The college does not track graduates to determine how many find nursing jobs within a given time period after leaving the school. Although jobs were plentiful several years ago, within the past two years, new registered nurses have had fewer options. They may not be able to choose work shifts or specialty areas or facility as much as in previous years, Meyer said.
"Our employment rate had been 100 percent," she said. "It had been really good."
Positions still exist, though, particularly in St. Louis, with its more numerous medical facilities.
"People looking for nursing positions are going to be able to find a job that pays a good salary," Meyer said. "There is always going to be a demand, and there still are a lot of opportunities.
"These economic times have affected nursing. We had nurses going to retire; now they are not - perhaps their spouse lost their job," she said. "Four years ago, our graduates could pick and choose their job. Now they may not get the job they wanted. Maybe they wanted to work in obstetrics; now they might have to work nights in medical-surgical. Some of the younger nurses are working as traveling nurses where they work for six or eight weeks."
Registered nurse Adam Mayhew, of Edwardsville, graduated from the program in May 2006 after working six years as an Alton firefighter and paramedic, during which time he also attended nursing classes. He works at the Nurse Managed Center and continues his education at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. He plans to graduate with a bachelor of science degree in nursing next May.
Mayhew, 36, had praise for LCCC's nursing program.
"It prepared me well. The education was good for real-work experiences," he said. "A lot of them (students) don't get it" at other institutions.
"It prepared me for the nursing environment; I can't say enough about it," Mayhew said. "The faculty did a great job combining the lecture and clinical aspects of the nursing program. As a result of my education, I felt I was prepared for the real world of nursing that can be overwhelming for many new graduates."
A somewhat dated 2007 Nursing Workforce Survey by National Research Corp. of Lincoln, Neb., showed 56 percent of registered nurses in Clinton, Madison, Monroe and St. Clair counties were working in hospitals. A much smaller percentage, 8 percent, were working in physicians' offices or clinics; 5.1 percent in schools; 5.5 percent in nursing homes; 2.5 percent in home health jobs; with the rest spread about in assisted living facilities, dialysis centers, hospices or as occupational health nurses, among others.
The survey, conducted for the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, says the majority of those with primary employment as registered nurses in the survey fell into the following salary ranges in 2007: $25,000-$34,999, 13.8 percent; $35,000-$44,999, 15.4 percent; $45,000-$54,999, 22.7 percent; $55,000-$64,999, 16.2 percent; $65,000-$84,999, 15.4 percent. Small percentages of respondents reported salaries either less or more than the above amounts.