June 05, 2009
New Nursing Program Offers Valuable Experience
A new type of internship program at El Centro Regional Medical Center will help nursing students at the hospital bridge the gap between the classroom and real world experience.
While the program will start with IVC students, it will be open to students from other schools as well.Hospital officials are calling it an “externship” program.
The program adds a fifth semester to the program that nursing students must take in order to earn registered nursing certification. The ten-week work study program will take place between the third and fourth semesters, and will include extensive experience in the hospital’s facilities, including learning labs and in-patient care areas. Students will be paid by the hospital for the time they spend working in the facility
The program will initially draw students from the Imperial Valley College nursing program.
Ed Kirkpatrick, assistant administrator and chief nursing officer for ECRMC, said the first two interns in the program will work with experienced registered nurses in order to mentor them through the program.
“We are starting with two candidates,” Kirkpatrick said. “But we are hoping to expand it as we get further into it.”
Kirkpatrick added that while the program will start with IVC students, it will be open to students from other schools as well.
“We hope also to open it up to nursing students in San Diego county,” he said.
Kirkpatrick said students who complete the program can choose where they want to work.
ECRMC also has an in-service training program for medical doctors seeking to specialize in family practice.
“Our intent is to augment their education by giving them some real world hands-on experience on the nursing floor,” said Kirkpatrick. “It is also an opportunity to expand their understanding about all services offered by a hospital.”
ECRMC also has an in-service training program for medical doctors seeking to specialize in family practice. The program could potentially be the first step in the process for the facility to become a teaching hospital. The program is under the supervision of Dr. Jorge Robles and Dr. Clare Padron-Spence.
Physicians in the program are on assignment to ECRMC as part of their three-year residency. They see patients in the hospital and in the hospital’s two outpatient clinics under the supervision of Dr. Robles and Dr. Padron-Spence.
While the program will start with IVC students, it will be open to students from other schools as well.Hospital officials are calling it an “externship” program.
The program adds a fifth semester to the program that nursing students must take in order to earn registered nursing certification. The ten-week work study program will take place between the third and fourth semesters, and will include extensive experience in the hospital’s facilities, including learning labs and in-patient care areas. Students will be paid by the hospital for the time they spend working in the facility
The program will initially draw students from the Imperial Valley College nursing program.
Ed Kirkpatrick, assistant administrator and chief nursing officer for ECRMC, said the first two interns in the program will work with experienced registered nurses in order to mentor them through the program.
“We are starting with two candidates,” Kirkpatrick said. “But we are hoping to expand it as we get further into it.”
Kirkpatrick added that while the program will start with IVC students, it will be open to students from other schools as well.
“We hope also to open it up to nursing students in San Diego county,” he said.
Kirkpatrick said students who complete the program can choose where they want to work.
ECRMC also has an in-service training program for medical doctors seeking to specialize in family practice.
“Our intent is to augment their education by giving them some real world hands-on experience on the nursing floor,” said Kirkpatrick. “It is also an opportunity to expand their understanding about all services offered by a hospital.”
ECRMC also has an in-service training program for medical doctors seeking to specialize in family practice. The program could potentially be the first step in the process for the facility to become a teaching hospital. The program is under the supervision of Dr. Jorge Robles and Dr. Clare Padron-Spence.
Physicians in the program are on assignment to ECRMC as part of their three-year residency. They see patients in the hospital and in the hospital’s two outpatient clinics under the supervision of Dr. Robles and Dr. Padron-Spence.