Are you looking for a career, one that would be rewarding financially, but in other ways as well, such as helping people reclaim their health?

In August 2012, Robeson Community College will enroll its first class of students, probably 24 strong, who will seek to become licensed practical nurses in what amounts to a one-year program. Graduates can expect to earn more than $30,000 a year immediately upon graduation, and they shouldn’t have to worry about job security as our local population, aging as it is and unhealthier than most, will continue to stress the local health care industry.

Additionally, college officials are trying to tailor the program so it accommodates people who are already employed, but looking to trade a job for a career, with night-time instruction.

You might wonder what took RCC so long?

Well, if not for some petty politics, the LPN program at RCC would have been established back in 2007. But that didn’t happen after RCC withdrew its application when it became apparent that it was going nowhere. Another community college in the region was opposing a program at RCC, worried that there weren’t enough students locally to justify both.

Perhaps the biggest hurdle then was that RCC officials at the time had also fallen out of favor with the president of the North Carolina Community College System. It’s not worth recalling all the details, but it’s clear that decisions were made at the state level that didn’t give proper consideration to the needs of this county and RCC.

But time always changes things, and when RCC officials recently applied for the program with the state Board of Nursing and the Community College System, there was no opposition, making last week’s news that the program had been green-lighted absent of drama.

Want to know more about the job? A licensed practical nurse provides care under the supervision of a registered nurse, and is most often employed in nursing homes, doctor’s practices and occupational health or home health settings, but sometimes in hospitals as well.

The establishment of the program at RCC is a perfect example of the college identifying a local need and then meeting it, providing jobs for local folks as well as health care to those who need it. It shouldn’t have taken so long.