Wood County Technical Center graduates of the 2022 practical nursing program. Front row from left, Victoria Schreckengost, Bridey Cramlet; Second row from left, Vy Au (recipient of Patricia Richardson Award), Bryanna Hall, Candy Parsons (recipient of Patricia Richardson Award and Class Treasurer), Alana Rodriguez (Class Parliamentarian), Cher Thompson, Rachel Kellar (Valedictorian and Class Secretary) and third row from left, Melissa Harvey, Lisa Bell (Salutatorian and Class President), Kylie Stephens (Class Historian), Brooke Tritipo, Shay Parsons and Debbie McNabb (Class Vice President). (Photo Provided)

PARKERSBURG — The Wood County Technical Center is offering free tuition for West Virginia residents who enroll in the practical nursing program.

Due to Senate Bill 1, which is designed to make training for high-demand careers more affordable, the WCTC is able to offer free tuition for its Advanced Career Education (ACE) practical nursing program.

“Our practical nursing program produces highly skilled professionals for an in-demand field,” said WCTC Director Jason Hughes in a press release. “This funding opportunity removes some of the barriers non-traditional students face when pursuing post-secondary opportunities.”

The practical nursing program, which has been around since 1967, is a 12-month program, split into four quarters, that gets students ready to take the National Council Licensure Examination to become a Licensed Practical Nurse.

There are currently no prerequisites for the program and 94 percent of students who complete the program go on to pass the NCLEX. Ninety-five percent of graduates who pass the test also become employed in the healthcare field or go on to further their education.

Students will participate and learn from 29 different courses throughout the program that include: pharmacology, anatomy and physiology, nutrition, medical and surgical nursing, pediatrics, obstetrics, and geriatrics. Class sizes are small with one teacher for every 10 students. Students will also take part in clinicals outside of the center.

“It’s 1,350 clock hours,” said Beth Clark, head of the practical nursing program. “Half of that is theory, and the other half of that is clinical time.”

Some of the places students have done clinicals at include WVU Medicine, Marietta Memorial Health System, Parkersburg Cardiology, Ohio Valley Health Care, and the Willows Center.

After completing the program, and passing the NCLEX, graduates can go to work in a wide range of settings.

“They can go to work in the hospitals,” Clark said, “They can go into clinics and physician’s offices. They can go into long term care, home health, mental health agencies like Westbrook … or they go back to school to get their RN (registered nurse), or go to school for their own degree.”

Classes are primarily Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. and are located at the Wood County Technical Center, in south Parkersburg next to Parkersburg South High School. While the free tuition is restricted to West Virginia students there is financial aide available for any out-of-state students.

An orientation is currently schedule for July 20 and anyone interested in more information can contact the WCTC at 304-420-9501 or visit the website at https://tinyurl.com/WCTCPracticalNursing. Registration is now open.

Douglass Huxley can be reached at dhuxley@newsandsentinel.com