The Practical Nurse Certificate program is approved by the Washington State Nursing Care Quality Assurance Commission. Students who complete the four-quarter program (one full year including summers) are eligible to take the NCLEX-PN licensure exam for the Practical Nurse.
Location
The four-quarter PN program is offered in Yakima on the YVC campus. The clinical portion of the program is offered at various healthcare agencies throughout the YVC service district.
Program Requirements
These courses must be completed before acceptance to the Practical Nurse program. Courses taken at other institutions and/or online must meet equivalency requirements at YVC. Any science course taken online must have a lab component with an instructor on site and supervising the lab to meet equivalency at YVC. Students who have taken advanced placement courses in high school must verify credit with the appropriate department at YVC.
Required Courses:
Grades
A minimum grade of C (2.0) must be achieved in all required prerequisite with a cumulative GPA of 2.0. Students must maintain at least a 2.0 (C) grade point in each nursing course throughout the program. Any nursing prerequisite course taken at another institution must have a letter grade. Pass/Fail grades may not be accepted.
Application and Admission
Application Process
The most current information about the program is available on the college website at www.yvcc.edu/Nursing. Students must be accepted for general admission to the college prior to applying to the nursing program. Admission to the college does not equate to, or guarantee admission into, the program. A separate letter will be sent from the Nursing department notifying the student of program acceptance.
Transcripts
Applicants are required to provide transcripts from all schools they have attended. An official transcript must be submitted to the Admission Department and an unofficial cop is uploaded to the Nursing program application at time of application submission. The applicant is solely responsible for obtaining transcripts for YVC files. No application will be reviewed if transcripts have not been supplied with the application and evaluated by the Admission Department. Please allow 4 weeks for official transcript evaluation. Transcripts are evaluated in the order received. It is possible that complete transcript evaluation will take longer than 4 weeks. Courses that require a syllabus or additional information to determine an equivalency may require additional time.
Application Deadlines
The Practical Nurse Certificate program admits students once a year and will start every winter quarter. The online application, and application deadline information, is available at www.yvcc.edu/Nursing.
Admissions Criteria
Students must maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.0 (C) in all required coursework. In addition, any grade below a C (2.0) will not be accepted for any course taken. The Nursing program prioritizes students for admission when there are more students than spaces available. Information regarding prioritization for admission is available on the Nursing website at www.yvcc.edu/Nursing
Previous Nursing Program Experience
Students applying to the Practical Nurse program who have taken any coursework in another nursing program must supply transcripts and any other program performance indicators as requested before the application can be considered.
Based on the information obtained, a student may be admitted, admitted with conditions, or denied admission. In addition, a letter from the director of the previous Practical Nursing program stating that the student left the program in good standing must be provided from that program’s Nursing Director. This documentation must be faxed or mailed directly to the YVC Practical Nurse program from the previous program.
Students who fail to disclose attendance and/or unsatisfactory work in another nursing program may be subject to immediate dismissal from the YVC Practical Nurse program if the information becomes available while they are enrolled.
Additional Requirements
Immunizations and CPR
Students must complete their CPR certification and immunizations prior to program entry. Please refer to the Nursing website at www.yvcc.edu/Nursing for the most up to date information regarding immunization and CPR requirements.
Background Check Information
A criminal history background check and drug screening is required of students applying to the Practical Nurse program. Information obtained from the background check and/or drug screen will be considered in determining student eligibility to enter the program and/ or complete clinical courses. Inability to participate in clinical experiences due to information obtained from the criminal history background check and/or drug screen may result in the student’s inability to satisfactorily complete program degree requirements.
Questions regarding this policy should be directed to the Director of Nursing Programs at 509-574-4909.
Clinical Course Information
Clinical hours are generally scheduled between 6:00 a.m. and 11:30 p.m. Clinical may rotate from day to evening shift. Some nights and weekends may be scheduled to gain specific experiences.
Students must provide their own transportation. Travel may be required to outlying clinical sites. Students must abide by the policies stated in the Practical Nurse Student Handbook related to matters of academic standards, integrity, attendance, behavior, and dress as it pertains to clinical rotations.
Certificate
The YVC Practical Nurse Certificate is four quarters in length. In addition, students must complete all the prerequisite courses prior to program entry. The program is approved by the Washington State Nursing Care Quality Assurance Commission. Students who complete the four- quarter program are eligible to take the licensure exam for the Practical Nurse (LPN).
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