San Diego College Offers Immigrants a Path to Becoming Nursing Assistants

A nurse, right, and her assistant at the University of Washington medical center on March 17, 2020 in Seattle, Washington. Karen Ducey/Getty Images

The San Diego School of Continuing Education, a college in the San Diego Community College District, is offering nursing assistant certification courses to migrants and asylum-seekers at no cost.

Such courses are being offered at the Cesar Chavez Campus near downtown San Diego, free of charge, Kenny Parker, a nursing department professor, told local news outlet Border Report.

The program will issue a certification, but not a degree, to those who complete it, Mr. Parker said.

He encouraged anyone to take the classes, especially migrants and asylum-seekers who have experience in the medical field in their home countries.

“We’ve had students come from other countries as doctors, nurses, but they just don’t know what the standards are in California, so they come to our nursing assistant program and they learn the standards and requirements by the California Department of Public Health,” he told The Border Report.

Additionally, the school offers English classes to help such students better understand their nursing courses.

Mr. Parker said many migrants and asylum-seekers who get certified under the program go on to more advanced nursing schools.

“If they are looking for a nursing school in California, having a certified nursing assistant qualification means extra points on their application, so we help them get qualified,” Mr. Parker said. “Ninety-eight percent of our students go on to pass the state examination on their first try.”

Those looking to sign up for the courses can do so at the San Diego School of Continuing Education’s website.

The school, which was founded in 1914, serves more than 30,000 students annually, where more than half of the population identifies as immigrant-based, according to a spokesperson for the school.

The spokesperson said that since its beginning, the college has provided several free career training and classes for immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers—including courses within business, accounting, automotive, child development, clothing and textiles, computers and information technology, healthcare, plumbing, upholstery, and welding.

“Founded in 1914 on the principles of inclusion and social justice, [the San Diego School of Continuing Education] welcomes every immigrant, refugee and underserved population to fulfill educational goals,” the spokesperson told The Epoch Times.