Overview
The Practical Nursing program prepares students to become licensed practical nurses. Students learn to perform tasks and undertake responsibilities core to the provision of providing nursing care, including health counseling, support and restorative care. The program is comprehensive and includes both theory and clinical components to enable program graduates to develop the knowledge, skills and competencies necessary to practice confidently and safely in a rapidly changing health care system. The Practical Nursing program is organized and based on the humanistic model -- every person must be recognized as a unique being, more than and different from a sum of their integrated parts. The program consists of 1,501 hours of education and is arranged in quarters to provide students with a gradual, step-by-step, simple to complex, learning environment.
Program Mission
The United States is in the midst of a shortage in healthcare providers that is expected to intensify. This problem is both a supply and a demand shortage, combining a broad range of issues that include: steep population growth in several states, limited enrollment opportunities for students at educational institutions offering healthcare training, an aging workforce and a baby boom bubble that will require intense health care services. The Practical Nursing program was established and its mission is to help bridge this labor gap by ensuring a pipeline of highly educated practical nurses that are able to join the health team and contribute to meeting the total needs of the patient.
Program Philosophy
The Center has a holistic approach to the nursing education process. The practical nursing student needs to understand the importance of addressing the physical, emotional, social, economic, and spiritual needs of the patient in an ever-changing, complex society. The faculty believes that for nursing education to address these factors, the following five principles must be understood. The Practical Nursing program is based on and incorporates these principles.
Nursing is a humanistic art and science which incorporates principles from the biological, physical and behavioral sciences. The nurse cooperates with members of the health care team to assess health needs and assist the client to perform those activities which contribute to health. The goal of nursing is to assist the client in attaining, maintaining and restoring health throughout the life cycle. The practical nurse contributes to this goal through the use of the nursing process.
Humans are sentient beings with unique and ever-changing needs. They are comprised of biological, spiritual, psychosocial, and cultural variables, which are fluid and constantly interact with the changing environment. As humans move through the life span, inhabiting different phases of development, wellness, and illness, they continue to inhabit roles in their lives as individuals, members of groups, and cultures. Nurses must recognize this human element and conform their care based on ever changing individual needs.
Health is a vibrant and dynamic phenomenon that results from interactions with the environment and the choices a human makes. The optimally functioning state of psychosocial, biological, cultural, and spiritual realities, health is objectively measured by biological and behavioral measures, and subjectively measured by the human’s perceived realities. Nurses need to view health needs through a humanistic context, and promote it through understanding, caring, risk reduction, and symptom/illness management.
Environment is a confluence of social, scientific, economic, legal, political, cultural, physical, and psychological factors. The environment influences human health status as humans interact with their environment on a daily basis. To provide effective care nurses must understand and embrace the stimuli surrounding and affecting their patient and develop and adapt care plans recognizing the influence of these factors.
The teaching-learning process is essential to the practice of nursing. Teaching and learning can be capitalized through a gradual, step-by-step, simple to complex process that correlates through concurrent instruction theory and hands-on practice. The process of teaching and learning is fostered by an open, receptive and democratic environment which nurtures the individual's efforts and motivation to learn. Teaching and learning are influenced by the individual differences in ability and background of its participants. All teaching and learning should bring individuals closer to self-actualization. The teaching and learning process is effective when desirable changes are validated in the learner’s competence.
Program Objectives and Outcomes
Students in the Practical Nursing program shall acquire the following competencies:
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Apply the nursing process as a systematic problem solving method to provide effective care to culturally diverse individuals, families, and groups.
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Use nursing theory and theory from other disciplines as a basis for the nursing process to promote health and healing.
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Use therapeutic nursing to achieve optimal level of health.
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Demonstrate safety and effectiveness in performance of nursing skills.
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Employ critical thinking to provide the highest level of nursing care from patient assessment to evaluation.
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Utilize ethical principles to resolve ethical dilemmas in a health care environment.
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Accept responsibility and accountability for adhering to the high standards of nursing practice as mandated by the nurse practice act.
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Implement strategies to stimulate and support change needed to improve the quality of health care practice.
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Adapt care in consideration of the client’s values, customs, culture, religion and/or beliefs.
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Be prepared to take the NCLEX-PN licensing examination.
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Display responsible behaviors and a commitment to excellence in interactions with patients, families, colleagues, and employing organizations.
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Demonstrate understanding of boundaries and the legal scope of professional practice as a licensed practical nurse.
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Utilize professional values and standards as a basis for ethical nursing practice.
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Communicate effectively using interpersonal skills combined with information technology.
The Center has divided its curriculum into four quarters. Each one focuses and builds on concepts, skills, and outcomes learned in the prior quarter. Each course in a quarter includes specific knowledge and skills that are required to be mastered for course completion. The Practical Nursing program consists of 1,501 hours of classroom and clinical education. Theory and clinical experiences are conducted concurrently throughout the program. The theoretical and clinical work is basically equally distributed.
The class schedule and hours of classroom/ clinical/laboratory instruction and practice for the Practical Nursing program are set prior to the start of each quarter. Students are typically in class between 7 and 8 hours each day and the typical hours for the program are 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. This structure allows The Center to provide a balanced and well-delivered program. Classes (theory, clinical and laboratory) are expected to meet for their entire scheduled times.
At the end of the first quarter, students will have completed the Health Science Core (which contains the basic knowledge necessary for any health occupations career) and achieved the required competencies for articulated nursing assistant, which makes the students eligible and prepared to take the licensure exam to become a certified nursing assistant. .
The Brandon campus is approved to offer federal financial assistance to those who qualify. Please contact the financial aid office to obtain additional information.
