Practical Nursing

Practical Nursing provides training for employment in the health industry. Graduates will have successfully completed courses in caring for medical and surgical patients. Included in the program are courses designed to instruct students in the care of convalescent, physically challenged, and rehabilitative physical and/or mental patients. Instruction is also given for pediatric, obstetric, and geriatric clients. The graduate has thorough understanding of body structure and function, nutrition, medication, life span, diseases and disorders, community health, CPR, and first aid. Throughout the program the nursing process is integrated and the concept of lifelong learning is stressed.

Job Opportunities

Employment opportunities include hospitals, long-term care facilities, clinics, doctor’s offices, and home health agencies.

Licensure

This program is approved by the Florida State Board of Nursing and prepares graduates to take the NCLEX-PN License Examination. The minimum grade level required by the state for program completers is 11.0 in reading, language, and math on the A level exam.

Program Costs

Students will be responsible for the payment of Level 2 background checks and drug screening as well as ATI Testing costs, uniforms, books, liability insurance, stethoscope, BP Unit with Case, shoes, PN kit, CPR card, and immunizations. The tuition cost for this program is $2.66 per 1,350 clock hours to total $5,500, $150.00 lab fee per semester. The N-CLEX License Fee, ATI Testing Fee, and textbooks, shoes, uniforms, and other required basics are not included in the above costs. Prices can be requested from the bookkeeper at any time. Pell Grant available.

***Program costs are subject to change. 

Special Admission Requirements

All health occupation programs have special admission requirements. Individual application forms can be acquired from Student Services or downloaded using the link below. Incomplete applications will not be accepted. All LPN applicants must have a high school diploma or GED diploma. All applications are screened by the PN entrance committee and students are admitted based on a point system. Interviews are scheduled to determine the rank order of alternates. Prospective students must pass a Level 2 background check. (NOTE: if adjudication is withheld on a disqualifying offense, it is disqualifying. Some of the disqualifying offenses are misdemeanors and some are felonies.)

Special Considerations

In rendering care to ill people, nurses come in contact with toxic chemicals, infectious organisms, and communicable diseases. In the program, the ability to see, hear, smell, and feel are necessary physical requirements to facilitate successful matriculation. Additionally, the ability to lift, move, and support patients is an integral part of the total curriculum. Students are discouraged from working part-time outside of the class due to the intensity of the program content.

Program Content and Clock Hours

Students are enrolled in the course Practical Nursing to meet the requirements of the Florida State Board of Nursing. The following units of instruction are covered over a period of three semesters (12 months).

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

Term 1

Practical Nursing 1
This course covers the Core and the competencies for the OCP A (Articulated Nursing Assistant) with the additional 15 hours (clinical hours). It includes the basic communication skills, math and science, employability skills, safety practices, legal and ethical responsibilities, knowledge of the health care system as a whole, principles of infection control, first aid and basic patient care competencies.

Practical Nursing 2
This course is a continuation of Practical Nursing 1. It includes normal body structure and function, growth and development, and principles of nutrition. Laboratory and 50 hours of clinical experience are an integral part of this course.

Practical Nursing 3
This course includes fundamentals of nursing, introduction to medical/surgical nursing, and introduction to pharmacology. It provides the student with information regarding common acute and chronic medical and surgical conditions including the management, needs and nursing care of patients with these conditions.

Practical Nursing 4
This course is a continuation of Practical Nursing 3 and may be concurrent with Practical Nursing 3. Clinical experience will allow the student to practice the role of the Practical Nurse as a member of the health team and to participate in the health and wellness aspects of the patient and family.

Term 2

Practical Nursing 5
This course provides instruction regarding signs and symptoms, diagnostic tests, and treatment and care for the common acute and chronic medical surgical conditions of the medical-surgical patient. Principles of nutrition, asepsis and pharmacology are continuous throughout the medical-surgical component.

Practical Nursing 6
This course is a continuation of Practical Nursing 5. Clinical experience will allow the student to practice the role of the Practical Nurse as a member of the health team and to participate in the health and wellness aspects of the patient and family.

Practical Nursing 7
This course is a continuation of Practical Nursing 5 and 6 and may be concurrent with Practical Nursing 5 or 6. Clinical experience will allow the student to practice the role of the Practical Nurse as a member of the health team and to participate in the health and wellness aspects of the patient and family.

This course will provide the student with the opportunity to learn to plan, administer, and evaluate the nursing care of the patient with complicated disorders of all systems of the body. Experiences will afford students the opportunity to study the comprehensive principles of nursing dealing with the entire health team. Emphasis is placed on patient care, and the utilization of all available hospital and community resources for meeting the total needs of the patient.

Term 3

Practical Nursing 8
This term provides the student with information relating to specialty nursing including maternal/newborn, pediatrics and geriatrics, and such reviews as relates to normal growth and development throughout the lifecycle.

This course will provide the student with information relating to normal pregnancy, labor and delivery, the puerperium and the normal newborn. Selected deviation from normal in all of these areas is also covered. Management, needs and nursing care of the mother and infant throughout the maternity cycle are emphasized. Skills taught in this course include selected therapeutic procedures relating to the care of obstetrical patient and the newborn.

Practical Nursing 9
This course is a continuation of Practical Nursing 8 and may be concurrent with Practical Nursing 8. The clinical experience provides the student with the opportunity to build on acquired knowledge and skills, to practice and develop skills in selected procedures, to apply nursing principles in meeting the needs of the obstetrical patient and the newborn, the child and the elderly patient and to practice the role of the practical nurse as a member of the health team and to participate in the health and wellness aspects of the patient and family.

The following files are in .pdf form for downloading. If you do not have the latest version of Adobe Reader click here. Other required forms are available in the Student Services office.