Congratulations on your decision to consider a career in the healthcare field.  The healthcare industry literally has a position to suit almost anyone with an eye for detail, ability to perform the required skills, and a passion for serving others.

As of 2003, the healthcare industry represented over 15% of the national Gross Domestic Product or about one-sixth of all business conducted within the United States.  Since about the year 2000, the percentage the healthcare industry represents within the national Gross Domestic Product has continued to rise steadily.  It is expected the industry will continue to grow significantly in the upcoming years. 

What does this mean to a student pursuing a healthcare career?  It means with a careful career selection, dedication and hard work, a person can carve out a great profession with years of productive employment ahead of them. 

If you are considering entering this exciting occupational field, there are a few important things to remember.  To help improve one’s future success in the healthcare industry, keep in mind the following: 

(1) The healthcare industry is heavily governed by laws and administrative codes preventing individuals with certain criminal offenses on their record from working with vulnerable adults and children.

(2) Most healthcare training programs are extremely competitive and frequently accept only students with excellent academic histories (i.e., excellent grades, attendance records, and study skills). 

See below for additional information. 

Criminal Background:

In the state of Washington, RCW 43.43.830 through 43.43.845 prevents individuals with certain criminal backgrounds from working with vulnerable adults and children.  When are criminal backgrounds reviewed?  Criminal backgrounds are usually reviewed at two different occasions.  The first is when a person applies for licensure or registration with the Washington State Department of Health.  For example, when a person applies to the Washington State Department of Health as a registered nurse, registered counselor, nursing assistant registered or certified, or other health profession, the background of the individual applying for registration or licensure will usually be reviewed by the Department of Health. 

The second occasion an individual will frequently have their background checked is when they have applied for employment.  Many of the healthcare provider settings are monitored through state regulations which do not allow them to hire individuals with certain criminal offenses on their record.  Frequently, a criminal background will keep the healthcare facility from hiring a person. 

The Columbia Basin College Health Sciences Division maintains approximately 30 annual agreements with healthcare facilities throughout Benton and Franklin counties for use as clinical training facilities.  As a part of the contractual agreement between Columbia Basin College and each of these facilities, CBC performs criminal background checks on each student entering a health sciences program.  If a criminal offense is found, a summary of the arrest/prosecution record will be sent to the applicable contracted healthcare facilities for review.  The facility then responds whether or not they can accept a student in the clinical facility based on the rules and regulations applicable to their specific facility.  The student’s identity is protected within this process so clinical facilities cannot identify the student.

What if a facility doesn’t accept a student for clinical placement?  Occasionally, there may be no clinical facility able to accept a student with specific criminal offenses on their record.  In this case, the student will be notified and provided assistance in determining their best course of action.  Because successful completion of a health sciences program usually requires the ability to pass both lecture and lab/clinical courses, the lack of ability to place a student in a clinical facility means the student would be unable to successfully complete the program. 

The best advice available is to steer clear of activities that could result in a criminal background. 

Academic History:

Although not every person who maintains a perfect grade point average makes a good healthcare provider, a student’s past academic performance is a strong factor in the ability to gain acceptance into many of the highly competitive training and degree programs available today. 

To a healthcare training program, those students entering are extremely valuable.  Programs want to complete as many students as they possibly can.  Educating students takes valuable time and financial resources, and determining which students will be successful in a program can be challenging.  However, the trend in selecting students relies heavily on past academic performance, attendance, placement test scores, and other factors appropriate to the program.  For example, some dental hygiene schools require students to perform a dexterity examination showing the ability to control and articulate hands sufficiently to master the fine motor skills required to be a successful hygienist. 

Another trend in selecting students is a measure of academic performance compared to academic load.  What does this mean?  A student who maintains very good grades but only takes one course at a time may not be as competitive in a training program as a student who shows the ability to maintain a heavy academic load while maintaining a slightly lower academic performance.  Healthcare training programs are usually very demanding, both academically and physically.  This is frequently an issue students must overcome early in their training program.  It is not uncommon for students to take prerequisite courses one at a time in preparation for applying to a healthcare training program.  Then, once within the program (such as nursing or dental hygiene), they are required to perform a much heavier academic load and build the physical skills and abilities required to succeed.  Thus, a student’s ability to maintain a heavy academic load with a successful grade standing may be considered as a predictor of their success in the healthcare training program. 

Students should seek the advice of their advisor or counselor on the best combination of courses and activities to prepare them for entrance into a healthcare training program. 

Additional Assistance:

No matter what your career interests are in the healthcare setting, a dedication to strong studies and maintaining a clear background record are major elements of your future success.  In the meantime, the Health Sciences Division office and many of the faculty who teach our health care programs can be great resources to you.  Please let us know how we can help you achieve your career goals.

Health Sciences Division Office
2600 North 20th
Pasco, WA 99301
(509) 547-0511, Ext. 2478