Practical Nursing - Certificate

The Boulder County Campus offers a Practical Nursing program that is designed to prepare students to function as practical nurses. Employment opportunities are found in numerous health care organizations. Graduates of this program receive a certificate in practical nursing and are eligible to apply for the National Council Licensing Examination, Practical Nursing NCLEX^®-PN for licensure to practice as an LPN. The practical nursing program is a one-year full-time program of study (two semesters).

The program's competitive admission process utilizes scores from a preadmission assessment examination given periodically at Boulder County Campus. (Students who successfully complete the BCC Professional Nursing Pathway Program may be given priority for admission.) Students must have completed requirements for Practical Nursing Program admission. (However, students may be currently enrolled in some prerequisite courses if they will be satisfactorily completed prior to program start.) Students wishing to sit for the preadmission assessment examination must submit an application attesting to completion (or near completion) of requirements. Students may retake the entire preadmission assessment exam once, after six months (contact department for policy); the most current scores will be used for the competitive admission process.

Contact department for policy regarding transferring from another nursing program.

Front Range Community College's Practical Nursing program is approved by the Colorado Board of Nursing and accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, Inc., 3343 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 850, Atlanta, GA 30326 www.acenursing.org

Admission Process for Practical Nursing Certificate

Students should consult with a Nursing Advisor before applying to the program.

All prerequisites must be completed before the student will be admitted into the practical nursing program and given a program start date. In addition, the following are required for admission:

• Required Basic Skill Assessment Scores - Students must complete MAT 050 or MAT 055 at FRCC or a college-level mathematics course from a regionally accredited college or university.) Science: department standard.
• Prerequisite courses must be completed with a Grade of "C" or above and a cumulative GPA of 2.75 :
• BIO 106* Basic Anatomy and Physiology (or students may choose both BIO 201* Human Anatomy and Physiology I and BIO 202* Human Anatomy and Physiology II). Note: *Must be completed within seven years prior to entry into the nursing program.
• ENG 121 English Composition I
• HPR 108 Dietary Nutrition (or HWE 100 Human Nutrition)
• If transferring classes to FRCC, completion of a "Transfer Credit Evaluation Form" (Department of Admissions and Records)

1. Students must complete an online background check as directed by a nursing representative within 90 days prior to admission. See www.healthcareex.com for a list of criminal offenses appearing on a criminal background check that will disqualify an applicant for admission to a CCCS nursing program.
2. Current CPR Course - Completion of the American Heart Health Care Provider course - "C" - which must remain current throughout the nursing program.
3. Complete a health summary with documented records for required immunizations or titers (prior to clinical experience)
4. Students accepted into the nursing program must meet the same health and safety requirements as the participating clinical facilities require of their own staff. Additional screening may be required for some clinical agencies. The expenses of these requirements are additional to the students.
5. A urine drug screen will be required for PN students the semester of their first clinical experience.
6. Other requirements and expectations are contained within the FRCC Nursing Handbook (including the Required Standards Policy).
7. Ability to speak, read, write, and understand English to communicate sufficiently with patients and health-care team.

Only one re-entry to the Practical Nursing program is provided after receiving a "D," "F," "U" or "W" grade in a required NUR course. In order to graduate from this program, students must earn a grade of "C" or above in all courses required for the certificate.

Requirements

Required Nursing Courses

NUR 101	Pharmacology Calculations	1
NUR 102	Alterations in Adult Health I	4
NUR 103	Health Assessment for the Practical Nurse	1
NUR 104	Alterations in Adult Health II	5
NUR 105	Practical Nursing Arts and Skills	6
NUR 110	Pharmacology for Practical Nursing	3
NUR 111	Advancement into Practical Nursing	1
NUR 113	Basic Concepts of Obstetric Nursing	2
NUR 114	Basic Concepts of Pediatric Nursing	2
NUR 115	Basic Concepts of Mental Health Nursing	1
NUR 116	Basic Concepts of Geriatric Nursing	1
NUR 131	Clinical I: Application of Practical Nursing Arts & Skills	3
NUR 132	Clinical II: Application of Adult Health	2
NUR 133	Clinical III: Application of Basic Concepts of Maternal-Newborn & Pediatric Nursing	1
NUR 134	Clinical IV: Advanced Applications in Adult Health	3
Total Credit Hours:		36

Required General Education Courses

BIO 106	Basic Anatomy and Physiology	4
	or
BIO 201	Human Anatomy and Physiology I with Lab	4
	and
BIO 202	Human Anatomy and Physiology II with Lab	4
ENG 121	English Composition I	3
Total Credit Hours:		7

Elective Courses

HPR 108	Dietary Nutrition	1
	or
HWE 100	Human Nutrition	3

Total Credit Hours: 44