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Making It in San Diego: A trade school prepares adults for employment

Good medical jobs go to graduates

Want a good paying job in the medical field? We found a hidden treasure in Santee, tucked beside Grossmont HIgh School. It's the Health Occupation Center.

By: Kimberly Hunt

Posted at 11:09 AM, Jan 10, 2019

and last updated 2019-01-10 21:22:12-05

SANTEE, Calif. (KGTV) -- Want a job in the medical field? 10News found a trade school in Santee to help prepare students for careers without the expense of a four-year degree.

The Health Occupation Center offers adults hands-on training in more than a dozen areas of the medical field including EMT training, medical, dental, and nursing assistants, pharmacy and phlebotomy technicians, and veterinary assistants.

Prices range from $100 dollars to $4,500 dollars for the vocational nursing program. Aside from the main programs, they also offer a variety of other healthcare training courses. Some courses are free; others go up to $175 dollars.

10news anchor Kimberly Hunt paid a visit during the graduation ceremony for dozens of dental assistants. The grads were moving on to jobs and internships in the field.

One graduate from the 2017 class spoke about how the HOC program changed her life. She's now fully employed in a dental practice, working for ten doctors.

Kimberly watched several classes underway. In one, a handful of students were learning to become emergency medical technicians, assessing and transporting patients to medical care after taking vital signs.

Another class taught students how to draw and process blood, as well as safely handle lab samples and document the results.

A third class trained adults to work in pharmacies and hospitals. These students will one day prepare medications and handle IV bags.

The Health Occupation Center is part of Grossmont Adult Education. It's operated by the Grossmont Union High School District.

Here is a list of the average salaries for these jobs. It's the 2018 annual median wage for San Diego County based on data from the Employment Development Department for the state of California: