Vance - Granville Community College

Nursing Programs Offered

ADN Program Details

Started in 1983, the Associate Degree Nursing Program has many successful RN´s who provide safe, quality, and professional care to our community´s residents. The program provides strong clinical experiences as well as challenging didactic class work. Our program prepares graduates to assume the roles of provider of care, manager of care, and member within the discipline of nursing according to the guidelines of the scope of practice for the Registered Nurse in North Carolina. Within these roles are core competencies that are essential to the work of the entry-level nurse. The faculty has adopted the core competencies recommended by the National League for Nursing which include professional behavior, communication, assessment, clinical decision-making, caring interventions, teaching and learning, collaboration, and managing care. The faculty also strives to incorporate the Institute of Medicine´s (Healthy Professions Education: A Bridge to Quality, 2003) recommendations of patient centered care, work in interdisciplinary teams, employment of evidence-based practice, application of quality improvement, and the utilization of informatics into the curriculum.

Courses are taught by a team of instructors using a variety of teaching strategies in order to meet the learning needs of all our students. Classes are often designed with small group work, hands on practice, and discussion groups. All nursing courses are blackboard enhanced with web-enhanced components. In the fall of 2006 VGCC opened a state-of-the-art Simulation Center for the Health Sciences department. The faculty believes that simulation is an excellent way to present patient care learning opportunities in a realistic clinical setting. It provides the student with the chance to "think on their feet" in a non-stressful environment thus developing their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. The program is an integrated program with each semester building on the previous in which students are expected to apply previously learned material culminating with the fifth semester which includes an eight week preceptorship and an eight week leadership clinical opportunity. At the conclusion of the five semesters, students are eligible to apply to take the NCLEX-RN.

1st Level ADN Program Outcomes:

1. Student will be able to incorporate concepts within the domain of the individual.
2. Student will be able to prioritize safe, culturally competent, therapeutic nursing care to the individual.
3. Student will be able to safely and ethically execute the management of therapeutic nursing care within the healthcare system for individuals.

2nd Level ADN Program Outcomes:

1. Student will be able to assimilate all concepts within the individual related to complex alterations in health.
2. Student will be able to provide safe, culturally competent therapeutic nursing care to the individual with complex alterations in health.
3. Student will be able to safely and ethically execute the management of therapeutic nursing care within the healthcare system for the individual with complex alterations in health.

LPN Program Details

Originally started in 1971, Vance-Granville Community College´s Practical Nursing Program has seen many changes over the years. With the inception of the ADN Program in 1983, Practical Nursing students were side by side with ADN students exiting to take the licensure exam after the 4th quarter. With the conversion to the semester system, this 'exit' point was lost and so was the PN program. But in 1998, a separate and independent Practical Nursing Program was re-established. In 2003, the Practical Nursing Program was approved to double its capacity to 40 students per year. The Practical Nursing Program prepares graduates to assume the roles of provider of care and member within the discipline of nursing according to the guidelines of the scope of practice for the Licensed Practical Nurse in North Carolina.

Courses are taught by a team of instructors using a variety of teaching strategies in order to meet the learning needs of all our students. Classes are often designed with small group work, hands on practice, and discussion groups. All nursing courses are blackboard enhanced with web-enhanced components. In the fall of 2006 VGCC opened a state-of-the-art Simulation Center for the Health Sciences department. The faculty believes that simulation is an excellent way to present patient care learning opportunities in a realistic clinical setting. It provides the student with the chance to "think" on their feet" in a non-stressful environment thus developing their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. The program is a three semester program with each semester building on the previous in which students are expected to apply previously learned material culminating with a focused care client clinical opportunity in the last and final semester. This experience is geared to help the student with transition into practice. At the conclusion of the three semesters, the students are eligible to apply to sit for the NCLEX-PN.

Program Outcomes:

-Student will function within the legal boundaries of licensed practical nurse practice and accept responsibility for individual nursing actions, competence and behavior.

-Student will communicate effectively with the client, family and health care team verbally and through written documentation.

-Student will collect data from relevant resources regarding the five variables (physiological, psychological, sociocultural, developmental, and spiritual) of the client’s life according to structured guidelines.

-Student will participate in planning by utilizing resources data and suggesting goals and evidence based interventions for review by the licensed professional.

-Student, as a client advocate, will safely implement nursing care according to the established plan of care.

-Student will participate in the evaluation of the plan of care for the review by the qualified health professional.

-Student will provide accurate and consistent information and guidance to clients according to established teaching plan/protocol.