Nursing

The Associate Degree Nursing (ADN) program combines coursework in nursing and general education with clinical experiences in area healthcare facilities under the supervision of college faculty.

The Nursing program is accredited by the New Jersey Board of Nursing / 124 Halsey Street, 6th Floor, Newark, NJ 07102 / 973-504-6430; and by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) / 3343 Peachtree Rd. NE, Suite 850, Atlanta, GA 30326 / 404-975-5000.

The ADN program faculty is committed to providing high-quality nursing education to meet the diverse and changing healthcare needs of the community and to promote the development of qualified students prepared for the professional role of the entry-level registered nurse. Students are challenged to achieve their goals in a caring, creative, and engaged learning environment.

The foundation for the curriculum is based on the principles of patient-centered care, teamwork and collaboration, clinical reasoning, quality improvement, leadership, information technology, and safety. Based on these principles, faculty mentor, teach, and encourage students to develop competency in the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required to provide safe and effective nursing care.

PROGRAM OUTCOMES

• Provide safe, quality, evidence-based, patient-centered nursing care in a variety of healthcare settings to diverse patient populations across the lifespan;
• Engage in clinical reasoning to make patientcentered care decisions;
• Participate in quality improvement processes to improve patient care;
• Collaborate with members of the interprofessional team, the patient, and the patient’s support persons;
• Use information management (informatics) principles, techniques, and systems as well as patient care technology to communicate, manage knowledge, mitigate error, and support decision-making;
• Assimilate leadership, management, legal, and ethical guidelines in practice as a Registered Nurse.

The Nursing program offers both a daytime and an evening/weekend option. Upon enrollment in the college, students must declare their program of study (major) as Health Science - Nursing. Students must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. Qualified out-of-county applicants will be considered for admission only after all qualified Mercer County residents are accommodated.

Admission to the college requires a high school diploma or its equivalent, satisfactory performance on the college skills placement test, and completion of any required academic foundations courses.

Admission to the Nursing program requires a cumulative (transfer or Mercer) minimum GPA of 2.5 or higher; an 80% or higher in the English Language Composite and 80% or higher on the math portion of the HESI Admission Assessment Exam; completion of first semester courses (ENG 101, CHE 107, BIO 103 and math elective) with a C or higher, with the exception of BIO 103 (requiring a C+ or higher); and attendance at a mandatory Nursing program information session.

Students must earn a minimum grade of C in all required general education courses and C+ or higher in BIO 103, 104, and 201 as well as all nursing courses in order to progress through the curriculum and graduate.

Upon completion of the program, graduates can apply for licensure as a Registered Nurse through the New Jersey Board of Nursing and are prepared to take the National Council of State Boards of Nursing Licensure Exam (NCLEX-RN). The New Jersey Board of Nursing reserves the right to determine the eligibility for licensure of any student with a history of substance abuse or criminal offenses.

BSN Completion

MCCC students have the opportunity to apply to a variety of BSN completion programs through the college’s partnership with four-year Nursing programs, including those of Rutgers University and Felician College, both of which offer RN-BSN completion programs on-campus at Mercer County Community College.

For further information on these opportunities as well as details concerning admission to MCCC’s Nursing program, visit the program website. Applicants are strongly encouraged to make advisement appointments with the Nursing program office.

SEE ALSO:
Nursing (Cooperative) degree program