Nursing, Associate in Science
Nursing, Associate in Science
The nursing program is approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing and has received national accreditation by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN). Offered is an Associate Degree in Nursing with a program of clinical components in which the student cares for patients in the acute care and community settings.
RN Program
Upon completion of the Associate Degree program in Nursing, students will be eligible to take the NCLEX-RN examination leading to licensure as a Registered Nurse. The student must have fulfilled all requirements as defined by the California State Board of Registered Nursing. A licensed Registered Nurse (RN) may seek employment in an entry-level staff nurse position in a variety of health care settings.
General Information
Accrediting and approval agencies for Registered Nursing and LVN-RN Career Ladder Programs:
Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN)
3343 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 850
Atlanta, Georgia 30326
(404) 975-5000
(www.acenursing.org)
Board of Registered Nursing (BRN)
1747 North Market Boulevard, Suite 150
Sacramento, Ca. 95834
(916) 322-3350
(www.rn.ca.gov)
Board of Registered Nursing (Mailing address)
P.O. Box 944210
Sacramento, Ca 94244-2100
Link to RN NCLEX pass rates is posted on nursing website.
Many of the courses assigned to this curriculum are transfer courses and articulation is possible with the baccalaureate programs in nursing at the California State University campuses. The courses may be applied as a foundation for advanced work at the discretion of the accepting institution. Courses are taken on campus concurrently with supervised clinical experience in selected hospitals and agencies, constituting a nursing science practicum or laboratory experience. Although each course merits a letter grade, the laboratory experience is based on pass-fail and it is necessary to pass the laboratory section of the course in order to proceed in nursing. Failure in the laboratory portion of a nursing course constitutes an F in the course.
For successful completion of the program, a minimum grade of C is mandatory in all courses required for the nursing major. These include courses outside the discipline of nursing but required for the major, such as anatomy, microbiology, etc. Although a “C” is acceptable in one of the biological science courses, the overall science GPA must be 2.5 or higher with no more than one withdrawal, D or F in either anatomy, physiology or microbiology. In addition, the student must maintain an overall GPA of 2.5 to be admitted. If the student has a GPA of < 2.5 or more than one W, D or F in a science course, the student must see a nursing counselor to develop a remediation plan. The student must maintain an overall GPA of 2.0 to continue in the nursing program.
| Course ID | Title | Units/Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses | ||
| ANAT V01 | Human Anatomy | 4 |
| ENGL V01A | English Composition | 4 |
| MICR V01 | General Microbiology | 4 |
| NS V10 | Foundations of Nursing Practice | 9 |
| NS V20 | Patient-Centered Care I and Family-Centered Care of Children | 9 |
| NS V30 | Patient-Centered Care II and Maternal Newborn and Mental Health Nursing | 9 |
| Select one of the following: | 9 | |
| Patient-Centered Care III and Transition to Professional Practice (offered Fall 2018 only) | ||
| Patient-Centered Care III and Transition to Professional Practice (offered Spring 2019) | ||
| PHSO V01 | Human Physiology | 4 |
| PSY V01 | Introduction to Psychology | 3 |
| Required Additional Courses | ||
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
| Racial and Ethnic Group Relations | ||
| Cultural Anthropology | ||
| Introduction to Sociology | ||
| Social Problems | ||
| CD V03 | Human Development | 3 |
| or PSY V05 | Introduction to Developmental Psychology | |
| COMM V01 | Introduction to Speech Communication | 3 |
| or COMM V10 | Critical Thinking in Oral Communication: Argumentation and Debate | |
| Additional VC Graduation Requirements | ||
| Units from General Education | 10-13 | |
| Units from Required Prerequisite Courses | 8-10 | |
| Total Units | 82-87 | |
| Course ID | Title | Units/Hours |
|---|---|---|
| General Education | ||
| American History or Institutions | 3 | |
| Fine and Performing Arts | 3 | |
| Humanities Elective | 3 | |
| Health Education 1 | 0-3 | |
| Physical Education/Kinesiology | 1 | |
- 1
Requirement fulfilled with NS V40 Patient-Centered Care III and Transition to Professional Practice (Units: 9) for ADN degree.
| Course ID | Title | Units/Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Required Prerequisite Courses | ||
| Select one of the following: | 3-5 | |
| Intermediate Algebra | ||
MATH V12 | ||
MATH V13B | ||
| Intermediate Algebra and Applications for Health Care Personnel | ||
Or Higher Level Math | ||
| Select one of the following: | 5 | |
| Elementary Chemistry and Elementary Chemistry Laboratory | ||
| Chemistry for Health Sciences and Chemistry for Health Sciences Laboratory | ||
Or Higher Level Chemistry with Laboratory | ||
A College-level physical science course must be completed to fulfill graduation requirements at Ventura College (see AA/AS Check Sheet).
No Certificate of Achievement awarded.
Eligible candidates may challenge the Health Science Division for advanced standing.
Highly Recommended Courses
In addition to the required courses listed above, it is highly recommended that students who seek to enhance their chances of successful completion of the Associate in Science in Nursing degree take the following courses: MATH V35 Intermediate Algebra and Applications for Health Care Personnel (Units: 5) and NS V07 Pharmacology (Units: 3). Although these supplemental courses may be of value to the student, please note that NS V07 Pharmacology (Units: 3) does not satisfy the requirements for this degree.
Upon successful completion of this program, students will be able to:
- Demonstrate and foster high standards of nursing practice.
- Provide competent and safe care in a variety of settings to an individual, family, group, or community of patients with diverse self-care needs across the life span by utilizing the nursing process for knowledgeable decision-making and judgment based on critical thinking, clinical competence, collaboration and accountability.
- Demonstrate management skills in providing care to individuals, families, groups or communities/aggregates of patients with diverse needs.