Practical Nursing Certificate

A study of the structure and basic molecular and cellular functions, and basic disease processes of the integumentary, skeletal, muscular, respiratory, cardiovascular and lymphatic systems.

A study of the structure, functions, and basic disease processes of the nervous, sensory, digestive, urinary, reproductive, and endocrine systems. Introduction to nutrition with emphasis on special dietary needs, nutrients, and supplements.

This course introduces foundational principles and skills of practical nursing. These principles and skills use an interdisciplinary approach to provide nursing care to adult patients. The nursing process will be introduced to assist in the collaboration of care in the clinical setting. The course presents principles of health promotion, maintenance, and restoration in the care of the adult. This course will provide the practical nursing student experiences to practice fundamental nursing principles and skills necessary to provide care in a variety of settings. Clinical experiences are based on basic nursing procedures, skills, and critical thinking learned and practiced in the nursing skills lab.

This course provides information to the student on basic medical surgical/mental health principles and skills. The use of the nursing process to make problem-solving decisions about medical surgical/mental health care needs will be presented.u00a0 Medical surgical concepts presented include peri-operative care, principles of pain management, oncology care, health promotion, the wellness/illness continuum, nutrition, and diet therapy.u00a0 Mental health concepts presented include anxiety, depression, bipolar, panic disorders, schizophrenia and PTSD. Care of patients who have common diseases and disorders affecting the following body systems: musculoskeletal, sensory, immune and lymphatic, respiratory, and cardiovascular systems will be included. Use of information technology to provide basic care will be explored in clients with medical-surgical and mental health care needs.u00a0 Principles of medical surgical nursing and medication administration with an interdisciplinary approach to providing care to adult clients requiring medical-surgical and mental health nursing care are practiced in the clinical area.u00a0 Demonstrating and monitoring IV therapy will be included in this course.

This course will explain the role of the practical nurse in relationship to pharmacology. The student will learn about drug classifications, actions, side effects, adverse reactions, contraindications, and calculation of medication dosages. Medications, procedures, regulations, and considerations for safe administration are emphasized. Medication considerations for specific populations across the lifespan will be studied.

This course presents an overview of IV therapy principles and guidelines. A glossary of common terminology pertinent to intravenous therapy is included. Principles of asepsis are reviewed, basic equipment and supplies needed to start and maintain intravenous therapy are outlined. Pharmacology related to intravenous therapy and methods of managing intravenous therapy are included. The roles of the Practical Nurse in managing IV therapy are discussed. This course includes didactic, laboratory, and supervised clinical practice, including a testing component through which a student is able to demonstrate competency related to intravenous therapy, and a means to verify that a student has successfully completed the course in intravenous therapy. Students will also practice intravenous therapy skills during the clinical component of the PN-Medical-Surgical Nursing course.

The focus of this capstone course is to transition from student nurse to graduate nurse, including preparation for the NCLEX-PN licensure examination upon graduation.u00a0 The student will learn to assist in the coordination of human and material resources for assigned clients, participate in group processes to promote the provision of nursing care, use the nursing process and clinical judgment to make decisions about basic healthcare needs and use information technology to provide basic care.u00a0 Learning experiences will provide growth for the student to make the transition from student to practical nurse.u00a0 In this course, students apply clinical principles and use an interdisciplinary approach to provide care to adult clients requiring medical-surgical nursing care incorporating leadership skills.u00a0 The student will use principles of health promotion; maintenance and restoration; and physiological integrity across the lifespan to meet patient healthcare needs in a clinical setting.u00a0 Students will learn time management and delegation skills as well as implement various components of quality assurance.

This course introduces the practical nursing student to the study of the reproductive systems, maternal and child health nursing.u00a0 The course will include obstetric nursing care in a healthy pregnancy with emphasis on physical safety to ensure best possible outcomes for the mother, baby and family.u00a0 Content addresses care of mother and baby from conception to postpartum, as well as discharge and home care.u00a0 An overview of high-risk situations will be included.u00a0 This course includes health promotion and disease prevention unique to the pediatric patients and their families.u00a0 Deviation from normal growth and development will be explained to meet healthcare needs of pediatric patients.u00a0 Study of principles and skills to assist children with health deviations to achieve, maintain, and restore an optimum level of health will be included.u00a0 Clinical experiences are based on previous learned nursing skills.

This course builds upon the concepts covered in Med Surg I.u00a0 The use of the nursing process and clinical judgement to make problem-solving decisions about medical surgical healthcare needs will be presented.u00a0 A review and application of peri-operative care, principles of pain management, oncology care, health promotion, the wellness/illness continuum, nutrition and diet therapy will continue to be emphasized.u00a0 Care of clients who have common diseases and disorders affecting the following body systems:u00a0 neurologic, endocrine, urinary, and gastrointestinal will be included.u00a0 Use of information technology to provide basic care will be explored in clients with medical-surgical healthcare needs.u00a0 Principles of medical surgical nursing and medication administration with an interdisciplinary approach to providing care to adult clients requiring medical-surgical nursing care are practiced in the clinical area.

The focus of this course is to introduce the concepts of normal growth and development, developmental theories, and strategies for the nurse to consider regarding nursing care of the patient across the lifespan.u00a0 An emphasis on identifying the developmental task in correlation to patient's current situation in the health-illness continuum will be discussed.u00a0 The use of effective coping mechanisms will also be a focus of study.

Students develop their expository and persuasive writing skills through varied writing experiences. Information literacy skills and research techniques are introduced and reinforced. Students apply their information literacy and writing skills to produce a paper which incorporates research in appropriate APA citation style.

This course helps students develop quantitative literacy skills for personal and professional lives. Students will use reasoning and mathematical methods to find solutions to real-world problems. Students will use algebraic, financial, proportional, probabilistic, and statistical methods to draw conclusions and/or make decisions.

This course provides students with an introduction to psychology and the science of human behavior. Students are exposed tou00a0concepts, terminology, principles, and theories foundational to the discipline. Featured topics include research methods, consciousness and learning, emotional and motivational theories, psychological disorders and treatment, personality theories, and social psychology as they relate to personal, professional, and academic life.