Wenatchee Valley College (WVC) Student Healthcare Interview

WVC healthcare students gathered together with LC Health & Wellness Foundation Executive Director Arlene Abbott and WVC Advisor Diana Henderson, RN MSN Ed, to talk about their nursing program. 

Why did you decide on a nursing career?

• Helping people is important to me
• My Mom who is an RN encouraged me; nurses have an enormous impact on a patient’s day
• I saw how the nurses cared for my sick grandma; I wanted to do something in return
• My high school counselor encouraged me to go into nursing, but at the time I thought, “…oh all that blood and gore; I thought that was all there was. But there is such a broad spectrum of healthcare in nursing!”
• This is a career that is challenging, stimulating, very rewarding; there’s new technology every day
• This is a routine to some degree, but every day is a different adventure!

What’s hardest about nursing school?

• Establish good study habits and work ethic!
• Your gpa is so important; hard to get accepted into program without a good gpa
• Best to get this education while you’re young; managing family, kids, job, and school is a challenge

What’s best about nursing school?

• Work with the patients
• When the “hardest patients” at the end of the day look at you and say, “good job”
• “Thank you for letting me take care of you”

The Program

• 20 Month WVC Nursing Program (need pre-requisites)
• The nursing program at Wenatchee Valley College prepares students for careers in hospitals, convalescent centers, clinics, home care, and physician’s offices. The program focuses on knowledge, techniques and procedures for promoting health, providing care for the sick, disabled, infirmed, or other individuals or groups. Program courses include: administration of medication and treatments, assisting and physician during treatments and examinations, referring patients to physicians and other health care specialists, and planning education for health maintenance.

Chelan High School has a Med Club program; what advice would you give to these students?

• Look for volunteer work
• Take all the science and math courses you can while in high school…chemistry, biology, math, Running Start micro-biology, college credit classes…
• Read books to Hospice patients, Nursing Home
• Be a Red Cross Volunteer
• Go to health fairs; talk with recruiters
• Work on your gpa – 3.5 or better!