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The Practical Nursing Program is offered in one calendar year.
The program is divided into three levels of instruction
and totals 1554 hours of training. The
program is designed for the full time student. Students
are scheduled for seven hours of instruction daily, five
days per week. Vacations and holidays are scheduled
throughout the year.
To achieve the maximum benefit from the program, students
are expected to attend all scheduled classes and
clinical instruction sessions.
Nursing courses consist of both theory and clinical
experience. Students learn to administer Nursing care to
selected patients under the direct guidance of the
program faculty.
Clinical rotation sites include:
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Frick Hospital |
Mt. Pleasant, PA |
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Uniontown Hospital |
Uniontown, PA |
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Highlands Hospital |
Connellsville, PA |
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Mt. Macrina Manor |
Uniontown, PA |
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Monongalia General Hospital |
Morgantown, WV |
Personal and Vocational Relationships I:
This course serves to introduce the Practical Nursing
student to their role as a member of the health care
team. This course includes orientation to study methods,
historical background of nursing, therapeutic
communication skills, ethical conduct, legal
responsibilities, and lines of administrative authority.
The theory and clinical components of this course
prepares students for their workplace.
Anatomy and Physiology:
In this course, the Practical Nursing student is shown
how body structures serve unique and specialized
functions. Repeated emphasis of this principle
encourages students to integrate Anatomy and Physiology
into a single educational entity. The integrating
principle of homeostasis is used to illustrate how
normal interaction of structure and function can be
maintained by counter balancing forces within the human
body.
Pharmacology:
This Course, designed for Practical Nursing for
Practical Nursing students, reviews basic principles of
mathematics as they relate to the calculation of drug
dosages and intravenous fluids. Interpretation commonly
employed to medication administration are included
throughout the course. The principles of drug therapy
and nursing responsibilities with emphasis on the
impaired nurse are discussed. Pharmacokinetics,
pharmacodynamics, drug interactions, and components of
drugs are addressed relative to there action on human
tissues. The issue of non therapeutic use of drugs is
explored as well as nursing care such as clients. A
simulated laboratory, using anatomically correct models,
is incorporated to prepare the student for safe
administration of medications using various injection
sites and techniques. Specific classifications of drugs
are presented with emphasis on drug therapy and
wellness. The theory and clinical framework of this
course prepares the students to aid the client in their
pharmacological needs in the clinical setting.
Basic Nursing:
This course, designed for the Practical Nursing
student, provides a foundation of basic information
necessary to introduce fundamental nursing skills.
The course includes framework for all subsequent
nursing practice.Initially, the learner is introduced
to the unique roles and responsibilities of the nurse.
The content then addresses theories and techniques that
focus on individuals with varied needs throughout the
health continuum. The course reflects on care that will
improve or maintain health, minimize health
problems, and provide emotional support for those
clients with chronic and terminal illness. Included
in the course format are laboratory simulations that
illustrate, on a step by step basis, nursing
procedures. Emphasis is placed on safety, scientific
rationale, and accountability. Student autonomy is
encouraged. Returned demonstrations are conducted in
a supervised laboratory setting. Medical terminology
is incorporated throughout the course to expand
vocabulary and encourage understanding of the
medical language. Sample nursing notes are provided
for each skill, then various charting styles and
formats are presented in a separate unit. The course
concludes with an introduction to the steps of the
nursing process and care plan development. The
theory, simulated labs, and clinical competence
contribute to performing technical skills
fundamental to the practice of nursing.
Nutrition:
This Course, designed for the Practical Nursing
Program student, presents fundamental concepts
related to the body's nutrition requirements,
sources of nutrients, and utilization of nutrients
by the body. Meal planning and food preparation is
included as those skills relate to clients
throughout the life cycle. Emphasis is placed on the
correlation between nutrition and health status.
Therapeutic dietary modifications address this
issue. The theory and clinical components of this
course prepares students to assist the client in
meeting his nutritional needs for the clinical
setting.
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