Nursing (ADN)

 

Los Angeles Southwest Nursing Graduates

Program Overview:

Play a Critical Role in People’s Lives Every Day

Prepare a patient for surgery while comforting them and their family beforehand. Take a child’s vital signs and talk with their parents to find out why they need to see the doctor to gather information to prepare the doctor for the visit. Conduct research on a specific population within L.A. County that is statistically showing a higher risk for heart disease to present to county officials, begin public service announcements, and alert healthcare workers of these trends.

These scenarios barely start to scratch the surface of the tasks nurses perform every day they go to work. They are healthcare’s caretakers, the ones who are a crucial link between patient and doctor, and provide those under their care immediate medical attention, compassion, and support.

Nurses are pivotal to our healthcare system, allowing it to run smoothly and efficiently. Nursing has always been in high demand, and as the demand for healthcare services continues to grow, Nursing is now one of the top ten (10) professions in the country, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

It takes an exceptional person to be a nurse. For over fifty (50) years, LASC has been teaching nursing students. Our Nursing Program is rigorous and challenging, with plenty of hands-on training, hospital patient care experience, and demanding coursework that will require your full attention. And, once you complete this program and pass your license examination, you will have an extremely satisfying and rewarding career that will keep you both mentally and physically on the move! 

Find out what you will need to apply to LASC’s Nursing Program so you can begin your future nursing career today!

Contact
Nursing Director
Director/Chair
Indiana McClellan
Phone
(323) 241-5461
Email
@email
Office Location
School of Career & Technical Education, Room 132
Office Hours
Mondays to Fridays: 9:30AM - 4:00PM

Department
Nursing

Pathway
Health and Human Services

Careers in Nursing

Once you become an R.N., it opens your possibilities to hundreds of different careers that all fall under the same R.N. category when statistically tracking these careers. There are specialty fields, such as general practice, dermatology, pediatric, emergency room, outpatient care, psychiatric mental health, oncology, plastic surgery, and many others.

While most R.N.s work in healthcare centers and hospitals, there are other opportunities, such as working in public health, on a cruise ship or in other countries, being a hospice or home health nurse, working in schools, camps, or prisons. The options are vast and you’ll find you have a lot of opportunity to choose a career that fits your personal and career needs!

Here are a few careers and their salaries you could have with a Nursing degree:
Career information below taken from bls.gov November 2019. Go to bls.gov for most current career information.

RNs provide and coordinate patient care, educate patients, and the public about various health conditions.

Data for Los Angeles/Long Beach/Anaheim

Typical Education Level: Salary: Hourly Median Wage:
Associate / Bachelor’s Degree $99,930/year $48.05/hour
Work Experience in a Related Occupation: Job Outlook 2018-2028: Number of Jobs 2018:
None needed 4% increase
(as fast as average)

103,910

Demonstrate and teach patient care in classroom and clinical units to nursing students. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.

Data for state of California

Typical Education Level: Salary: Hourly Median Wage:
Master’s Degree $101,320/year N/A
Work Experience in a Related Occupation: Job Outlook 2018-2028: Number of Jobs 2018:
None needed 2% increase
(little or no change)

3,390

Plan, direct, and coordinate the business activities of healthcare providers.

Data for Los Angeles/Long Beach/Anaheim

Typical Education Level: Salary: Hourly Median Wage:
Bachelor’s Degree $120,140/year $57.76/hour
Work Experience in a Related Occupation: Job Outlook 2018-2028: Number of Jobs 2018:
Less than 5 years 4% increase
(as fast as average)

12,470

Nurse practitioners coordinate patient care and may provide primary and specialty healthcare.

Data for Los Angeles/Long Beach/Anaheim

Typical Education Level: Salary: Hourly Median Wage:
Master's Degree $135,230/year $65.01/hour
Work Experience in a Related Occupation: Job Outlook 2018-2028: Number of Jobs 2018:
None needed 1% increase
(little or no change)

4,110

What You’ll Learn at LASC in Nursing

You can get an Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) degree at LASC where you will get the educational background and hands-on training you’ll need to start your career as a Registered Nurse (R.N.):

  • Learn human anatomy and physiology to understand the human body and how it functions properly.
  • Gain critical-thinking, logic, and communication skills as you learn how to diagnose medical problems from listening to patients, asking questions, and using your knowledge of diseases and symptoms to assess if the patient needs medical assistance.
  • Build practical nursing skills in nursing labs before going onsite to local Los Angeles hospitals and facilities to learn and strengthen your patient care skills.
  • Discover best methods and practices to communicate with patients and their families.
  • Learn the intricacies of patient care, medical procedures, and how to keep information organized about patients and prioritized by need.
  • Once you successfully complete the ADN program, you will be able to take the NCLEX (National Council Licensing Examination) to become a Registered Nurse and begin your career!
  • Want to transfer? With your Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) degree, you will save money on your first two years of Nursing school at LASC learning from resourceful, dedicated faculty before you transfer to pursue a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing (BSN). Visit your academic counselor to fund out more.

Degrees & Courses You Will Take

Review LASC’s Associate in Science in Nursing degree, known as an Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN), and our required course of study for this program. Go to LASC’s current Course Catalog for specific course information, and find out about how to complete the Nursing Application Process to start your path to becoming a nurse:

Major Code: 1203.00

Total Required Units: 30-60, depending on the chosen program

Upon completion of this program, you should be able to:

  • Evaluate nursing care provided to patients, families, and communities across the lifespan from diverse backgrounds in a variety of settings to ensure that it is compassionate, age and culturally appropriate and based on a patient's preferences, values and needs.
  • Collaborate with members of the interprofessional health care team to manage and coordinate the provision of safe, quality care for patients, families, and groups.
  • Demonstrate use of best current evidence and clinical expertise when making clinical decisions in the provision of patient-centered care.
  • Use evidence-based information and patient care technology to communicate relevant patient information, manage care and mitigate error in the provision of safe, quality patient-centered care.
  • Use evidence-based quality improvement processes to effect change in the delivery of patient-centered care.
  • Demonstrate effective use of strategies to mitigate errors and reduce the risk of harm to patients, self and others in healthcare, home, and community settings.
  • Use leadership, management and priority-setting skills in the provision and management of safe, quality patient-centered care.
  • Assimilate integrity and accountability into practices that uphold established regulatory, legal, and ethical principles while providing patient-centered, standard-based nursing care.
  • Provide health-related information to patients, families, and communities using varying teaching methods, which facilitate the acquisition of new knowledge and skills.
  • Model verbal and nonverbal communication strategies that promote an effective exchange of information, development of therapeutic relationships and shared decision making with patients, families, and communities from diverse backgrounds.
Prerequisite Courses and Requirements: Units
ANATOMY 1 Introduction to Human Anatomy 4
AND
PHYSIOL 1 Introduction to Human Physiology 4
OR  
BIOLOGY 20 Human Anatomy and Physiology 8
Micro 1 Introductory Microbiology 5
OR  
Micro 20 General Microbiology 4
AND all the following:
English 101 College Reading & Composition I 3
COMM 101 Oral Communication 1 3
PSYCH 1 General Psychology 1 3
PSYCH 41 Life-Span Psychology from Infancy to Old Age 3
SOC 1 Introduction to Sociology 3
MATH 227 or Transfer level Math 5
First Year Courses:
First Semester
Units
NURS 501A Fundamentals of Nursing A 5
NURS 501B Fundamentals of Nursing B 5
Second Semester
NURS 502A Medical-Surgical Nursing A 4.5
NURS 503B Psychiatric Nursing 4.5
Second Year Courses:
First Semester
NURS 506B Maternal and Child Health Nursing (Obstetrics) 4.5
NURS 506A Maternal and Child Health Nursing (Pediatrics) 4.5
Second Semester
NURS 502B Medical-Surgical Nursing B 4.5
NURS 503A Advanced Medical-Surgical Nursing 4.5
NURS 507 Senior Seminar 1
TOTAL UNITS 38

*Note: Consult the Nursing Department for the sequence of nursing courses

LACCD GE Requirements Units
Humanities 3
American Institution 3
   
   

Graduates of this Nursing Program are exempt from the college general education requirement in Health.

LVN to ADN Advance Placement Requirements

  • Pre-requisites, documentation, requirements, and application process are the same as the Traditional ADN Program. Admission will depend upon spaces available.
  • In addition to the above requirements, you will need a current Vocational Nursing (VN) License from an accredited VN program and at least ONE year of verifiable work experience as an LVN.
  • Once you are admitted into the program, you must successfully pass the Challenge Exam and Competency Skills before you can enter into the second-semester courses.
  • Your starting semester may be the following Fall or Spring semester, dependent upon when second-semester courses are offered.

 

Military Personnel Advance Placement Requirements

If you have military experience and education in a healthcare occupation, you may qualify for advance placement into LASC’s Nursing program. Pre-requisites, documentation, requirements, and application process are the same as the Traditional ADN Program. Admission will depend upon spaces available.


If you have documented military education and experience in health care occupations, specifically one of these:

  • Basic Medical Technician Corpsman (Navy HM or Air Force BMTCP)
  • Army Health Care Specialist (68 W Army Medic)
  • Air Force Independent Duty Medical Technician (IMDT 4NOX1C)

We recommend also reviewing this information in the current Course Catalog for any updated information. In the catalog and Nursing Student Handbook, you can also review our current policies on Petitioning for Credit by Examination and how to Challenge for Nursing Course Credit:

You may be eligible for advanced placement into the LASC nursing programs. You’ll need documentation of your education and experience to qualify for the specific Military Health Care Occupation, as well as successful completing the appropriate challenge exams, dosage calculation exam, and skills competency evaluation. Official transcript(s) and documentation of your experience (on official letterhead) must be submitted. You must have been discharged under “honorable” conditions.

 

Please review and follow the policies below:

  1. Your documentation of education and clinical experience as an LVN or military health care occupations must demonstrate satisfactory completion of education and experience. Official transcript(s) and documentation of experience (on official letterhead) must be submitted.
  2. As an applicant, you must meet all general entrance requirements of the Associate Degree Nursing program, including completion of designated prerequisites and achievement of required cut score of 62% on nursing readiness entrance examination, ATITest of Essential Academic Skills (ATI-TEAS). If you do not meet the cut scores, you will have six (6) months to one (1) year to remediate and re-take the exam. If you do not meet the cut score the second time, you will not be eligible for entry into the nursing program.
  3. Your acceptance as an LVN/Military advanced placement student into the Associate Degree Nursing Program is contingent upon space availability and successfully passing the skills competency exam, achieving 75% or above on the challenge exam and 95% on dosage calculation exam.
  4. As an LVN/Military Advanced Placement student, you will not be eligible for admission into the Associate Degree Nursing Program if you earned a substandard grade of “D”, or “W” in a previous nursing program.
  5. You must adhere to the challenge policy and procedure, as stated in the Student Handbook and College Catalog (Petition for Credit by Examination) and as stated below in the Procedures section.
  6. You must adhere to LACCD’s Administrative Regulation E10 guideline as stated on the LACCD webpage and the LASC nursing program Progression and Retention policy.

PROCEDURE:
If you are interested in applying to the Nursing program, you must request an appointment with the program director at least four (4) weeks prior to the application period to discuss eligibility requirements for the Associate Degree Nursing.

You must:

  1. Satisfy the rules and regulations established in the LASC policy for petitioning for Credit By Examination (refer to current LASC catalog for the established criteria)
  2. Have satisfactorily completed the prerequisites of the Nursing courses being challenged
  3. Submit to the Department Chairperson documentation of all previous course work and/ or experiences you believe qualifies you for course credit by examination
  4. The petition, document, and recommendations of the Chair will be presented and discussed with the Nursing Program’s Policy/ Admission committee at the next regularly scheduled meeting
  5. The Nursing Policy /Admission committee will determine eligibility
  6. If you qualify, you will be contacted by the examiner following the decision of the Policy/ Admission committee advising:
  7. The date the course materials will be available
  8. Suggested dates and location of the examination dates of scheduled clinical experiences that include development of nursing care plans (nursing care plans will be graded as Pass/Fail).
  9. A letter grade will be given once you complete your theory and clinical examination. You will be notified what grade you achieved for the course, and credit will be issued if you pass the exam
  10. Once you are notified of your grade, the grade will be submitted to the Admission and Records Office. The Nursing Program requires clinical experience that will be observed at local hospitals and other health care settings in the community. All clinical experience is coordinated with classroom instruction. Lecture hours will be assigned

Approved by the LACCD Nursing District Discipline Committee: 04/13/16

 

The California Board of Registered Nursing mandates this option, and candidates completing it are eligible to take the National Council of State Boards of Nursing Examination (NCLEX) to acquire licensure as a Registered Nurse in the State of California. Other states may not recognize this option as valid preparation for R.N. licensure and, therefore, not grant interstate licensure.

Individuals completing this option are not graduates of Los Angeles Southwest College’s Nursing Program and are not eligible to wear the program’s cap or pin. The Associate Degree in Science with a specialization in Nursing is not awarded upon completion of the 30-Unit Option. A grade of “C” or better is mandatory for all courses required in the 30-Unit Option. Applicants are admitted on a space available basis.

Required Prerequisite Courses: Units
PHYSIOL 1 Introduction to Human Physiology 4
MICRO 1 Introductory Microbiology 5
Required Nursing Courses:
NURS 518 Patient Care Seminar for Transfer Students 2
NURS 526 Communication in Nursing 1
NURS 527 Nursing Process 1
NURS 503A Advanced Medical-Surgical Nursing 4.5
NURS 503B Psychiatric Nursing 4.5
NURS 507 Senior Seminar 1
NURS 502B Medical-Surgical Nursing 4.5
TOTAL UNITS

27

Application Process

If you are selecting this option, please go to the Nursing Department Office to receive an application. Once you complete the application, write on the front of the form in the upper right corner, “30-Unit Option.” Return the application to the Nursing Department Office along with:

  1. Verification of a current California LVN license
  2. Verification of U.S. high school graduation, G.E.D., or California Proficiency Examination
  3. Official college transcripts listing the required prerequisite courses
  4. Education Plan completed by a college counselor at LASC.

If you are selecting this option, you are also required to take the Nursing Department’s tests to demonstrate math computation and reading speed, proficiency, and comprehension. If needed, we have assistance services to help you achieve the required skill levels you’ll need prior to enrolling in the first Nursing course.

Admission Requirements

  1. Completion of all health, immunization and laboratory tests required for students enrolled in the generic Nursing Program.
  2. Professional liability insurance.
  3. CPR certification for health care providers, which includes adult, child, and infant airway management information and competencies

Get Ready Before You Start

Want to be a nurse? You can begin preparing for it before your first class starts at LASC:

  • Make an appointment with your LASC academic counselor to review LASC’s Nursing Program Requirements to review the general education and prerequisites to develop your Student Education Plan (SEP), along with how to apply to the program once you are an LASC student. Start to gather your transcripts, and attend an Information Session to find out detailed information on how to apply.
  • Still in high school? Talk with your high school counselor about the math, science, and AP courses you can take to start preparing academically. Contact local healthcare centers and hospitals to see if they have any summer volunteering opportunities or internships you can be a part of. If your school has a pre-med club or start your own club. Read blogs about the healthcare industry and take a CPR / First Aid Course.
  • Once you’re at LASC, make sure to get involved with on-campus clubs and organizations, such as the Future Nurses of America and Toastmasters, or become a student ambassador, or run for student body government. These create new relationships and enhance your resume to show potential employers your commitment to building leadership skills and furthering your healthcare community.

LASC End of Program Outcomes

The Student Learning Outcomes include outcomes that are reflected of the six QSEN and four MNOF integrating concepts to promote human flourishing and the development of nursing judgment, professional identify, and a spirit of inquiry.

The graduate of the LASC Nursing Program is able to:

  • Evaluate nursing care provided to patients, families, and communities across the lifespan from diverse backgrounds in a variety of settings to ensure that it is compassionate, age and culturally appropriate and based on a patient's preferences, values and needs (Patient-Centered).
  • Collaborate with members of the interprofessional health care team to manage and coordinate the provision of safe, quality care for patients, families, and groups. (Collaboration)
  • Demonstrate use of best current evidence-based and clinical expertise when making clinical decisions in the provision of patient-centered care (Evidence-Based).
  • Use evidence-based information and patient care technology to communicate relevant patient information, manage care and mitigate error in the provision of safe, quality patient-centered care (Communication)
  • Use evidence-based quality improvement processes to effect change in the delivery of patient-centered care.
  • Demonstrate clinical reasoning and nursing judgement in providing patient-center care based on evidence in nursing science and technology in a variety of patient care settings (Safety).
  • Use leadership, management and priority-setting skills in the provision and management of safe, quality patient-centered care (Leadership).
  • Assimilate integrity and accountability into practices that uphold established regulatory, legal, and ethical principles while providing patient-centered, standard-based nursing care (Ethics).
  • Provide health-related information to patients, families, and communities using varying teaching methods, which facilitate the acquisition of new knowledge and skills (Education).
  • Model verbal and nonverbal communication strategies that promote an effective exchange of information, development of therapeutic relationships and shared decision making with patients, families, and communities from diverse backgrounds (Communication)

 

Program (Graduate) Outcomes

 

  1. 85% or greater of graduates from the Los Angeles Southwest College Associate Degree Nursing program will pass the NCLEX-RN Exam on the first attempt.
  2. 80% or greater of employers will be satisfied with entry level ADN graduates’ work performance 12 months after beginning employment.
  3. 75% or greater of ADN graduates will be employed in the field of nursing or return to advanced education within 12 months.

 

 

Nursing Department

Office Hours and Location

Mondays to Fridays: 9:30AM - 4:00PM
Saturdays to Sundays: Closed

School of Career & Technical Education, Room 132

Contact

Satavia Smith
Senior Office Assistant
Email: smithsj2@lasc.edu
Office Direct: (323) 241-5461