M State expands health care offerings

BY KAYLA PRASEK

Minnesota State Community and Technical college will offer two new health care programs at its Moorhead campus, starting this fall. The two new programs are Cardiovascular Technology - Invasive, a two-year degree program, and Dialysis Technician, a one-semester certificate program.

Planning for both programs began after M State was approached by its industry partners about the need for expanded education opportunities in the area health care community, says Jennifer Jacobson, M State’s dean of health careers. “Dialysis tech is a new field around here, and their certification falls between a nurse’s aide and LPN. With the nursing shortage, nurses are being deployed elsewhere but we still need certified people to take care of dialysis patients.”

The program was requested in response to the growing number of people who require treatment in outpatient dialysis centers, which use specialized equipment to remove waste from the blood of patients with renal failure and chronic kidney disease, according to a press release from M State. Technicians at the centers work under the supervision of registered nurses.

The Dialysis Technician program will teach students how to take care of patients going through hemodialysis. After 18 months of employment in the field, those individuals must take and pass a national certification exam. The program expects a first-year enrollment of 15 students.

Cardiac care technology is rapidly advancing, and a need for more trained technologists has accompanied those advancements, Paul Burud, director of cardiovascular services at Sanford Health, says in a statement. Burud says he expects that need to increase even more when Sanford opens its new medical facility now under construction in West Fargo.

“The specialty is constantly changing and growing,” says Burud, who serves on the advisory committee that guided M State in the creation of the cardiovascular program. “They’ve done amazing things in (cardiovascular) care within the past 24 months. As technology evolves, so does our job.”

The Cardiovascular Technology program, which will award an Associate of Applied Science degree and will have selective admission criteria, will begin training 12 to15 students during its first year. The program will train students to work alongside interventional cardiologists and nurses in a hospital’s cardiac catheterization lab to assist with the treatment of patients having heart attacks and patients who have blood clots.

Currently, the closest Cardiovascular Technology program is in St. Cloud, Minn., and Jacobson says those students usually veer toward the Twin Cities for jobs.

M State will offer a cardiovascular technology survey course this summer, which will be a required pre-program class but will also be a chance for students to decide if the cardiovascular technology field is for them.

Jacobson recommends that students who are interested in either program visit with an adviser at M State’s Moorhead campus before applying. PB

Kayla Prasek Staff Writer, Prairie Business 701.780.1187

kprasek@prairiebusinessmagazine.com

Carlie Bowditch, of Tisdale, Saskatchewan, loves ice skating and rodeo. As a student at DSU, Carlie competes as a member of the DSU Rodeo team. She also volunteers in the Dickinson community as an ice skating instructor. Carlie’s career goal is to work in agriculture as an agronomist. She enjoys the one-on-one interaction with farmers, providing solutions for crop rotations and herbicide applications. As an international student, Carlie relies on scholarships to finance her education.

“Without scholarships, I would not be able to pursue my dream of competing in college rodeo while getting a quality education. Scholarships have led me to a new country where I can build new relationships and grow as an individual.”

Carlie Bowditch ‘18

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