Practical Nursing (Diploma)

The Practical Nursing curriculum provides knowledge and skills to integrate safety and quality into nursing care to meet the needs of the holistic individual which impacts health, quality of life, and achievement of potential.

Course work includes and builds upon the domains of healthcare, nursing practice, and the holistic individual. Content emphasizes safe, individualized nursing care and participation in the interdisciplinary team while employing evidence-based practice, quality improvement, and informatics.

Graduates are eligible to apply to take the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-PN) which is required for practice as a Licensed Practical Nurse. Employment opportunities include hospitals, rehabilitation/ long term care/home health facilities, clinics, and physicians’ offices.

Admissions to Program

Students are encouraged to begin the admissions process early so that there will be time for them to complete any required pre-admission coursework before the practical nursing (PN) program application due date. The application due date (deadline) is available on the appropriate program Student Readiness Checklist found on the SCC Nursing and Health Technologies webpage. A semester or more may be required to complete the pre-admission coursework.

SCC Requirements

• Completion and return of the SCC Admissions Application. Students applying for admission must have a current SCC application on file.
• Submission of a copy of high school diploma or GED/HSE certificate.
• Submission of official transcripts from any community college or university previously attended.
• Complete all Southeastern requirements to be admitted as a degree seeking student.
• Meet with the program advisor to discuss requirements, connected careers, and possible transfer opportunities.

Practical Nursing Program Requirements

• Current program requirements are listed on the Student Readiness Checklist found on the SCC Nursing and Health Technologies webpage.
• Once all requirements for application have been met, the applicant must make an appointment to meet with the director of nursing and health technologies, or his/her designee, to complete and sign a formal application package. (Students must apply each year, and may apply for admission to one program at a time.)
• Applicants are chosen for admission to the nursing program using an objective point system. The point system is compiled from the following categories found on the Student Readiness Checklist: evaluation of the cumulative SCC GPA, TEAS Test scores, and grades in any of the major courses previously taken.
• Admission to the nursing program is competitive, meeting the requirements to complete the formal application does not guarantee admission to the program. The number of applicants chosen will be determined by the nursing application faculty review committee based on space and resources available.
• Students eligible to apply for admission to the nursing program, who were previously enrolled in a nursing program at another college are required to provide a letter from the dean/director/faculty chair of that program stating that they left the program in good standing and were not dismissed for issues related to safety or gross negligence in the clinical setting.

Continuation in Program

Submission of Required Documentation

Enrollment and continuation in the practical nursing program are contingent upon the submission of the required documentation on or before the specified date communicated by the college and/or tracking system in use. Admission requirements and continuation requirements include but are not limited to:

• Completed SCC Health Forms Packet (included in the acceptance letter)
• Recorded compliance and maintenance with immunization requirements (included on the SCC Immunization Guidelines and Immunization Record Checklist)
• Certification of ability to perform essential functions (signed Essential Criteria, Function, and Ability Standards form)
• Proof of malpractice insurance (found on tuition receipt)
• OSHA training (after admission to the program)
• Certification from the student’s physician/healthcare provider that provides evidence that the student meets the conditions of physical health and/or physical capability at a level that is acceptable to and in keeping with safe nursing care to the public (included on the SCC Physical Examination Form)
• Certification from student’s physician/healthcare provider that provides evidence that the student meets the conditions of emotional health at a level that is acceptable to and in keeping with safe nursing care to the public (included on the SCC Physical Examination Form)

A copy of the SCC Nursing and Health Technologies Health Forms Packet, which includes health-related detailed admission requirements, along with the Essential Criteria, Functions, and Abilities Standards form which students must be able to perform is available in the nursing department and will be enclosed in the acceptance package. The Health Forms Packet includes the following: Immunization Guidelines, Immunization Record Checklist, Hep B/Varicella Form, and Physical Examination Form.

Students accepted into the practical nursing program with pre-existing physical, emotional, or behavioral problems that conflict with the safety essential to practical nursing practice must provide professional certification that appropriate treatment and/or counseling has taken place adequately addressing and developing strategies for accommodated and/or resolved.

The nursing faculty reserves the right to deny admission to a student who has demonstrated past behaviors which conflict with safety essential to nursing practice.

Coursework

Students in the practical nursing program must take courses in the sequence of the curriculum master plan. In addition, all courses in the curriculum master plan must be completed satisfactorily, and a grade of C or better is required in all science and nursing courses used in the program. Basic Anatomy and Physiology must have been completed not more than ten years before starting classes in the nursing program, or the course(s) must be retaken.

Relationship with Clinical Agency

The contract between SCC and a clinical agency requires that the college abides by the existing rules and regulations of the agency. Clinical agencies may require acceptable criminal background checks and drug screens prior to allowing students in the clinical area. From a safety perspective, the users of alcohol and drugs may impair the well-being of themselves and the persons they serve in the clinical setting. The college follows agency protocol regarding drug screening and criminal background checks and agrees not to assign, or to withdraw any students from the clinical agency who does not meet the agency’s standard for employment. Students who are unacceptable to the agency, at any time, because of health, performance, a positive criminal background check, or other reasonable causes may be refused admission to the clinical site. Without access to the clinical facilities, students will be unable to satisfactorily complete the practical nursing courses.

Students may be required, at their own expense, to be tested for consumption of alcohol/drugs for cause at any time while in this program. Clinical sites control and can refuse to allow individuals to work in their facility.

Dismissal of Students

Nursing faculty follow published college and nursing department guidelines and practices that provide for identification and dismissal of students who do the following:

• demonstrate physical or emotional problems which conflict with the safety essential to nursing practice and do not respond to appropriate treatment and/or counseling within a reasonable period of time.
• demonstrate a pattern of unsafe or unethical clinical practices or behavior that conflicts with safety essential to practical nursing practice.

Students who demonstrate behavior that conflicts with safety essential to practical nursing practice can be dismissed from the practical nursing program regardless of whether treatment or counseling has occurred.

Transfer

Students desiring to transfer into the practical nursing program at SCC must follow the nursing department procedure for the Consideration of Transfer Credits in Nursing which includes, but is not limited to the following:

• meet with the Director of Nursing and Health Technologies to verify that all current program admission criteria have been met.
• have been enrolled in a state Board-of-Nursing approved practical nursing program at a former institution within the past twelve months.
• have written verification of good academic standing and clinical performance from the former institution's nursing director.

All transfer nursing courses will be evaluated by SCC's Director of Nursing. To be eligible to transfer, courses must be equivalent to courses offered at SCC in both theory and clinical experience. The director of student services will determine the transferability of general education courses.

Admission – Readmission Guidelines

All students applying for admission or readmission must meet current admission requirements. Students may apply to only one program at a time and are required to resubmit a formal application for each program and cohort they wish to be considered for.

A student may only have two admissions into the practical nursing program.

Students seeking re-entry/readmission to the nursing program must have demonstrated safe practice in the clinical and lab settings to be considered for re-entry/readmission. Students should write a letter to the Director of Nursing and Health Technologies explaining the circumstances surrounding their inability to complete the program upon initial enrollment and outline reasons that re-entry/readmission should be considered.

Re-entry readmission must occur the next time the course is offered within the academic year that begins immediately following the semester in which the student withdrew from the nursing program. These students must meet the current admission requirements to be considered for re-entry/re-admission. These requirements are listed in the Nursing Programs Students Guidelines Handbook which is available on the SCC website.

Criteria

Criteria for readmission selection are based on space availability and best-qualified status. Space availability is determined by the number of students currently enrolled in the program and the availability of resources. Best qualified is determined admission test scores, grades in specified college courses, and selected previous health professional training.

Readmission of students who were dismissed from the program for physical, emotional, or behavioral problems which conflicted with safety essential to practical nursing practice is contingent on professional documentation that appropriate treatment and/or counseling has taken place and that the problem has been adequately accommodated and/or resolved.

When a student is allowed to repeat a nursing course for which they previously earned a grade of C or better, the grade earned for the repeated nursing course will be the only grade used in program progression consideration or program grade point average computations. The most recent grade earned is most reflective of the student’s current knowledge and its application to safe healthcare practice.