Registered Nursing, A.S.

(72 credit hours)

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The Associate of Science in Nursing (ASDN) is designed to provide the applicant with a basic nursing knowledge and skills to successfully assess, plan, and implement the care of clients.  Upon completion of this program track, graduates are eligible to take the national council licensure examination (NCLEX-RN exam) to become a registered nurse.  Graduates of this program enter a challenging and exciting field of nursing with a variety of employment opportunities such as: acute, emergency, critical care, home health, maternal and pediatric care.

The Associate of Science Degree at Florida Gateway College is approved by the Florida Board of Nursing, 4052 Bald Cypress Way, Bin C02, Tallahassee, FL 32399-3252, 850-245-4125.

 

The associate nursing program at Florida Gateway College at the main campus located in Lake City, Florida is accredited by the:

Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN)

3390 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 1400, Atlanta, FA 30326

404-975-5000.

The most recent accreditation decision was made by the ACEN Board of Commissioners for the associate nursing program is: Continuing Accreditation. 

View the public information disclosed by the ACEN regarding this program at http://www.acenursing.us/accreditedprograms/programSearch.htm.

 

ASDN End of Program Student Learning Outcomes (EOP-SLOs):

At the end of the ASDN program at least 85% of the students will obtain a score of 80% or greater on each of the EOP-SLOs as measured on the clinical evaluation tool of the last nursing course:

1. The student will recognize the patient or designee as the source of control and full partner in providing compassionate and coordinated care based on respect for patients’ preferences, values, and needs. (Competency: Patient-Centered Care).
2. The student will minimize the risk of harm to patients and providers through both system effectiveness and individual performance. (Competency: Safety).
3. The student will be able to use information and technology to communicate, manage knowledge, mitigate error, and support decision making. (Competency: Informatics).
4. The student will integrate evidence-based practice with clinical expertise to include quality improvement methods for delivery of optimal health care. (Competencies: Evidence-Based and Quality Improvement).
5. The student will function effectively within nursing and inter-professional teams, fostering open communication, mutual respect, and shared decision-making to achieve quality patient care. (Competencies: Teamwork, Collaboration, Leadership & Professionalism).

Cronenwett, L., Sherwood, G., Barnsteiner, J., Disch, J., Johnson, J., Mitchell, P., Sullivan, D., Warren, J. (2007). Quality and safety education for nurses.  Nursing Outlook, 55(3)122-31.

Students seeking admission to the ASDN Traditional Generic component must:

• be 18 years of age prior to the start of the program;
• submit a Florida Gateway College admission application to the Office of Enrollment Services;
• have official high school transcript, GED or documentation of Home Schooling, and any transcripts from colleges other than FGC sent to FGC’s Office of Enrollment Services;
• provide scores for ACT or SAT standardized testing or register and take a college placement test prior to seeing an academic advisor in the Student Engagement department;
• complete developmental education courses as required, prior to registering for the science courses;
• complete all prerequisite courses and obtain an overall GPA of 2.8 or higher.  Any corequisite courses completed before admission will also be calculated in the overall GPA.  Note: each prerequisite and corequisite course grade must be a “C” or higher;
• all science courses (BSC 2085/L, BSC 2086/L, MCB 2010/L) must have a GPA of 3.0 or higher; Science courses must be taken within 5 years of application to the nursing program.
• all prerequisite courses must be completed by the end of spring semester before program begins in the fall term; and,
• students who do not complete each corequisite course with a “C” grade or higher within the specified time will not progress in the nursing program.

To be considered for admission, the applicant must submit the following to the ASDN program by the established deadline stated on the College’s Website: 

• ASDN supplemental application;
• an unofficial copy of transcripts from colleges attended, including FGC;
• proof of obtaining a proficiency score on the nursing entrance exam (TEAS) with a score of 58.7% or higher; Note: This exam is available through the FGC Testing Center and scores must be within past two years.

Applicants may be randomly selected for an interview before final acceptance to the ASDN program. If selected for an interview, applicant must come to the interview in professional attire and be prepared to write a two (2)-paragraph reflection paper related to an assigned topic in nursing.

The prospective student must provide official transcripts to the Nursing Department and the Office of Enrollment Services immediately following the end of the spring semester for prerequisites and corequisites taken at a college other than FGC during the spring semester in which the student is applying. Note: The official transcripts must be received by the last day of open registration as determined by the FGC Academic Calendar.  Applicants who do not submit the official transcripts on time will not be considered for admission to the nursing program.

Applicants are responsible for providing all the required documentation to be considered for admission to the nursing program.  Note: Applicants are encouraged to make copies of all documentation for their personal records. 

Applicants meeting the above criteria are not guaranteed admission to the nursing program. Admission is competitive and there is a limited admission capacity to this program.

Guaranteed Admission

Any applicant who has earned a minimum grade of B+ in all prerequisite courses and a B+ in any corequisite courses completed by application due date will be guaranteed admission to the ASDN program, providing eligibility requirements are met.

Also, all prerequisite and corequisite must be taken at Florida Gateway College to be guaranteed admission to the ASDN program.

Career Pathway Admission

A select number of seats will be reserved for Career Pathways students, based on the Career Pathways agreement between FGC and high schools in the service areas. To be eligible for one of these seats, a Career Pathways student must:

1. Attend FGC for all prerequsite and corequisite courses.
2. Obtain an overall GPA of 2.8 or higher in all completed prerequisite courses.  Any corequisite courses completed before admission will also be calculated in the overall GPA.
3. Apply to the Nursing Program within two years of high school graduation.
4. Submit two reference letters, one must be from the applicant’s high school Career Pathway instructor or high school guidance counselor.
5. In the event of multiple candidates, the nurse entrance exam score TEAS score will be used to determine admission.

Paramedic Admission

A select number of seats will be reserved for current paramedics who meet the ASDN admission requirements above.  If there are more qualified applicants than there are available reserved seats, applicants will be considered with the general ASDN admission pool.

Other Admission

Eligible students who do not qualify under the Guaranteed Admission, Career Pathways Admission or Paramedic Admission criteria will be admitted if seats are available.  In the event of tied points, the nurse entrance exam score (TEAS) will be used to determine admission.

Additional admission information may be found in the ASDN Admission Packet on the College Web site at www.fgc.edu. Florida Gateway College reserves the right to make changes in admission criteria and program information, as circumstances require in the continuing development of the program.

To meet clinical agency requirements for clinical experience, all students in the Nursing and Health Sciences Programs must meet state and federal regulations as described by Florida Statutes S. 400.211. A Level II background check and drug/alcohol screening are required. Further instructions regarding the background and 10 panel drug/alcohol screen are provided during the first week of the program. Please note that random screening may be required while in the program. Students are responsible for the cost of all screening done for admission and randomly during the program.

All students who graduate from a nursing program and wish to take the registered nurse NCLEX-RN exam in Florida will have to complete the licensure and screening process for the Florida Board of Nursing, irrespective of screenings completed for this program.

Program Readmission

A student who enrolls in a nursing course and withdraws or is unsuccessful in the course may be considered for readmission to the program pending successful completion of an interview and other readmission requirements.  Note: Readmission policy and guidelines are outlined in the Nursing Student Handbook accessible to students in the program. 

The ASDN program includes 30 credit hours of general education courses, and 42 credit hours of nursing courses. The following 21 credit hours (prerequisite courses) may be taken at the student’s own pace, but must be completed by the end of the Spring term prior to fall admission.