LVN PROGRAM CLOSING AFTER DIP IN DEMAND COLLEGE TO STRESS RN TRAINING.

Byline: Helen Gao Staff Writer

GLENDALE - Reacting to declining enrollment and changing demands from local hospitals, Glendale Community College will close its program for licensed vocational nursing and expand training for registered-nursing professionals.

``We have far more demand both from students and employers in Glendale for the registered nursing program,'' said Sharon Hall, associate dean of the Allied Health Program at Glendale College. ``The need for RNs now seems to be paramount.''

Enrollment for the vocational nursing program has dropped from an average of 24 students a year to just 12, she said. Those in the last graduating class will complete their course work by December.

``Our applications are way down. We have very savvy students who are looking at the want ads and noticing there are relatively few openings for LVNs, but ... more ads for RNs who earn a great deal more money,'' Hall said.

Registered nurses are licensed to do many more tasks than LVNs, so they are preferred at many hospitals.

RNs, who typically have to go through three years of training and education, coordinate a patient's care with various departments, handle intravenous medications, perform chemotherapy and circulate in operating rooms to make sure medical instruments are not left behind.

Vocational nurses, who typically have only one year of nursing education and training, are restricted to more low-tech tasks, such as taking temperatures, pulse and blood pressure and keeping medical charts.

By closing the vocational nursing program, Glendale College will be able to double the size of its RN program - from 24 to 48 students a year.

Next spring, the college will start a training program on weekends and evenings for those who have children at home, are working and can't come to school during the day.

According to a recent study conducted by the Center for the Health Professions at the University of California, San Francisco, 60,000 more registered nurses will be needed in the state over the next two decades.

Local hospital officials have said that the shortage of registered nurses is so severe that they have been forced to turn away patients seeking elective surgeries during the winter months, when they are overloaded with elderly patients sick with the flu.

To attract registered nurses, it has become a standard practice for area hospitals to offer sign-on bonuses.

The closing of the vocational nursing program at Glendale College is not expected to have a drastic impact because such programs are offered by some private institutions and other colleges in the area.

If the marketplace changes and demand increases for vocational nurses, Hall said the college will consider reopening the program.