Entrance Requirements for the January 2015 Vocational Nursing Program

Transcription

1 Entrance Requirements for the January 2015 Vocational Nursing Program South Plains College, Reese Campus Application Period: September 9-October 15, 2014 by noon Dear Vocational Nursing Program Candidate: Thank you for your interest in the Vocational Nursing Program of South Plains College at the Reese Center. In order to be considered for admission to the Vocational Nursing Program, you must do the following: 1. Apply for admission to South Plains College. You may apply online at Click on the bar that says Apply Now! and follow the prompts from there. Send all high school and/or college transcripts to the Office of Admissions as soon as possible. You must be accepted by SPC in order to enroll for any classes! 2. Apply for financial aid. Processing for financial aid takes approximately 6-8 weeks do not wait for acceptance into the Vocational Nursing Program to apply for financial aid. 3. Take the prerequisite courses listed in the table below. Please see the Vocational Nursing administrative assistant in room 531, SPC building 5, to register for the prerequisite courses. Early registration for the prerequisite courses offered in the fall semester begins on April 15, Registration for spring classes will begin in November. You must be TSI compliant in Reading and Writing in order to take ENGL 1301 and VNSG Please do not bring children to the registration process. 4. Take the Vocational Nursing Program entrance exam, the Test of Essential Academic Skills (TEAS V) test. Student must obtain the Vocational Nursing Test Checklist from the VN Administrative Assistant in order to register for the test. Cost for the TEAS is $ Test fee is non-refundable. Testing is limited to two times per application period. Please do not bring children to the Checklist process. 5. Applicants may pick up the application packet in person from the administrative assistant by submitting a college transcript that shows either completion of the prerequisites or currently enrolled in the prerequisite classes. Completed application packets will not be accepted until the application period as noted above. *****Candidates with a criminal history, please see Page 2, Items #4 and #5***** Prerequisite Courses Acceptable Alternative Special Note ENGL1301 Composition I MATH0120 Mathematics for Vocational Nursing VNSG1420 Anatomy & Physiology for Allied Health None MATH0311 Fundamentals of Arithmetic for Allied Health OR MATH1314 College Algebra BIOL2401 Anatomy & Physiology I BIOL2402 Anatomy & Physiology II Must be TSI compliant in Reading and Writing in order to take ENGL1301. Although you do not have to be TSI compliant in math to be accepted into the VNP, you must be TSI compliant to register for courses at SPC. If you have completed Math 0120 but still need to take pre-req classes and are not TSI compliant, you will be required to take a remedial math class with pre-reqs. Prior completion of both BIOL2401 and BIOL2402 will be accepted with a grade of C or better and courses must have been completed within the last 5 years. Must be TSI compliant in reading to take VNSG VNSG1222 Vocational Nursing Concepts None None Elective Courses (if needed in addition to prerequisites for 12 credit hours/financial aid) HUDV1300 Academic Strategies (Based on Learning Frameworks) PSYC2314 Lifespan Growth & Development PSYC2301 General Psychology HITT1305 Medical Terminology 1

2 6. All prerequisite courses must be completed with a grade of C or better. If a course is repeated, the most recent course grade is the grade used for admission since it is also the grade used by SPC for your GPA. 7. Applicant must score a 58.7 or better in Reading and Writing on the TEAS. Math section must be taken. 8. Work Place Eligibility Clinical rotations are done at local hospitals and clinics. Students MUST BE ELIGIBLE for re-hire at local facilities in order to complete clinical rotations. Students who are listed as NO RE-HIRE at any local facility are ineligible for admission to the Vocational Nursing Program because they cannot complete clinical rotations. You must verify that you are eligible for re-hire. 9. Complete the Reese Vocational Nursing Application Packet by noon on the deadline. The application packet must be submitted by the candidate to the Vocational Nursing Program administrative assistant in person. PLEASE DO NOT BRING CHILDREN TO TURN IN APPLICATION PACKET AND PLEASE ALLOW 30 MINUTES FOR THE PROCESS. Selection of Candidates and Status Notification: Conditional Acceptance granted to candidates based on the following: 1. The applicant must pass the prerequisite courses. Applicants who are currently registered for prerequisites may submit their completed application packet by the deadline and submit the final transcript after grades are posted 2. The applicant must have a 58.7 in Reading and Writing on the TEAS. For practice on the test, go to and take the practice tests for Reading, Mathematics and English. 3. The applicant must pass the required drug screen. 4. The applicant must pass the Criminal Background Check by the Texas Board of Nursing. Instructions for this background check will be given to all conditionally accepted candidates after the program application deadline. All candidates conditionally accepted to the program will be required to undergo an FBI fingerprint background check by the Board of Nursing. If the check reveals undeclared criminal history, the candidate will forfeit the class position. Undeclared criminal history questions the honesty and integrity of the candidate. 5. If the applicant has a criminal history, the applicant must be cleared by the Texas Board of Nursing prior to submitting an application to the program. Criminal history includes juvenile offenses, sealed offenses or deferred adjudication. The applicant with a criminal history must submit the Petition for Declaratory Order to the Board of Nursing prior to applying for the program because the process can take up to two years, depending on the individual circumstances. ALL criminal history must be reported to the BON. This includes any arrest for any offense, even if the charges were dismissed! Please visit the BON s website at Click on Verification & Licensing, click on Download Other Paper Applications and Forms then scroll down to Candidates for Licensure and download the Petition for Declaratory Order and follow those instructions. The Vocational Nursing Office cannot give opinions about your criminal history please read the Declaratory Order Petition instructions and questions. The petition and supporting documentation must be sent to the Board of Nursing in Austin, not submitted to the Vocational Nursing Program. 6. The applicant must attend orientation on January 6, Additional information will come in the acceptance letter. 7. Applicants who are applying for READMISSION should request readmission information from the Vocational Nursing Program administrative assistant. Readmission candidates must meet the entrance requirements for the class for which they are seeking readmission. 8. Applicants will be notified via their SPC account of their status. Should there be more candidates than class positions, candidates will be placed on a Wait List. The program reserves the right to extend the deadline if the class does not fill. 2

3 Immunization and CPR Requirements The following immunizations and CPR certification will be required with your application to the program. You will need to locate your records and get updates as needed. You will also be required to have a physical. The physical must be documented on our program form that is a part of the application packet. 1. TB skin test (negative) within one year of application submission 2. Tetanus booster within 10 years 3. Measles, Mumps, Rubella (2 series) 4. Hepatitis B - A series of 3 injections. You must have received the first two injections in order to submit your application to the program. The first two injections are 30 days apart, so plan accordingly with the deadline in mind. 5. Varicella (chickenpox) immunization or a notarized statement from a parent or guardian stating you had the chickenpox as a child. 6. Influenza vaccine 7. Meningococcal vaccine (required by SPC). Please read the advisory concerning the state mandated requirement for a meningitis vaccine on our website and take action accordingly. Become CPR certified: Obtain CPR certification for Health Care Provider from the American Heart Association (no other types of CPR are accepted.) Sources for obtaining the appropriate CPR certification are: The SPC Center for Clinical Excellence Phone or simspc@southplainscollege.edu; Health & Safety Solutions Phone ; First Response Resources Phone

4 General Information about the Vocational Nursing Program: There are two (2) descriptive phrases about the Vocational Nursing Program at Reese: Academically Challenging Time Consuming It is academically challenging because the Texas Board of Nurses requires a C in each nursing course in order to be eligible to write the licensing exam. A C in the Vocational Nursing Program is a 75. Additionally, we do not round up grades, so a 74.9 is a 74 not rounded up to a 75. Think about it a nurse who earns only 75 has a knowledge deficit of 25%--would you want a nurse taking care of you or your family who knew less?? It is time consuming because in order to maintain this 75, it requires you to STUDY! Students should plan to study 2-4 hours per night, depending on individual study habits. If you do not have the time to devote to study, you will fail out of the program! Information learned in nursing must be maintained. Some of you may have learned to cram for a test and then dump that information after the test is over. You cannot do that in nursing! Information you learn on DAY 1 will be required on Day 356 or Day 2098, etc. You cannot afford to cram and memorize for a test because you will need to know that information later. Therefore, learning must be repetitive and reviewed frequently to place the information in long-term memory. The student is responsible for learning; the instructors are facilitators of learning but cannot learn it for you! A student who does not maintain a 75 average fails the course and is withdrawn from the entire program. This is a FULL TIME program: this means that you are either in the classroom or the clinical setting 5 days a week, approximately 40 hours a week. Classroom hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Clinical hours are 6:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. for most rotations (there are a few specialty rotations that meet earlier or later). The first few weeks of the program are classroom and lab; once the clinical rotations start, clinical days are Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, back in class on Thursday and Friday. Absences are monitored very carefully and are very limited. Students who have excessive absences are withdrawn from the program. If you have a pending wedding or court case or some other event that may require an extended absence, you may want to delay your admission. Length of the program is a full calendar year: January to December or August to August. We go through the summer for both groups. There is time off for Spring Break and Christmas and the usual holidays. Students should schedule medical and legal appointments for this time off, rather than waste valuable school time! We do NOT recommend that the student work during the year. The discussions above should explain this reasoning. Most students who do work limit working hours to the weekend. Students with children must have adequate child care and back up child care. This is especially important when the child is mildly ill and cannot go to daycare but is not ill enough to require the student to stay home with the child, missing a day of class or clinicals. This is also important during bad weather when public schools may be delayed but we are not. (Please note: nurses have to work even during bad weather we can t tell our patients to take their ventilators home because of icy roads!) Reliable transportation is a MUST! Students must be able to get to class on time and get to clinicals on time. There may be days when students must travel between institutions! If you do not believe you have adequate time, finances, child care or transportation, this program may not be for you! 4

5 VNP Student Application and Admission Check List (provided to assist the student in the process) Step One: Prerequisite phase: Apply for admission to South Plains College. Apply for financial aid. Get registered in prerequisites. TSI testing may be required for eligibility to take pre-reqs. Obtain TEAS Checklist from VNP administrative assistant. Take TEAS test. Locate immunization records and update as required. Complete prerequisites. Step Two: Application Phase: Pick up application from Vocational Nursing Program administrative assistant. Return completed application packet during application period Monday-Thursday between 8:30-11:30 or 1:00-3:30. Step Three: Conditional Admission Phase: Complete Criminal Background Check (info will come after acceptance). Applicant will need to be fingerprinted at MorphoTrust after the application deadline. Do NOT try to do this before you are instructed to do so by the program director because you will not be in their system. Pass drug screen. Attend orientation. If you have questions about these instructions, please contact our administrative assistant, Stacie Johnson, at or or visit with her in her office in Building 5, Room 531 between the hours of 8:00-11:30 a.m. and 1:00-4:00 p.m. Please note: It is the responsibility of the individual student to assure that all items in the application packet are completed by the deadline. The Administrative Assistant is not responsible for the completion of student applications. 5

6 Suggested Financial Aid Resources Please contact these resources directly (Vocational Nursing Program faculty and staff cannot advise about these resources): Child Care: WorkForce Solutions Child Care Services (CCS) th St. (806) Catholic Family Service 102 Ave. J (806) Housing, Rent Utilities: Lubbock Housing Authority 1708 Crickets Ave Guadalupe Economic Services, Corp Erskine St Lubbock, TX (806) Catholic Family Service 102 Ave. J (806) Lubbock Co. General Assistance 916 Main St., STE 104 (806) Financial Assistance, gas books: WorkForce Solutions WIA Program th St. (806) SPC Resources: Financial Aid Office Building 8 at the Reese Center First Step Program Contact: Lynn Gregory Building 8 at the Reese Center Scholarships at SPC: quick link to scholarships Food, shelter, clothing: TX Health & Human Services-Food Stamps/TANF 1716 Parkway Dr. Lubbock, TX (806) South Plains Food Bank 4612 Locust Ave Lubbock, TX (806) The Bridge of Lubbock 1301 Redbud Ave. Lubbock, TX (806) Family Promise P.O. Box 1258 Lubbock, TX (806) Lubbock Co. General Assistance 916 Main St., STE 104 (806) Women s Protective Services (WPS) (806) (800) My Father s House Lubbock 1510 S. Loop 289 Lubbock, TX (806)

7 LVN PROGRAM, REESE CENTER ESTIMATED PROGRAM COST Please be advised that these are only estimated costs and are subject to change without notice. For specific information regarding tuition and fees go to Prerequisite Courses: Tuition and Fees based on 10 semester hours = $1, not including textbooks. The table below contains cost estimates after beginning the vocational nursing program. 1 st Semester 13 credit hours 2 nd Semester 14 credit hours 3 rd Semester 16 credit hours Tuition and Fees $1, $1, $2, File Completion Costs (Due by Application Deadline) TEAS 5 Exam Fee: $53.50 Drug Screen Fee: $43.00 Handbook: $20.00 Fingerprinting: $44.00 Physical: Variable* Immunizations: Variable* CPR Certification: $ $48.00 Textbooks, Lab Kit, Semester Fee General Textbooks: $1, Lab Kit: $ Semester Fee: $33.00 Uniforms & Lab Coat: $ Nursing Shoes: $75.00 Stethoscope (dual head): $25.00 Scissors (bandage): $15.00 Pen Light: $10.00 Watch with Second Hand: $30.00 Textbooks: $88.00 Semester Fee: $33.00 Textbooks: $ Semester Fee: $33.00 Graduation & Licensing Fees TOTAL PER SEMESTER: $3,444.00* *Does not include cost of physical & immunizations. NCLEX-PN Exam Fee: $ Licensure fee: $ Pinning Expenses: $58.00 $1, $2, GRAND TOTAL: $8,