Community college to add hybrid nursing program

Community college to add hybrid nursing program

Officials with Whatcom Community College have recently announced that the school will launch a new hybrid nursing program for the summer semester.

The degree offering, which will be a combination of online nursing theory courses and on-campus clinical trials, will be a part-time program designed for students who are looking for career advancement in the nursing field, according to the Bellingham Herald.

The curriculum will be spread out over three years rather than two, allowing students the flexibility of having a full-time job while enrolled in the college.

The application deadline for prospective students is March 26. As many as 20 students will be accepted for the summer semester.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, demand for nurses is expected to grow by 23 percent over the next seven years. The top salaries in the field already exceed $83,000 per year.

Labor Department analysts predict that by 2012, a total of 1 million nurses will be needed to care for the aging population, and some 587,000 new nursing jobs will be created nationwide.

By Mark Danson