Practical Nursing

L. Gale Lemerand School of Nursing

739 W.  International Speedway Blvd.

P: 386-481-2100

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Program Description:

The Practical Nursing program is a 12-month certificate program designed to prepare individuals to meet the needs of a patient base in both acute care and long-term care settings. The program is 1,350 clock hours (44.9 credit hours) in length. Students who are successful in completing the program will be eligible to take the NCLEX-PN Examination and will be awarded a certificate in Practical Nursing. Graduates will have employment opportunities in hospitals, rehabilitation facilities, doctor’s offices, and home healthcare to name a few. 

Accreditation:

Florida Board of Nursing:

The program is approved by the Florida Board of Nursing.

 

Admissions Requirements:

Traditional Pathway

Students seeking regular admission must submit a completed application by the deadline date. For consideration for admission students must:

1. Have a high school diploma or equivalent 

2. Complete the T.A.B.E (Test for Adult Basic Education exam), achieving the basic skills levels on the following subjects, as set forth by the Florida Department of Education:

1. Mathematics: 11 (596)

2. Language: 11 (584)

3. Reading: 11 (576)

3. Be unconditionally admitted to Bethune-Cookman University

4. Declared LPN as a major

5. Pass a level 2 background check (No misdemeanors or felonies)

6. Pass a 10-panel drug screen (No non-prescribed drugs in system at the time of testing)

7. Verification of American Heart Association Basic Life Support (CPR)

8. Submission of a completed Health Form

Postsecondary Degree Pathway

Applicants with an earned associate’s degree or higher from an accredited institution are exempt from the T.A.B.E exam. They must submit a completed application and their official transcript illustrating the conferral of their degree by the deadline date.

Applicants must also: 

1. Be unconditionally admitted to Bethune-Cookman University

2. Declared LPN as a major

3. Pass a level 2 background check (No misdemeanors or felonies)

4. Pass a 10-panel drug screen (No non-prescribed drugs in system at the time of testing)

5. Verification of American Heart Association Basic Life Support (CPR)

6. Submission of a completed Health Form

 

Transfer Students:

From Bethune-Cookman University Nursing Program

The program has developed a policy providing for unique opportunities for students who have previously enrolled in a Registered Nursing program, but the process was interrupted.  Students may request advanced standing and receive credit for registered nursing courses taken, in which a score of 80% or a grade of C or better was achieved.   Courses may not be older than 2 calendar years. Students must also pass the ATI PN Content Mastery Assessment with a Level 2 or higher in each course for which they are seeking credit.

From a Registered Nursing Program Outside of Bethune-Cookman University 

Students requesting transfer credit from a registered nursing program outside of Bethune-Cookman University will follow the same policy as outlined for Bethune-Cookman University students.  

 

From a Program of Practical Nursing

Transfer credit will not be given to students who have previously matriculated in an LPN program but were not successful or were separated.  Students must apply as a new student, meeting all requirements.
 

Educational Outcomes

Program Objectives:

The success of the program will be determined upon the achievement of course objectives, end-of-program student learning outcomes, and role-specific graduate competencies.  This will be demonstrated through the following:

1. Performance on the NCLEX-PN:

1. Performance for first-time takers will be at or above the national average

2. The program’s three-year mean for the licensure pass rate will be at or above the national average.

2. Program Completion: expected level of achievement is 50%

3. Job Placement:  80% of graduates will be employed within 6 months of program completion.

 

Student Learning Outcomes

The End of Program Student Learning Outcomes are based on the concept of Human Flourishing. The National League for Nursing (2014) defines this concept as “an effort to achieve self-actualization and fulfillment within the context of a larger community of individuals, each with the right to pursue his or her own such efforts.  It encompasses the uniqueness, dignity, diversity, freedom, happiness, and holistic well-being of the individual within the larger family, community, and population.  Achieving human flourishing is a life-long existential journey of hopes, achievements regrets, losses, illness, suffering, and coping. The nurse helps the individual to reclaim or develop new pathways toward human flourishing.” The End of Program Student Learning Outcomes are:

1. Provide culturally appropriate individualized care to a client population.

2. Demonstrate appropriate, culturally sensitive, ethical, and professional behaviors.  

3. Prioritize interventions to prevent potential risk factors, including errors.

4. Use effective interpersonal communication skills between clients, family, and healthcare team members. 

5. Collaborate with client, family, and all healthcare team members in the provision an optimal level of care.

 

Graduation Requirements:

Students are required to complete the NCLEX-PN Licensure Application during their last semester. A certified check or money order for the full cost of taking the exam must be submitted by the beginning of the final semester. Payment is NOT REFUNDABLE unless the student fails a final semester course or is otherwise not eligible to graduate.

In order to graduate with a Certificate in Practical Nursing, a student must meet all university and School of Nursing requirements.

 

Programs:

Practical Nursing (PN) Program

Certificate

• Practical Nursing (PN)

 

Return to: College of Nursing and Health Sciences