Practical Nursing Access

Why Choose North Island College?

• Respected credentials. Health care programs at NIC are well-respected in the communities we serve, and graduates are in high demand. With NIC’s high-quality instruction, small class sizes, and dedication to student success, graduates are able to achieve the high standards required to work in this demanding profession.
• Tailored for you. The Practical Nursing Access program at NIC was created to meet the specific health needs of North Island communities. By allowing Health Care Assistants to quickly upgrade their skills and credentials, NIC's program is unique in BC.
• Know your community. NIC students develop their skills with patients and a team of health care professionals in their own communities, giving them local health knowledge and working relationships where they live.

Program Highlights

The Practical Nursing (PN) Access program is designed for Health Care Assistants and other health care professionals who want to build on their education, training and work experience to achieve certification as a Practical Nurse. NIC provides students with opportunities to develop the basic knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to work as Practical Nurse in hospitals and licensed care facilities. 

The Practical Nursing NIC Access Program follows a provincial curriculum and is grounded by caring, holistic concepts that encourage, health promotion, cultural competence, critical thinking, teaching and learning. The program offers a balanced learning experience that includes foundational academic classes and practical work experiences.

Students learn how to meet the needs of people - from infants to adults - and focus on treating people who experience major disruptions to health and healing. Each semester includes a clinical experience related to a specific patient population and prepares students for realistic work experiences after graduation.

First semester courses were developed to bridge knowledge acquired in the Health Care Assistant program with the Practical Nursing program. The final semester has two components. The first component is dedicated to professional issues, health and healing in an acute care setting. Students conclude this component with a five-week practice experience in an acute care hospital. The second component is the final preceptorship. Preceptorship is approximately five weeks, or 160 hours, in length. During this experience, the student is partnered with a LPN and consolidates their learning as they gradually assume 100% of the LPN's workload.

Career Opportunities

Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN) are integral members of the health care team, providing nursing care for families and individuals of all ages. The provincial regulatory framework currently states that LPNs work "under the direction of a medical practitioner" or "under the supervision of a registered nurse". However, LPNs are regulated by the College of Licensed Practical Nurses of British Columbia (CLPNBC) and are responsible and accountable for their own nursing practice.

LPNs practice in a variety of settings including acute care hospitals, complex care facilities, community settings, rehabilitation centers, doctors' offices, clinics, and correctional facilities. LPNs have a broad scope of practice with many responsibilities, including medication administration, transcribing physicians’ orders, and working in a leadership role in residential care facilities. The complexity of client care is increasing for all nurses and there are many post-basic educational opportunities for LPNs. There continues to be a strong demand for LPNs in BC.

Seat Availability

The prospective Practical Nursing Access student, who has met all of the Admission Requirements, will be put on a waiting list for the next available seat in the program. Practical Nursing Access students who have failed to progress in the program can refer to subsection #2 under "Completion Requirements" for further information.

Students seeking to transfer into the program to complete their Practical Nursing certificate will be required to submit official transcripts of courses completed at other educational institutions. As well, the transfer student will be required to sign a consent authorizing release of confidential information such as student transcripts and program related information including practice experience appraisals. Seat availability for transfer students will be determined by the program faculty. These requirements also apply to any Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) students who wish to transfer to the Practical Nursing program.

A student who fails any course in the Practical Nursing Access program cannot progress in the program until the course is passed. If in repeating the course the student passes, then the student will re-enter the program at a subsequent offering of the same term in which the failure occurred providing there is an available seat. If in repeating the course, the student fails again, then the student will be removed entirely from the program and can only re-enter by going through the admission process and beginning at Term One.

A student who has already failed a course, repeated it and passed, re-entered the program and then fails another course will be removed entirely from the program and can only re-enter by going through the admission process and beginning at Term One.

Re-entering the program is dependent on an available seat and at the discretion of the Practical Nursing Department. Students who fail a required course may be asked to complete a learning assessment prior to being considered for re-admission. These regulations are important to the profession to ensure that graduates have the required skills and knowledge and are therefore deemed safe to practice.

Important Practice Placement Information

Student practice experiences in health agencies are essential to the Practical Nursing Access program. Students will be placed in a variety of community agencies that have services and resources to support the health of different age groups. Complex care facilities provide residential care and support for a primarily older adult population, and acute care hospitals offer care to clients with episodic health events. While the majority of practice placements are located in NIC campus communities, it may be necessary to utilize agencies in other Vancouver Island communities. Students may be scheduled to attend practice experiences in other communities and must arrange their own transportation and assume related costs. During the final Preceptorship component students may be required to work 8 and/or 12 hour shifts, including days, evenings, nights, weekends, and holidays.
 

Admission Requirements

• Provincial English 12, NIC ENG 060, ENG 098, or equivalent with a C or better, or successful assessment testing.
• Biology 12, or NIC BIO 060, or equivalent completed within 10 years with a C or better.
• C in Principles of Math 11, or Foundations 11, or Pre-calculus 11, or Applications of Math 12, or A&W 12, or NIC MAT 053, or successful assessment testing.
• Proof of a Health Care Assistant or Resident Care Attendant certificate from a British Columbia public college. Note: *If the credential is NOT from a BC public post-secondary institution, the credential and competency will need to be assessed for equivalency to NIC's HCA program.
• Submit proof (such as an employer letter of reference) of 600 hours of satisfactory RCA/HCA work experience within the last five years. Note: NIC HSRCA and HCA graduates from the last 2 years will be required to have 300 hours of practice experience for entrance to the program.
• Interviews with program faculty and skills testing may be required prior to admission.

Before Classes Begin

Once accepted to the program, but before classes begin, students will be required to:

1. Hold a current CPR level C (HRT 011) certificate or equivalent and have completed a Workplace Hazardous Material Information System (WHMIS) course. A photocopy of these certificates must be presented to the faculty on the first day of classes. It is the responsibility of the student to maintain their CPR Level C certification throughout the program.
2. Submit a completed Immunization Form. This immunization form should be validated by the public health nurse at your local health unit. This form must be presented to the faculty on the first day of class.
3. Submit a Criminal Record Check permission form so that the college can get your Criminal Record Check done. This form will be sent to you when you are offered a seat in the program.
4. Complete the Practical Nursing Access program intake package, which includes a compulsory orientation seminar, a math evaluation, and individual appointments as required.

To Be Successful

A number of abilities and skills are required to be successful in the Practical Nursing Access program. These include, but are not limited to, the following:

• An ability to communicate clearly in English, both spoken and written.
• Students will be required to access online resources and to submit typewritten essays and assignments. In the practice setting students may use electronic documentation. As a result, basic computer literacy is an essential skill, and students must have internet access and an email address.
• Fundamental Computer Literacy (CPS 025) and Critical Reading & Study Methodologies (STS 093) are strongly recommended as prerequisites to the program.
• Accurate math calculations are critical for safe nursing practice. Students will be required to complete a math evaluation once they are qualified for admission. The intention of the evaluation is to assist students to identify their learning needs early and to seek remedial assistance in order to position themselves for success in the math components of the nursing program. The goal for the math evaluation is to achieve 90% and opportunities to rewrite will be provided with the intention of helping students improve their marks. Students will not be denied admission to the program if they do not achieve the 90% but it is strongly recommended they obtain remedial help immediately.
• It is an expectation of the Practical Nursing Access program that students demonstrate responsible, accountable behaviour in terms of maintaining a pattern of regular attendance, and establishing effective working relationships with student colleagues and faculty. Students are required to adhere to the CLPNBC Standards of Practice and Code of Ethics. Failure to adhere to these standards may result in the student being required to leave the program.
• An interest in caring and providing service to an ethnically and culturally diverse clientele of people spanning all age groups
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills in the context of their collaborative relationships with clients, instructors, student peers, and multidisciplinary health care team members.
• Critical thinking skills. When providing care to clients the student must demonstrate responsible, safe and ethical behaviour and make informed, considered judgments.
• An ability to work independently and as a member of a health care team.
• The ability to carry out complex skill sequences of 15 or more steps that require psychomotor ability. These skills will include but not be limited to the preparation and administration of medication to clients, wound management, and basic and specialized personal care skills and comfort measures.
• The capacity to maintain their own mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being while working in a rewarding but often stressful working environment.
• Access to personal transportation is recommended for the Practice Experience and Preceptorship components. Students who are not able to provide their own transport may have difficulty meeting the requirements of these courses.

Program Requirements

• PNA-100 Anatomy and Physiology
• PNA-110 Professional Practice
• PNA-120 Health
• PNA-130 Healing
• PNA-131 Pharmacology
• PNA-140 Human Relationships
• PNA-150 Nursing Arts/Clinical
• PNA-160 Clinical Placement
• PNP-113 Professional Issues
• PNP-123 Health III
• PNP-133 Healing III
• PNP-153 Nursing Arts/Clinical III
• PNP-163 Practice Experience III
• PNP-173 Preceptorship