Anyone looking for further evidence validating MiraCosta College’s Registered Nursing Program as among the best in the West need look no further than its students, who have spent the past three months saving lives by administering some 10,000 shots at North County COVID-19 vaccination centers.

Forty-two, second- and third-semester students in the Associate Degree in Nursing Program and 15 students in the Licensed Vocational Nursing Program have volunteered at the Palomar Health vaccination site in Escondido. Licensed vocational nursing students also pitched in at a Sharp Healthcare-operated vaccination center at California State University, San Marcos, a center where MiraCosta College Nursing Program alumna Shelby Miller served as a nurse lead. And some two dozen fourth-semester nursing students secured critical clinical hours working at healthcare centers across the region, providing care to the underserved and homeless.

“This says a lot about MiraCosta College and the program we have here,” said nursing instructor Giana Carey, who has a decade of experience as a critical care registered nurse with both medical surgical and trauma Intensive care experience.

Brian Cohen, site commander for the Palomar Health COVID-19 Resource Clinic in downtown Escondido, praised the professionalism of MiraCosta College nursing students. “Without our volunteers and dedicated nursing students we couldn’t have done what we did. It was beyond important; it was critical,” said Cohen, who noted the Escondido clinic administered 300,500 shots from its opening on February 2 until it closed May 1. “The nursing students were excellent and treated patients extremely well. You could see they cared and you could see their confidence grow and flourish from day one.”

MiraCosta College’s Registered Nursing Program has been ranked 11th out of 423 in the Western Region by NursingProcess.org, a website providing details about nursing programs for prospective students. Among the highlights are NCLEX pass rates of 98 percent for the Class of 2019-20 and 100 percent the previous year. More than 75 percent of MiraCosta nursing graduates are employed within a year. The rate would be even higher, but many graduates opt instead to seek a bachelor’s degree in nursing before entering the workforce.

Carey was one of them. She came to MiraCosta College for its Certified Nursing Assistant Program and nursing prerequisite courses. After earning her CNA certificate, she worked as a nursing assistant for a few years before earning her bachelor's in nursing from Cal State San, Marcos.

It was while she was working as a nurse at Tri-City Memorial Hospital and Palomar Medical Center Escondido that Carey decided to teach, first as a part-time instructor and then as a full-time professor.

“I found that I really enjoyed working with nursing students who were doing their clinical rotations and teaching them as they continued along their journey toward becoming healthcare professionals,” Carey said.

Teaching at MiraCosta College was never in question.

“The programs here—from Certified Nursing Assistant to Licensed Vocational Nursing to Registered Nursing—are amazing and provide a breadth of training and experience for those interested in a career in healthcare. From Associate Dean of Nursing and Allied Health Sandy Comstock, and our department chair, Sue Simpson, this excellence trickles down to our wonderful, expert team of full-time and associate faculty, who are seasoned healthcare professionals. Our dedication to our students is unsurpassed,” said Carey.