A job waiting for you after graduation. Sound too good to be true?
That's what Susana Kingsley, a mom of three, thought. Kingsley is working on her associate's degree in nursing at Broward College. She recently got the news that Memorial Health Care System is also picking up the tab for both that degree and her bachelor's. In exchange, she promises to work for the hospital for two years.
"I'm excited. It's one of the best calls I’ve ever had. I think the whole neighborhood heard when I got this call," said Kingsley.
Kingsley isn't alone. Other nursing students at Broward College are getting similar calls from Memorial and other hospitals.
"They have great opportunity for jobs, even before they graduate," said Katherine Johnson, associate dean for nursing.
Of course, the need for nurses is high everywhere but these students are in very big demand because 97 percent of them will pass their mandatory board exams. That’s among of the highest rates in the state and country.
Faculty credits the program's success with very tough standards and a new multimillion dollar facility called the Broward College Health Sciences Center. State of the art simulators which are computerized mannequins talk back to students and take on the symptoms of patients, even perspiring and vomiting. Nursing students say the adrenaline rush they get training is very real.
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"I think they're 100 percent realistic, our patients respond to what we do, respond to our questions. They can get really sick really fast just like in the hospital," said Kingsley.
From a control room, instructors use computers to mimic everything from a neo-natal emergency to a patient that needs comfort at the end of her life.
Faculty says it allows students to drill for just about every medical emergency they'll face on their own.
"In the hospital they are managed by a nurse, here they can make their mistakes, learn from them. No one is harmed," said Karen Solis, associate professor of nursing.
Kingsley says now that she’s already got a new employer that is investing in her, it's made her feel she’s definitely following the right career path
"You put in all this hard work for someone to believe in you, for someone to says we're supporting you we're giving you the opportunity to fulfill your dream. It's amazing to me. I feel incredibly honored," said Kingsley.
Broward college graduates 300 nurses every year.
