Program Purpose:
To prepare students to function effectively and safely in entry-level registered nursing positions.
This program meets all requirements of the Florida Department of Health’s Board of Nursing standards and has been granted candidate status for full national accreditation by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (www.nlnac.org; 3343 Peachtree Road, NE, Suite 850, Atlanta, GA 30326).
Employment Types:
Registered nurses are employed in a variety of settings, including hospitals, home health, public health, schools, physician’s offices, nursing homes, educational organizations and other settings.
Program Length:
72 credit hours
Admission Requirements:
Applicants must be at least 18 years of age and meet all admission requirements of the College.
Nursing is a limited-access program. Students are admitted using a point system. Students with the highest number of points will be offered admission. These students must accept by official TCC e-mail and must complete all admission requirements for finalized admission. Students who are not admitted may go to the Web site and submit a new nursing application for a future semester. There is no waiting list.
Applicants earn points toward admission from the following sources:
- HESI A2 Admission Test: Total possible points = 120
A minimum score of 75% on each subtest is required to be considered for admission. The test scores are translated into points. For example, a score of 81% provides 81 points toward admission. Only scores on the following subtests are considered for admission: reading, vocabulary, grammar, and math.
Students may earn additional points by achieving certain subtest scores. The score ranges required to earn additional points for a subtest are as follows:
o 80.0-89.99% = 3 additional points
o 90.0-100% = 5 additional points
A total of 20 additional points toward admission may be earned in this manner.
- Grade Point Average (GPA) on courses that are prerequisites to the nursing program: Total possible points = 40
- GPA x 10 = number of points toward admission
The points earned from the HESI A2 and GPA are added together, and this total determines who is offered admission. The total maximum points possible = 160.
HESI A2 Test
The HESI A2 Test is divided into nine subtests; however, applicants complete the following four tests only: reading comprehension, grammar, vocabulary and math. The other sections of the test are not to be completed. Study guides are available for purchase in the TCC Bookstore and are also on permanent reserve in the TCC Library.
The A2 will be administered by the TCC Testing Center on the 2nd floor of the FPAC (Auditorium) building. The test will be completed on a computer and is untimed, but generally takes less than four hours. Applicants will receive their scores before they leave the Testing Center. Applicants who do not score at the minimum level (75%) will receive a remediation plan via e-mail at a later date. The A2 may be repeated once, and the higher of the two scores will be used to calculate points. If the A2 is taken more than two times, the highest score achieved on one of the first two attempts will be considered for admission.
Students who are required to take developmental courses based on their scores on the Florida Postsecondary Education Readiness Test (or College Placement Test) should not attempt the A2 until they have successfully completed the required developmental courses. It is recommended that students complete ENC1101 and a general education mathematics course before attempting the A2.
Appointments are necessary to test. Call the Testing Center at 850-201-8282 to make an appointment. A $34 fee will be assessed and is paid in the TCC Cashier’s Office (www.tcc.fl.edu/current/cashiers/Pages/default.aspx) in the Student Union before the testing appointment. The TCC Cashier’s Office accepts cash, personal checks, credit cards and money orders. Applicants must take their payment receipt and a picture ID to the Testing Center. Applicants without these documents will not be allowed to test.
Students may take the HESI A2 at any college that uses HESI products. Students should have their scores sent to Dianne Douglas at the Division of Healthcare Professions at TCC by the testing site or Evolve.
GPA
- All prerequisite courses (see below) must be completed with a grade of “C” or better. A minimum GPA of 2.5 is required on nursing prerequisite courses. Students must be in good academic standing, with no academic suspension, probation or warning. All nursing prerequisites must be completed at the time of application. “S” grades will not be calculated but will be considered as meeting the course requirement.
- Students who are transferring courses into TCC that they wish to be considered toward admission must have an official transcript sent to TCC’s Enrollment Services and Student Success office for evaluation. A course with a different prefix that does not transfer as equivalent may be re-evaluated at the request of the applicant; the course syllabus must be submitted prior to the deadline date of application to receive consideration.
- If the student wishes to use Advanced Placement credit, the student must submit the official documentation from College Board to the TCC Enrollment Services and Student Success office by the application deadline.
- If the student is a non-degree seeking or transient student, the student must change his or her status to A.S. Degree in Nursing in Enrollment Services and Student Success in order for the transcript to be evaluated appropriately.
- It is the applicant’s responsibility to verify that transcripts have been received and evaluated. This information can be accessed at tccpassport.tcc.fl.edu by signing into TCC Passport and viewing the transcript.
In the event that two or more students have an equal number of points, residents of TCC’s service district, veterans and students who have completed all the corequisite non-nursing courses will receive first consideration. Corequisites include one general education humanities course, plus MCB2004 General Microbiology and MCB2004L Microbiology Laboratory .
The following are required upon acceptance and before final acceptance into the nursing program is granted:
- FDLE / FBI Background Check: Area healthcare agencies require that all students participating in clinical rotations at the agencies must have a Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) background check, including fingerprints. This background check will be completed and reviewed before final acceptance into the nursing program is granted. The cost of all background checks is the responsibility of the applicant.
- Local Background Check
- A local background check from the applicant’s county of residence will be required and paid for by the applicant upon acceptance into the Nursing program. This background check will be completed and reviewed before final acceptance into the nursing program is granted.
- All background check results will be returned to the TCC Division of Healthcare Professions designee. Information returned to TCC about the local background check will remain confidential. All background information that appears on a background check will be submitted to the designated person of the healthcare affiliate agency that requires such background checks of students. The agency will decide whether or not a student may participate in a clinical experience in that agency.
- A student who is not accepted by an agency for clinical experience will not be able to meet program objectives and, therefore, will not be granted final acceptance into the program. The costs will be not reimbursed.
- Drug Screen: Area healthcare agencies are drug-free places of employment and require a satisfactory (negative) drug screen of all healthcare program students that will be in clinical rotations at their facilities. This drug screen test will be performed by a designee of TCC and will be completed prior to final acceptance into the program. Students with a positive result on the drug screen will be given an opportunity to explain the confirmed positive test result. If the explanation is unacceptable and/or cannot be satisfactorily documented by the applicant’s physician, the applicant shall not be accepted into the program and the costs will not be reimbursed.
- Immunizations/screening required by a specified deadline
- Seasonal flu vaccine
- TB screening yearly: either a negative PPD test or chest x-ray
- Two immunizations for MMR (unless not indicated): MMR consists of
- Rubella (German measles)
- Mumps
- Rubeola (measles)
- Documented varicella immunity or a history of the disease or two immunizations
- Completion of the Hepatitis B series of three injections or a signed declination
- Basic Life Support (BLS/CPR) Certification
- Applicants must be Basic Life Support (BLS) certified by the announced deadline. The BLS certification must be kept current while enrolled in the Nursing Program. The BLS certification must be either the American Heart Association or American Red Cross “BLS for Health Care Provider” course. No others will be accepted.
- Admitted students will submit a signed photocopy (front and back) of CPR certification to the Nursing Department by the announced deadline.
- Program Criteria and Application
- For more information about the application process or about the Nursing Program, please contact Dianne Douglas, Healthcare Programs Coordinator, at (850) 558-4523 or douglasd@tcc.fl.edu, or contact the nursing office (850) 558-4500.
- All required documentation must be submitted by 5 p.m. on the application deadline. Applications are to be submitted online.
- After determining which semester he or she will be ready to begin the nursing program, the student should click on the text below to complete the application. This is an online application that consists of only three items: TCC student ID number, semester and program. Once the student has clicked the OK button, the student has submitted the application and applied to the program.
Transfer Students
Qualified students may apply for transfer admission to the TCC Nursing Program. Acceptance will be considered on an individual basis. Please note the following:
- TCC students requesting re-entry into the Nursing Program will be given priority over transfer students.
- The number of course attempts for transfer students at their current or previous school will be counted in the TCC program. Therefore, transfer students must meet all eligibility requirements according to TCC re-entry policies.
- Students who are not eligible for re-entry into their current or previous nursing program are not eligible to transfer to the TCC Nursing Program.
- The full transfer policy is available upon request from the chairs of nursing or the Healthcare Programs Coordinator at douglasd@tcc.fl.edu.
Program Application:
The program accepts students for each Fall and each Spring semester program entrance. This is a limited-access program with a limited number of seats per class; applicants are accepted based on academic achievement. Applicants must submit a nursing program admission application by the published application deadline; this is a separate application from the College application. Persons interested in entering the nursing program should obtain information from the program’s Web page (www.tcc.fl.edu/nursing).
See important information in the Additional Healthcare Degree Requirements section of this catalog.
Academic Division:
Healthcare Professions, Ghazvini Center for Healthcare Education
Contact:
(850) 558-4500 or healthedu@tcc.fl.edu