Deadlines Near for Entering WSCC Health Programs
Hanceville, AL — The deadline for application to the nursing programs (Associate Degree and Practical) at Wallace State Community College has been extended to May 15 for entry fall semester 2014. Students with a particular interest in nursing can attend an information session at 4 p.m., Thursday, April 10, at the new School of Nursing and Center for Science. The meeting will be held in room 200, directly off the lobby, where nursing department chair Deborah Hoover will greet potential students.
The deadline for admission into several health programs for the summer terms, however, is fast approaching. April 15 is the deadline to turn in applications for the following health programs at WSCC for summer 2014:
— Summer admission into the Human Services program
— Summer semester for Clinical Laboratory Technician program (Fall deadline is June 1st)
— Emergency Medical Services (Paramedic) summer admission
June 1 is another big deadline for application submission for Fall 2014; the following programs have this date as their deadline:
— Dental Hygiene
— Diagnostic Imaging
— Diagnostic Medical Sonography
— Emergency Medical Services (Basic & Advanced)
— Health Information Technology & Medical Coding
— Human Services
— Medical Assistant
— Occupational Therapy Assistant
— Pharmacy Technician
— Physical Therapy Assistant
— Polysomnography (sleep lab tech)
Also, Therapeutic Massage will accept applications June 16-July 25 for fall semester.
Many of these careers fall into a list of occupations that are expected to grow nationwide in demand for qualified workers. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), occupations and industries related to healthcare are projected to add the most new jobs between 2012 and 2022. Total employment is projected to increase by 10.8 percent, or 15.6 million, during the decade. Almost a third of those jobs (5 million) are expected to be in the healthcare and social assistance sectors, which are expected to grow at an annual rate of 2.6 percent between 2012 and 2022.
Of 30 occupations projected to have the largest percentage increase between 2012 and 2022, 14 are related to healthcare. Of the four occupational groups expected to grow more than 20 percent – nearly double the overall growth – from 2012 to 2022, two of them are healthcare related: healthcare support occupations (28.1) and healthcare practitioners and technical occupations (21.4).
Among the fastest growing occupations by 2022, jobs for diagnostic medical sonographers, occupational therapy assistants and physical therapy assistants all are expected to grow more than 40 percent, and all require only an associate degree for entry into the field. The demand for dental hygienists is expected to grow by 33 percent.
Jobs for licensed practical nurses are expected to grow by almost 25 percent, for registered nurses by almost 20 percent and for medical assistants by almost 30 percent.
The BLS also reported that occupations that typically require postsecondary education for entry are expected, on average, to grow faster than occupations that require a high school diploma or less, giving extra incentive for pursuing higher education. Those that require an Associate Degree fall into the largest group, with a 17.6 percent expected growth and 15.6 percent growth in jobs that require a postsecondary non-degree award, such as a certificate.
“As you can tell by the numbers, the healthcare field is in the midst of a major growth spurt,” said Lisa German, Dean of Health Sciences at Wallace State Community College. “Along with that high demand for qualified healthcare workers, many of those jobs require an associate degree or at least a certificate. That means in most cases, someone who goes full-time through one of our health programs could be ready for the workforce in as little as a one to two years.
Applications can be accessed online at www.wallacestate.edu/healthapplication. For more information about Wallace State health programs, visit www.wallacestate.edu/Program/Health-Division or call 256.352.8000.