执业护士.
He said unlike other nursing programs he explored before enrolling at Carroll, the UCC-Carroll partnership provides him support and resources that he didn’t find elsewhere.
“I’m really excited and not just because of the program but I know I’m going to get the support I will seek,他说. “这对我来说真的很重要."
在某些情况下, the extended time away from school poses academic challenges for some when they are facing the rigor of a nursing curriculum but also figuring out the technical aspects in returning to school, 比如如何通过电脑上传作业. Carroll is striving to provide the students the academic support and services they need not only to retain them in the associate program but to also provide encouragement so that they might consider a bridge to Carroll, 在那里他们可以继续攻读该领域的完整学士学位.
“They are making a wise choice and making a really educated choice to come back at this time,考尔说. “It does present them with some challenges when it comes to economics, 支付学费, having to put some of their work on hold while they are trying to achieve their degree. So, 这些是我们认识到的一些社会决定因素, 我们需要关注和帮助他们."
Other partners working to make the program a success include Ascension health system, which is providing students the opportunity to experience clinicals in their facilities and The Greater Milwaukee Chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses, 哪些成员表示有兴趣指导学生.
“I think everyone sees the value in it and sees this as a good path for students,” Kaul said.