What Do You Mean by Accredited School?

The snappy jingles are oh so catchy. The premise is very logical. Who wouldn’t jump at the chance to take their life in another direction. The emergence of the tech school has created a wave of new commerce. Yet the financial benefits thus far appear one sided. The only new positions being filled are for recruiters and tech school instructors.

Western Career college is a very well established vocational school in the Sacramento area. They offer a variety of programs related to the healthcare field. Healthcare is a booming industry in today’s economy. It appeals to young women trying to make careers for themselves they can be proud of. Western Career College Recruiters market their institution as an acredited Nursing school. This statement is true to a point. The fact that they are not on the Department of Health Services list of schools acreditated by the State of California makes it a bit hazy.

The instructors of the programs offered often have a minimal educational background. Instructors are certified Medical Assistants with at least 2 yrs of work experience in the field. Therefore, students are paying up to $10,000 per program without recieving training from licenced healthcare professionals. Western Career College and other tech schools provide graduates with a certificate and an injection card. Although this does not qualify the graduate as a certified Medical Assistant.

Certification is not covered in the Western Career program package. This reqiures further study and the staunch testing is costly. Yet it is the students responsibility to undertake. The recruiters fail to inform the students that the certification process is the only chance they have in today’s job market. Medical Assistants who are certified and or bilingual are getting the jobs.

What the school does tell them is that lifetime placement is guaranteed. As of january 2006 lifetime placement consists of a list of job leads. Albeit the leads are often 3 months old and permanently filled. These leads are mailed to the students home upon request with no further onsite placement assistance. Western Career college provides a pretty good phlebotomy section in their Medical Assisting program. The injection card provided is useless to the graduate. In April 2003 the rules changed for working phlebotomists. The new regulations require certificatiion and Western Career College does not include this in their program package either.

Western Career Graduates are basically walking away with nothing to show for their $10,000 vocational education. Often graduates have gained nothing from their experience but debt. Yet the worst thing of all is they have no idea. Recruiters are there to serve the interests of the school not the student. Although this critique is purely my own opinion their are quite a few graduates who agree.