Lorie Strane, left, talks with students interested in learning more about the Medical Assistant program at Wallace State Community College, during a meeting offered recently at the college to let students learn about Health Science programs that still have openings for the Fall 2017 semester. / Wallace State
HANCEVILLE – More than 40 potential students attended a meeting recently to find out about Health Science programs at Wallace State Community College that still have openings for the Fall 2017 semester. Each year, the Health Science division hosts the meeting to give students either a second opportunity to enter one of the programs or a first opportunity to see what programs are available at the college.
The programs represented at the meeting included: Child Development, Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Medical Assistant, Medical Coding, Medical Laboratory Technician (MLT), Pharmacy Technology, Polysomnography (Sleep Study), and Therapeutic Massage. Completion times for programs range from one to two semesters for certificates, to five semesters for associate degrees. Not all programs require completion of pre-requisite courses.
Lisa German, dean of the Health Science Division, provided information about each of the programs regarding the degrees or certificates they offer, how long it takes to complete the programs, and what type of work and work environment to expect in each.
Some of those attending were students who did not get admitted into their first-choice program at Wallace State, and wanted to see what other options could be open to them. Others attending were students who wanted to learn more about health programs at the college. All were anxious to start their education in the Fall, rather than waiting another year to start the path toward a career in the medical field.
Mallorie Snow and Haley Eatmon, both of Jasper, attended the meeting specifically to learn more about the Polysomnography program at Wallace State. Both applied for entry into that program, with Eatmon also applying to the Pharmacy Technology and EMS programs. “Polysomnography is my first choice,” Eatmon said, “But I know a lady who does the pharmacy tech and she said it’s a good program. And I thought, just as a back-up I’d do the EMS, just in case I didn’t get a spot in the other two.”
Snow and Eatmon added they liked how the meeting helped introduce them to the programs offered at the college. “I didn’t even know (Wallace State) offered the EMS program,” Eatmon said. “I’d just planned to apply to the Polysomnography and the Pharmacy Technician programs until I heard that.”
Davis Sheffield of Kimberly attended the meeting to see what other options were open to him after not getting into the Diagnostic Imaging program, which he said was a back-up to his first-choice of Physical Therapist Assistant. After listening to the presentation, Sheffield chose to apply to the Therapeutic Massage and Medical Laboratory Technician programs. Therapeutic Massage fits well with his interest in physical therapy, he said, and the MLT program seemed interesting.
Sheffield said he appreciated the opportunity to attend the meeting and find out about other options, rather than losing a year in his education and delaying his entry into the workforce in the medical field. “I thought I was just done with college, that that was it,” he said. “Because I didn’t make it that I would have to wait the extra year, but I didn’t think about the other opportunities that they have.”
German was pleased with the turnout at the meeting, with attendance continuing to grow each year.
Registration for the Fall 2017 semester is currently underway, with classes set to begin August 16.
For more information about Wallace State’s Health Science programs, visit www.wallacestate.edu or call 256-352-8000.
