Program Overview
This program's purpose is to prepare the student for a certificate in Practical Nursing (PN), which meets the educational requirements for the national exam for PN licensure (NCLEX-PN). PNs work under the supervision of RNs to provide care and treatment of injured, ill, disabled, convalescent, and terminally ill clients. Depending on your interests and future career goals, you may find employment in a hospital, long-term care facility, rehabilitation center, surgery center, or other healthcare facility.
OCCC's Practical Nursing program is approved by the Oregon State Board of Nursing (OSBN). This one-year limited-entry program will teach students the knowledge and skills required for entry-level PN positions. They will qualify to apply for the National Council Licensure Examination for Practical Nurses, which is a requirement for practice. After successfully completing the required 50 credits of the Practical Nursing program, students will be awarded a Certificate of Completion. Grades of C or better in all required courses are necessary to progress to the next term.
Please refer to the college website for additional information about the Practical Nursing Certificate.
Notes: This certificate is only open to students who have applied to and been accepted into the Associate of Applied Science in Nursing program.
Program Outcomes
- Use a holistic approach in applying the nursing process at the practical nurse level when providing care for individuals and families across the lifespan.
- Use established guidelines to reinforce teaching of health promotion concepts across lifespan to groups in selected community settings.
- Communicate effectively with individual patients, families, and members of the healthcare team.
- Organize and prioritize components of care at the practical nurse level for two to four patients.
- Make decisions regarding patient care based on professional values while complying with identified legal/ethical standards (scope of practice regulations established by boards of nursing and Code of Practice guidelines established by the American Nurses Association).
ONE-YEAR (45-60 CREDITS) CERTIFICATE REQUIREMENTS
1. At least 12 credits must be earned at OCCC, 9 of which must apply to the certificate requirements.
2. The final 9 credits that apply to the certificate must be earned at OCCC; the department may waive this requirement if the student can demonstrate competency in the field.
Practical Nursing Program Costs
Please refer to the college website for current program costs
Contact Student Services at 541-867-8501 to find out about Financial Aid eligibility.
LPN to RN Bridge
Oregon Coast Community College's LPN-to-RN Bridge program is an educational path where licensed practical nurses (LPNs) can further their education and careers. This limited-entry program offers an in-depth curriculum at an accelerated pace that will prepare current LPNs for the next level of your nursing career.
The curriculum provides a strong foundation in the practice of nursing and prepares students to function safely within the framework of the Registered Nurse’s role. Throughout the program, students integrate classroom theory with clinical experiences related to the theory component. Nursing education incorporates effective therapeutic communication techniques, critical thinking and clinical reasoning skills, and the development of sound nursing judgment.
Admission into this program is completed each fall term on a limited-entry basis. To be eligible for the LPN-RN Bridge program, you must be a licensed LPN in Oregon or have already completed the first year of the nursing program at OCCC.
Technical Standards
The Oregon Coast Community College Nursing Program is responsible for educating competent healthcare providers with the ability to care for their patients/clients with clinical judgment, broadly based knowledge, and competent technical skills at the entry-level. The program has academic as well as technical standards (non-academic criteria) that students must meet to progress in and graduate from the program successfully. The Technical Standards document is provided to assure that the students who enter the program know and understand the requirements and can make informed decisions regarding the pursuit of this profession.
All required courses must be completed with a letter grade of “C” or higher.
Note: The number of clock hours required for the courses is higher than the number of credit hours. Details about clock hours for each course can be found in the Course Descriptions section of this catalog. Nursing courses are a combination of classroom and clinical hours with each classroom credit hour equal to one clock hour per week and each clinical credit hour equal to three clock hours per week. Preparation time for class and clinical experiences is outside the clock hours required for each course.