Certificate in Practical Nursing:
Admissions Requirements

MINIMUM ACADEMIC REQUIREMENTS FOR ADMISSION

Cohorts will begin depending upon enrollment and approvals from the associated state board of nursing. All applicants must meet the requirements for general admission to South College. General admission to South College does not guarantee admission to the School of Nursing. Application deadlines are available in the School of Nursing and the Admissions Department.

Applicants must meet the following requirements to be admitted without stipulation:

1. Submit a School of Nursing application by the applicable deadline.
2. Achieve a minimum ATI TEAS Assessment score at the academic preparedness level of BASIC.

In addition to the above academic requirements Atlanta LPN applicants must successfully complete College Algebra (MAT 1100), English Composition (ENG 1201), General Psychology (PSY 1811), and Medical Terminology (AHS 1010) with a cumulative GPA of 2.50 or higher. Students may transfer one or more of these courses into South College if they meet the existing South College transfer requirements. The combined GPA of all four courses must be a 2.50 GPA. Courses may be in progress at time of application, but to be admitted without stipulation they must be completed.

Applicants who are not in good academic standing from a previous nursing or allied health program (e.g. Medical Assisting, Dental Assisting, EMT, etc.) or who have been dismissed from such a program must submit the required School of Nursing Mitigating Circumstances form and provide supporting documentation of the mitigating circumstances to be considered eligible to apply to the South College School of Nursing. Admission is not guaranteed, and the School of Nursing may require a letter from the former program explaining the circumstances.

Applicants who are not in good academic standing from two previous nursing or allied health programs (e.g. Medical Assisting, Dental Assisting, EMT, etc.) or who have been dismissed from two such programs will not be considered for admission or readmission to the South College Nursing program.

TEAS Assessment

TEAS Assessment requirements and procedures:

• Applicants are required to take the ATI TEAS Assessment as part of the application process. The TEAS Assessment schedule and additional information is available in the Admissions Department, Student Services Department, and/or School of Nursing.
• Applicants have two attempts to achieve the required score of BASIC for their desired cohort start date. Two weeks must lapse between the first and second attempt.
• Applicants who have completed the TEAS Assessment within 12 months prior to the date of application, may opt to submit their TEAS Assessment transcript directly from ATI.
• An applicant who has not achieved the required BASIC score on his/her first two attempts, may take the test one more time within a year from their first attempt, but he/she must wait and apply for the next available cohort start date.
• If an applicant does not achieve the required score in three attempts, he/she may wait one year from the date of the first attempt and begin the application and testing process again.

Competitive Admissions and Ranking Criteria

Admission to the School of Nursing is competitive and dependent upon class size. Applicants will be ranked based on an approved ranking system that includes, but not limited to, GPA and TEAS score.

Transfer Credit from Previous Nursing Programs

For a nursing class (or classes) to be considered for transfer into a South College Nursing program, the class must have been completed within the past 18 months prior to the cohort start date. Only nursing courses with a grade of A or B are considered for transfer and a course description or syllabus may be required to evaluate equivalency. Please refer to the transfer timeframes on the South College website.

REQUIREMENTS FOR ADMISSION (Other Than Academic)

Prospective students must meet the following requirements to be admitted without stipulation. Stipulations must be met as described below or the offer of admission may be withdrawn:

1. Take the required drug test before the 1^st day of class*.
2. Complete the background check application before the 1^st day of class*.
3. Attend the nursing orientation on the scheduled date in its entirety.

*Prospective students who fail either the drug test or background check will be cancelled.

In addition, each prospective student must provide proof of ability to perform the skills needed to practice nursing effectively. Health care facilities must meet federal guidelines, and students must also meet these requirements in order to be allowed to gain clinical experience. All nursing students must comply with communicable diseases/blood-borne pathogen requirements that the clinical agencies require. Therefore proof of the following are minimum requirements for the nursing applicant (additional requirements may apply depending on clinical agency requirements):

1. Health history and physical exam certifying ability to function in the required capacity prior to admission to upper level
2. Common communicable disease immunization or immunity, including MMR (2 in series if born after 1957), TDaP (booster required every 10 years) and varicella vaccine (2 in series). Some clinical facilities may require titers for MMR, HBV, and Varicella even though you have proof of previous immunization
3. Hepatitis B immunization (3 in series) or the HEPLISAV-B, (2 in a series one month apart) or completed Declination Form for Hepatitis B Vaccination depending on the requirements of the clinical affiliate. The Declination Form must only be used for medical reasons and must be documented by student’s primary care provider. A vaccine titer test showing immunity is also acceptable.
4. Annual Flu immunization or completed Declination Form for Influenza Vaccination depending on the requirements of the clinical affiliate. The Declination Form must only be used for medical reasons and must be documented by student’s primary care provider.
5. Annual screening for tuberculosis.
6. Acceptable drug screen. Students may be required to obtain more than one acceptance drug screen per year depending on the requirements of the clinical affiliate. In any case where a drug screen is positive and no authorized prescription is produced to validate the presence of the drug in the individual’s system, continuation in the program will be denied. Upon notification of the drug screen results, the student will have 5 working days to provide prescription validation. Students are responsible for costs associated with any required testing.
7. Acceptable criminal background check for a minimum of past 15 years. Students may be required to obtain more than one acceptance criminal background check per year depending on the requirements of the clinical affiliate. If the background check reveals previous criminal convictions, admittance into the program will be made on a case by case basis. Students who are denied clinical experiences due to past convictions may be unable to progress in the program which will result in failure to complete the required courses for the program.
8. Proof of health insurance coverage throughout the entire nursing program.
9. Annual training on blood-borne pathogens.
10. Valid American Heart Association Basic Life Support (BLS) for Healthcare Providers Course Completion Card or Certificate.

Prospective Students or Students who do not comply with all communicable disease/bloodborne pathogen requirements and accurately maintain their records in the institution’s clinical tracking portal will be cancelled or withdrawn.

Prospective students must demonstrate the following functional capacities.  Prospective students who believe that they will not be able to meet one or more of these requirements without accommodation or modification must notify the PN Program Director, and a determination will be made on a case by case basis whether reasonable accommodation may be made.  In no instance will an accommodation be made which will compromise nursing care, or that will put patients or other students at risk.  Accommodation granted when a student is generally admitted to South College does not guarantee that this modification will apply to admission to the nursing program.

FUNCTION	REQUIREMENT	EXAMPLES OF TASKS FOR
Vision	Adequate to ensure safety of self and others in classroom and clinical settings.	Patient assessment; response to treatment; medication preparation and administration; reading of patient charts and physician orders.
Hearing	Adequate to allow effective communication with patients and others in person and by electronic means, and to ensure safety of self and patients.	Face-to-face communication with patients, families and the healthcare team; telephone consultations; heart tones; breath sounds; bowel sounds and other assessments.
Tactile Sensory	Adequate to allow effective evaluation and therapeutic intervention related to nursing care, and to ensure safety of self and others in providing care.	Palpation used in assessment; vital signs; medication administration, IV starts.
Gross motor strength and coordination	Adequate to ensure safety of self and others in class and lab sessions and clinical activities.	Patient positioning and transfer; walking, standing, bending, and/or stopping for extended periods involving patient care; moving of equipment/beds.
Fine motor strength and coordination	Adequate to allow mastery of activities requiring detailed movements.	Multiple skills in patient care; treatments; medication preparation and administration.
Critical thinking ability	Adequate to allow mastery of basic course content and to demonstrate sound judgment in simulated and real-life nursing situations.	Effective use of nursing process; planning and implementation of the nursing care plan; identification of cause and effect relationship in order to modify nursing care plan; determination of unsafe situations; planning course of actions to meet needs of patient, family, community and nursing profession.
Interpersonal Skills	Adequate to allow establishment of effective working and/or therapeutic relationship with patients, families and professionals.	Establishing therapeutic relationship with patients and families; working with health care team; collaboration with other disciplines.
Communication	Adequate to allow completion of coursework and effective verbal and written communication with patients, families, communities, peers, and others.	Class activities; therapeutic communication; writing/research at the bachelor’s level; documentation of patient care; education of patient/family/community.