Unitek College Blog

Since 1987, the City of Fremont has operated a very successful scholarship housing program. It allows rent scholarships for students that are completing job related coursework. I think this is a great option for upcoming students in Licensed Vocational Nurse to Registered Nurse (LVN to RN), Medical Assisting (MA), and Pharmacy Technician (PT) Training.

If a student meets ALL of the following conditions, they are eligible for the scholarship program:

• Are you at least 18 years of age?
• Are you supporting a family?
• Do you have a good credit history?
• Are you a full time student with a GPA of 2.8 or above?
• Have you been enrolled for a minimum of one quarter or 12 weeks in an eligible training program and have 18 months or less remaining for your certification?
• Are you committed to a better quality of life?

For more information, please contact Janis Carey at 510-494-4511 or housingandredevelopment@ci.fremont.ca.us

I found an interesting snippet on PayScale.com about the rising pay brackets for a Registered Nurse (RN).

It is has never been a better time to train to become a Registered Nurse (RN) and be rewarded with a six figure salary. With the ever growing demand for registered nurses in the Bay Area a Registered Nurse (RN) with less than one year of clinical experience can earn more than $28 an hour.

I also read that a nursing career is one of the most recession proof professions.

“According to government analysts, a nursing career is as close to recession-proof as most professionals can get in the next three decades. The nation will rely on nursing school graduates for everything from rehabilitation to hospice care. Most nurses can choose their own shifts, or work for agencies as flexible contractors. A nursing degree can help you net $52,000 or more per year.” Read more…

Source : Salary.com

While I was browsing the web I found a compelling training program at Unitek College as well as program information along with course information. I feel my 2 years as an Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN) has armed me with the experience and wisdom to take me through the rigorous Registered Nurse (RN) training program.

I shared my research with a couple of my friends who are in the retail sector and they also find themselves at a crossroads with mega retailers cutting costs and downsizing employee count. And they are seriously considering the Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) Program. I am glad I was able to lead them to your site. Keep up the good work!

Unitek College’s LVN program is the most accelerated, full-time, accredited LVN program available in the SF Bay Area today. Unlike Community Colleges and Universities, there aren’t a handful of pre-requisite courses necessary (such as Anatomy & Physiology, Microbiology, and Pathophysiology) just to apply, or even be considered, to their nursing program. Unitek’s LVN program bypasses this lengthy step with its 3 week “crash course” in medical terminology. The crash course is plenty enough because it properly and adequately prepares the student for the 11 month long, three level, and accelerated nursing program.

Unitek allows the eager nursing student to put his/her foot right in the door, without the uncertainty of the application process or the extra two year waiting list. But don’t be fooled by its easy admittance standards; the LVN program is really a tough and demanding curriculum! As a 33 year old with a Bachelor’s degree and several IT certifications, I can honestly say that this is the most challenging (and most rewarding) learning experience in my academic career. The course materials include topics such as the fundamentals of Medical-Surgery, Pharmacology, and practical nursing skills. Each level is increasing more difficult and more demanding than the previous. The program is condensed and moves at a high speed! And yes, you will be a critical thinker & learner!

Having said all this, I’d like to share with you my personal insights for the would-be Unitek LVN student: Read the rest of this entry »

With beautiful back roads and a wonderful climate, Northern California is a natural environment for the motorcycle enthusiast. Its hard to avoid the allure of riding a two-wheeled wonder through the canyons and twisty forest roads during a beautiful Sunny day. However being that Northern California is a haven for motorcycle enthusiasts, crashes and accidents are inevitable.

The likelihood of injury is extremely high in these motorcycle accidents, more than 95% of accidents result in some kind of injury to the motorcycle rider, and of that, 45% resulted in more than a minor injury. With the increase of popularity of motorcycles will mean the increase the number of accidents as well. With these alarming motorcycle statistics one can only wonder what the can do to help.

Luckily, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that employment of EMT’s and paramedics will increase by 59,000 new jobs between 2002 and 2012, an estimated growth rate of 33 percent. By becoming an EMT you can help those that are destined to become hurt with their motorcycle follies. This job is especially important since 50% of all paramedics often have to travel to back roads in the country to retrieve fallen riders and are extremely vital to their survival. For more information about becoming a paramedic visit our EMT and Paramedic training information page.

Technology’s beautiful isn’t it? It does great things. One minute, it’s letting us watch movies on our brand new iPhone. The next, its advances in medicine are revamping the entire healthcare industry by increasing the need for all health care workers. This has led to a wealth of opportunities for people who have always dreamed or at least thought of a fulfilling career of doing something that helps people on a daily basis.

The most traditional way of pursuing this path was becoming a doctor. Yet, the prospect of going through medical school (fulfilling undergraduate prerequisites, MCATS, applications, 4 years of medical school, 3-7 years of residency, and the licensure and certification that happens during it) isn’t exactly everyone’s cup of tea.

Fortunately, this same demand for great people in healthcare has also reinforced the importance of so many other existing positions in the field.

Medical Assistants for example, are expected to see employment grow by 35 percent in the next four years, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, making it one of the fastest growing professions. Increasing the demand for Medical Assistants is the fact that they are also now finding employment in both private and public hospitals, as well as inpatient and outpatient facilities.

And it doesn’t take a decade either. Most programs can be completed in 8 months time, part time, so you don’t even have to quit your day job. While getting certified isn’t required, it’s a safe bet as it is a way to guarantee competency of a medical assistant at a job-entry level.

At the end of the day, it all comes back to one of the primary reasons you considered healthcare in the first place. You get to help people. You also gain valuable administrative experience. So if you end up becoming a Medical Assistant (MA) you can thank technology’s advances for your job and your new iPhone.

For one of our 2008 nursing graduations, Unitek College put together a National Anthem video with some nursing pictures. Check it out.

For details about the Unitek College RN training program, please visit Unitek College.