Program Description:
The Practical Nursing program is designed to prepare students to write the NCLEX-PN for licensure as practical nurses. The program prepares graduates to give competent nursing care. This is done through a selected number of academic and occupational courses providing a variety of techniques and materials necessary to assist the student in acquiring the needed knowledge and skills to give competent care. A variety of clinical experiences are planned so that theory and practice are integrated under the guidance of the clinical instructor. Program graduates receive a Practical Nursing diploma and have the qualifications of an entry-level practical nurse.
The Practical Nursing Program at Georgia Northwestern Technical College is accredited by the:
Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN)
3390 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 1400 Atlanta, GA 30326
(404) 975-5000
The most recent accreditation decision made by the ACEN Board of Commissioners for the Practical Nursing Program is Initial Accreditation.
View the public information disclosed by the ACEN regarding this program at
http://www.acenursing.us/accreditedprograms/programSearch.htm
GNTC PN End-of-Program Student Learning Outcomes
1. Demonstrate ethical, legal, and professional behaviors specific to the practice of a practical nurse within the healthcare system.
2. Demonstrate proper techniques utilizing nursing skills.
3. Calculate correct dosage computation using dosage computation mathematics skills.
4. Demonstrate appropriate care to clients with mental health conditions.
5. Illustrate critical thinking to develop organized and systematic components of the nursing process.
Program Test Scores, Completion Rates, and Placement Percentages:
NCLEX Passage Rate:
2015 83.75%
2016 74.36%
2017 79.22%
2018 75.36%
2019 97.40%
Program Completion Rate
2015 FCC 71% WCC 71%
2016 FCC 68% WCC 80%
2017 FCC 75% WCC 100%
2018 FCC 90% WCC 80%
Job Placement Rate
2015 100%
2016 97.8%
2017 96.9%
2018 100%
Entrance Dates:
Students may enter any semester for pre-occupational curriculum.
Entrance is the spring and fall semesters for the occupational curriculum
Entrance Requirements:
The Practical Nursing program gives students the knowledge, skills, and work ethics necessary to succeed in practical nursing. The program provides educational opportunities regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, disability, academic disadvantage, or economic disadvantage. Program graduates are to be competent in communications, math, interpersonal relations, anatomy and physiology, drug calculations, administration of medications, nutrition and diet therapy, nursing ethics, patient care, and wellness and prevention of illness. The PN program strives to meet the health care needs of the community which it serves, working in conjunction with specific agencies that employ its graduates. The following guidelines have been established in considering applicants for admission to the PN program. They may be evaluated and revised as necessary by faculty and administration.
| Age: |
17 years old for entrance into pre-occupational curriculum |
|
18 years old for entrance into Nursing and Allied Health Technology programs |
Assessment Results: If the placement test results indicate that the student is not academically prepared to enter the program, the student may be granted Learning Support or provisional admission status to the college and be placed in one or more Learning Support classes.
Other:
- To apply to the program, students must complete the Request for Eligibility after they have completed all 5 of the pre-requisite classes with a GPA of 3.0 or higher. The Request for Eligibility is found on the Practical Nursing website here, and can also be found in forms under Resources on the GNTC website here;
- Take the Nursing HESI A2 entrance exam and meet the required scores. The student is allowed to test twice per year;
- Have at least a minimum GPA of 3.0 on all core curriculum which includes all of the following: ENGL 1005 or ENGL 1010, MATH 1012, PSYC 1010, ALHS 1011, and ALHS 1090;
- Attend the PN program orientation after acceptance and prior to the first nursing course.
Retention Policies:
- Students must maintain a GPA of 2.0 or better. A “C” must be achieved in each course in order to progress to the next semester of the nursing program. In all nursing courses students must attain a 75%-unit test average. PNSG 2010 requires an 85% score on the drug calculation exam Unit 3 exam;
- Students must attain an EXAM average numerical grade of 75% or better for all Nursing courses and satisfactory on all clinical requirements to progress in the nursing program.;
- Students must maintain CPR and First Aide American Heart certification and carry professional liability insurance while enrolled in nursing courses.
Readmission Policies:
- All current admission requirements must be met before applying for readmission;
- Students must continue to be in good standing with the college and the nursing program (i.e., no disciplinary or academic misconduct on record);
- Unsuccessful students will be allowed only one readmission into the nursing course in which they were unsuccessful;
- After an unsuccessful course, the student is required to wait at least one semester before re-entering that course;
- After the second failure, the student will be dropped from the nursing program, and faculty will assist the student in selecting another career path.
Program Final Exit Point:
Graduates from the Practical Nursing program are eligible to take the NCLEX-PN Exam for Georgia State Board to become a licensed practical nurse (LPN).
Graduation Requirements
All courses in the nursing curriculum must be completed in order to graduate. Only students who have completed required course work and are eligible to receive their diploma are eligible to sit for the NCLEX-PN.
The student must pass the required EXIT EXAM to receive a passing grade in PNSG 2415 (Nursing Leadership Clinical) or PNSG 2340 (Med-Surg 4 Clinical). This will be a Pass/Fail with a passing grade being the benchmark of 900. If the student fails, the EXIT EXAM they may retake the test as follows:
First failure the student will receive an Incomplete for PNSG 2415 (Nursing Leadership Clinical) or PNSG 2340 (Med-Surg 4 Clinical), and remediation must be completed before retaking the exam. The student will remediate with the NCLEX preparation material that will be provided by the online HESI remediation. All remediation will be completed on the HESI/evolve website.
Students will be allowed a second attempt on the exit exam if score is less than 900 and the scheduled date can be found on course calendar. If the student has not remediated, they will not be allowed to take the exit exam again and will fail PNSG 2415 (Nursing Leadership Clinical) or PNSG 2340 (Med-Surg 4 Clinical).
If the student fails to pass after two attempts, they will have failed PNSG 2415 (Nursing Leadership Clinical) or PNSG 2340 (Med-Surg 4 Clinical). If there are no previous failures in any semester of the PN occupational courses, the student may request to reenter the PN program and retake PNSG 2415 (Nursing Leadership Clinical) during the next scheduled course offering with space availability.
If a student is allowed to repeat PNSG 2415 and complete 40 hours of clinical rotation. (Nursing Leadership Clinical with 40 hours of clinicals), the student will be given only one attempt to pass the HESI exam with a score of 900 or above. If the student fails to reach the minimum score on the HESI exam on that one attempt, the student has failed the PNSG 2415(Nursing Leadership Clinical) course and is permanently dismissed from the practical nursing program.
The PN program allows only one (1) re-entry into the Practical Nursing Program at GNTC.
NOTE: Student needs to return to the program within 1 academic year of unsuccessfully completing a module/semester and students cannot defer re-admission acceptance.
Pre-Occupational Curriculum (16 Credit Hours)
Occupational Curriculum (41 Credit Hours)