Division of Health Professions

The Associate Degree Nursing Program prepares students for entry level nursing positions in various health care facilities. Upon successful completion of the program, students will receive an Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degree. The graduate is then eligible to apply for the state licensure exam (NCLEX-RN) to become a Registered Nurse. Nursing students attend classes on the College campus as well as at various health care agencies in the surrounding commumities for clinical learning experiences guided by expert nursing faculty. The clinical experiences provide the student with an opportunity to apply classroom learning to patient care situations in order to develop the skills and clinical judgement needed to practice as a professional nurse. The Associate Degree Nursing Program is approved by the Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing and is accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN). For more information regarding ACEN contact 3343 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 850 Atlanta, Georgia 30326, (404)975-5000, http://www.acenursing.org.

Program Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this program, the graduate should be able to:

• Formulate clinical judgments, substantiated with evidence based practice, utilizing informatics in response to the evolving healthcare needs of clients, families and communities across the lifespan.
• Implement risk reduction strategies through both system effectiveness and individual performance and offer insight to improve the quality and safety of healthcare delivery.
• Integrate professionalism as a member of the interdisciplinary healthcare team by fostering open communication, mutual respect, and shared decision making to achieve quality client care.
• Integrate professional practice standards, integrity, accountability, responsibility and ethical comportment into the practice of nursing.
• Function as an advocate by providing compassionate and relationship-centered care based on respect, preferences, values, and needs of clients, families, and communities.

New students for this program will be placed into the Health Science Transfer program until they have been admitted through the selective admissions process into the clinical program. Please visit our Enrollment Information page for details on the Selective Admissions process for the Nursing program.