Nursing, Practical, TD

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Mission Statement

The Bossier Parish Community College (BPCC) Practical Nursing Program is a high-quality student-centered program dedicated to empowering students to reach their maximum intellectual development potential through academic instruction, skills laboratory, clinical experiences, and community service within an ethical, intellectually stimulating environment. This program facilitates the acquisition of the skills and qualifications necessary to provide safe and effective nursing care for entry level employment, career advancement, and lifelong learning in the profession of nursing and health care.

Goal

It is the goal of the BPCC Practical Nursing Program to sufficiently prepare entry-level Practical nurses for safe and competent nursing practice utilizing the cognitive, psychomotor, and affective domains, and to meet state and national expectations within the nursing profession.

Student Learning Outcomes

Recipients of the Technical Diploma in Practical Nursing will have demonstrated the ability to:

Provide patient-centered care that is compassionate, meaningful, and coordinated to ensure individual patient values guide all clinical decisions, and is respectful of and responsive to the preferences, needs, and values of the individual patient.
Work collaboratively and function effectively within nursing and inter-professional teams to foster open communication with mutual respect and shared decision-making to achieve quality nursing care, improved patient outcomes, and increased safety, trust, satisfaction, efficiency, and communication for the health care team.
Make sound clinical judgments based on nursing science and related theory, use critical thinking and ethical decision making to integrate best evidence with clinical expertise and patient (and family) preferences and values for the delivery of optimal health care.
Evaluate and use data from all relevant sources, including technology, to monitor the outcomes of care processes and use improvement methods to design and test changes to continuously improve the quality and safety of healthcare systems. Evaluate and utilize data from all relevant sources, including technology, to inform and improve the delivery of patient care.
Apply, analyze and utilize knowledge and skills as the basis for safe, holistic nursing practice to minimize the risk of harm to patients and providers through both system effectiveness and individual performance.

The BPCC Practical Nursing Program has been approved by the Louisiana Community and Technical College System (LCTCS), Board of Regents, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), and Louisiana State Board of Practical Nurse Examiners (LSBPNE).

This program includes a required clinical component. Persons interested in pursuing this program should be aware of all information concerning clinical programs described on the Division of Science, Nursing, and Allied Health page in the BPCC General Catalog.

Selection Policy

Admission to BPCC Practical Nursing Program courses is granted on a competitive basis to students who have completed all qualification requirements and made application to the program prior to the published deadline. It is important to note that meeting the minimum requirements does not guarantee admission into the BPCC Practical Nursing Program courses.

The BPCC Practical Nursing Program maintains highly selective admission criteria in addition to the general admission requirements of BPCC. The competitive selection process is based on TEAS Entrance Exam scoring. Students will be ranked from highest to lowest in numerical order and only students with the highest values will be offered admission into the BPCC Practical Nursing program.

The number of nursing students accepted into the Practical Nursing Program, a maximum of 36 students, is dependent on Louisiana State Board of Practical Nurse Examiners (LSBPNE) faculty-student ratio requirements, availability of clinical sites, and classroom space. It is our belief that educational standards and acceptable ratios in the classroom and clinical setting must be maintained to provide excellence in education, success on the national licensure exam and quality healthcare for the community.

Students wishing to pursue the BPCC Practical Nursing Program must first meet all General Admission Requirements for college admission as specified in the BPCC Catalog.

Essential Requirements

Admissions to nursing and allied health programs at BPCC are based on academic achievement and additional program specific non-academic criteria. Essential Requirements have been established by each program identifying the occupational-specific technical standards required of students in the program. Decisions to apply for admission to the BPCC Practical Nursing Program should be made after considering the Program Essential Requirements. The Essential Requirements are available in the Practical Nursing Program Application posted to the BPCC PN webpage at https://www.bpcc.edu/academics/science-nursing-allied-health/practical-nurse/index.

Louisiana State Board of Practical Nurse Examiners Requirements

Prior to admission into the BPCC Practical Nursing Program, student must submit an admission application to the LSBPNE, meet all other requirements of the LSBPNE, and receive approval from the LSBPNE.

After admission to the program, any subsequent disciplinary action, arrest, criminal charge or conviction, addiction, or impairment, etc. shall also be reported IMMEDIATELY to the Practical Nursing Program Director and to the LSBPNE. All required documents shall be forwarded to the LSBPNE for evaluation in determining the student’s eligibility to continue in the program.

Transfer of Credit Policy

Required courses will not be accepted for transfer from another educational institution.

NCLEX-PN Licensure Exam Policy

All BPCC Practical Nursing Program technical diploma requirements must be completed before the student is eligible to apply to take the NCLEX-PN Examination (National Council Licensure Exam - Practical Nurse). All graduates of the program seeking initial registration in Louisiana must take the NCLEX-PN administered by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing.

Required Courses for Technical Diploma in Practical Nursing: 61 credit hours

Required Courses

BLGY 120:Introductory Human Anatomy and Physiology Credit Hours: 3 *
BLGY 202:Microbiology for Nursing and Allied Health Credit Hours: 3 *
PRNU 100:PN Fundamentals I Credit Hours: 3.5
PRNU 110:Intro to Practical Nursing Credit Hours: 3
PRNU 120:PN Dosage Calculations Credit Hours: 1
PRNU 130:PN Fundamentals II Credit Hours: 4.5; 45 Hours of Clinical Experience
PRNU 140:PN Med Surg I Credit Hours: 5
PRNU 141:PN Med Surg I Clinical Credit Hours: 3; 180 Hours of Clinical Experience
PRNU 150:PN Basic Pharmacology Credit Hours: 2
PRNU 160:PN Advanced Pharmacology Credit Hours: 3.5
PRNU 161:PN IV Therapy Credit Hours: 2.5
PRNU 200:PN Women’s Health Credit Hours: 2.5; 30 Hours of Clinical Experience
PRNU 210:PN Pediatric Nursing Credit Hours: 2.5; 30 Hours of Clinical Experience
PRNU 220:PN Med Surg II Credit Hours: 5
PRNU 221:PN Med Surg II Clinical Credit Hours: 3; 180 Hours of Clinical Experience
PRNU 230:PN Mental Health Nursing Credit Hours: 2.5; 30 Hours of Clinical Experience
PRNU 260:PN Med Surg III Credit Hours: 5
PRNU 261:PN Med Surg III Clinicals Credit Hours: 3; 180 Hours of Clinical Experience
PRNU 270:PN Leadership Credit Hours: 3.5; 30 Hours of Clinical Experience

Total Credit Hours for the Technical Diploma in Practical Nursing: 61

*BLGY 120 and BLGY 202 may be taken prior to or concurrent with spring 2021 semester. These courses may be considered for credit if completed within the last 3 years prior to admission into Practical Nursing Program, and completed at BPCC with a minimum 80% (B) final grade.