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Associate Degree Nursing

Career Outlook   Program Description Admission Procedures

 

Career Outlook

 
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Program Description

Nursing is a career that combines both art and science. Nurses directly care for patients and their families in a variety of settings. While nursing is a highly-sought after career by many, those that are most likely to be successful choose nursing because they care about and want to help others.

Nurses must possess a wide variety of knowledge, skills, and abilities. They must be knowledgeable about disease processes that impact patients across the entire lifespan. They have to perform technical skills such as intravenous catheter insertion. They also need to be able to empathize with patients and families to understand what they are going through. Nurses will see life begin with the birth of a baby and will be with patients as they take their last breath.

While nurses commonly work in the hospital or acute care setting, there are many other settings nurses can work in such as long term care facilities, schools, clinics or doctor’s offices, correctional institutions, mental health care facilities, and drug and alcohol abuse treatment centers. No matter where a nurse works, the goal is to provide safe quality care in a manner that demonstrates respect for persons and their individual needs.

The VGCC Nursing programs prepare students for a career in nursing by providing instruction in the classroom, SimLab, and clinical settings. Students practice skills that will be used in clinical in the SimLab first using manikins and other equipment. Students also participate in clinical simulation in the SimLab in which scenarios that the student may encounter as a nurse are created using high-fidelity manikins and equipment. Each semester, students are assigned a clinical rotation in which they provide care to patients and their families in different settings under the guidance of an RN clinical instructor or preceptor. Students participate in clinical in all of the following areas: medical-surgical; mother-baby; pediatrics; mental health; and community health. Our clinical sites include local agencies such as Maria Parham Health, Granville Health Systems, and the Granville-Vance Health Department, as well as large teaching hospitals such as Duke University Health System and UNC Hospitals.

In order to work as a Registered Nurse (RN) or Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) in North Carolina, students must complete a nursing educational program and then apply for licensure with the North Carolina Board of Nursing. A component of obtaining a license as an RN or LPN is passing the National Council Licensure Exam (NCLEX). Graduates of an RN program take the NCLEX-RN and graduates of a PN program take the NCLEX-PN. In addition, graduates must have a background check conducted prior to the North Carolina Board of Nursing issuing a license as an RN or LPN.

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Admissions Procedure

The School of Health Sciences (SHS) strives to provide admission processes that are fair and equitable for all students who have the desire to become healthcare professionals. Additionally, we have an obligation to set our students up for programmatic success and board passage.

2024 Nursing Program Admission Process Information Session Dates:

March 7th at 10am in person – Main Campus (Room 5212)
March 7th at 1pm in person – Main Campus (Room 5212)
Wednesday, March 20 from 6 pm-7 pm (Webex); space is limited; to sign up for this session, contact Kimberly Robertson at robertsonk@vgcc.edu.

Associate Degree Nursing Program 2024 Requirements ADN Admissions Requirements

Practical Nursing Program 2024 Requirements Practical Nursing Admissions Requirements

LPN to ADN Transition Program 2024 Requirements LPN to ADN Transition Admissions Requirements

RIBN Program 2024 Requirements RIBN Admissions Requirements

Start communicating with a pre-health advisor today!

Main Campus: Kimberly Robertson  robertsonk@vgcc.edu 252-738-3526

Note: Health Insurance is required for all students enrolled in the Nursing Programs.  It is recommended that students obtain Health Insurance prior to being accepted into the program as the Open Enrollment Dates do not correlate with our admission dates.  Students without health insurance at the start of the program will be unable to remain enrolled in the program.  For information on obtaining health insurance, please see the Resources tab.

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