2011-2012 Catalog

The Department of Nursing offers the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) Degree for beginning (generic) and licensed (LVN) students. Upon successful completion of the BSN curriculum, graduates are eligible to take the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN).

OBJECTIVES
The Department’s nursing graduates address the challenges of a dynamic health care delivery system by initiating resourceful solutions for health promotion, risk reduction, and disease management.
Based on the core values and mission statements of the university, College of Science and Technology, and the Department of Nursing, the following behaviors reflect expected outcomes (terminal objectives) for the nursing program. Graduates of the baccalaureate nursing program will:

Provider of Care (Doing)
    1.    Function as a knowledge worker with strong critical reasoning, clinical judgment, communication and assessment skills.
    2.    Practice within complex health care systems at a beginning proficiency and efficiency level to evaluate patient changes and progress over time and implement evidence-based nursing interventions to safely manage acute and chronic care of patients.  
    3.    Provide direct and indirect safe care for individuals, families, groups and populations with a focus on health promotion and risk reduction across the lifespan and across the continuum of healthcare environments.
    4.    Provide patient-centered, compassionate and evidence-based care that identifies respects and addresses patient and family differences, values, preferences and expressed needs.
    5.    Use skills of inquiry, analysis, information literacy, information management and emerging technology methods to address practice issues and communicate effectively.

Designer, Coordinator & Manager of Care (Leading)
    6.    Manage care transitions, be an active participant on the inter/intra-professional team, identify system issues, and develop working skills in delegation, prioritization, and oversight of care.
    7.    Employ principles of quality improvement, healthcare policy, and cost-effectiveness to participate in the development and initiation of effective plans for changes in microsystem and/or system-wide practice environments that lead to improvements in the quality of healthcare delivery and patient outcomes.

Member of a Profession (Being)
    8.    Develop and demonstrate professional standards, attitudes and values that are fundamental to the discipline of nursing.
    9.    Demonstrate professionalism, including attention to appearance, demeanor, respect for self and others, and attention to professional and personal boundaries with patients and families as well as among caregivers.
    10.    Participate in professional and civic organizations to support and advocate for agendas that enhance high quality, cost effective health care, and/or the advancement of the profession.
   11.    Engage in continuous self-evaluation and life-long learning to foster professional growth and development, to improve own practice and maintain a current knowledge base.

CLINICAL EXPERIENCES
Clinical experiences are an integral part of the nursing curriculum, and a complementary relationship exists between classroom and clinical components of the program. On campus simulation labs as well as hospitals and other clinical agencies in Brown, Bosque, Comanche, Eastland, Erath, Hood, Johnson, Palo Pinto, Parker, and Somervell Counties are used for student clinical experiences. The VA Hospital in Waco is also used to provide an in-patient psychiatric experience. Students travel to Dallas for an in-patient pediatric clinical and to Waco for clinical experiences during their senior year.

All clinical experiences are under the supervision of a University nursing faculty member. Although a student’s place of residence is considered when planning clinical experiences, the primary consideration is the learning needs of the student. Therefore, students are expected to travel to several clinical agencies during the program of study. Clinical experiences are scheduled during day and evening hours.

ADVISEMENT AND COUNSELING
Appointments with nursing faculty advisors may be scheduled Monday thorough Friday through the secretary of the Department of Nursing at 254-968-9139 or 9717.  Students should visit with a nursing faculty advisor early in their course of study to learn about entry requirements and the admission process.  Students should also visit with a faculty advisor each semester prior to registering for courses.

PROGRAM ENTRY AND EDUCATIONAL MOBILITY
Graduates of vocational, associate degree/diploma and baccalaureate nursing programs acquire a common core of knowledge, attitudes, and cognitive and psychomotor skills. However, there are distinct differences in the breadth, depth, scope of preparation, and knowledge presented to students in each type of program. A basic premise of Tarleton State University’s innovative multiple entry nursing program, is acknowledgement of previous learning in order to provide career mobility. This is balanced against a concern for maintaining high quality in the educational program and assuring the public of the quality of the education of the graduate. For purposes of program entry, eligible groups are defined as follows:

Generic Students are those students with no previous formal nursing education.  Generic Students enter the program through NUR 250. NUR 250 is a preadmission course and serves as the applicant pool for the program. Students are not required to complete the program application process to take NUR 250.  Passing NUR 250 does not guarantee admission to the program. Students may take NUR 250 as early as the first semester of their sophomore year or when most of the non-nursing degree requirements are completed. 

Some highly qualified students who have all non-nursing courses completed and have completed the nursing application process by the deadline may be eligible to take NUR 250 with the Sophomore Semester II (NUR 255, 260, 265, and 270) nursing courses.  Notification of admission is required before student may participate in this process.

LVNs are those graduates of practical or vocational nursing programs who hold a current license to practice nursing in Texas. LVNs receive credit for some nursing courses upon successful completion of the transition semester.  LVNs must be admitted to the program before any nursing courses may be taken.  LVNs enter the program through a transition semester (NUR 301, 305, 316 and 322).  LVNs should wait to apply to take the transition semester when almost all of the non-nursing degree requirements are completed.

NURSING PROGRAM ADMISSION PROCESS
A point system is used to select all students (generic and LVN) for admission to the Nursing Program at Tarleton State University (TSU). Students who submit all application materials and *TEAS® scores by the deadline and meet admission requirements will be ranked on a list in descending order according to their total number of points. Slots will be filled from the point list until classes are full. The point list will be eliminated immediately after the last date to register for university credit. Students not admitted must submit a new application to be considered for the next admission cycle.

Application to the nursing program is separate from and in addition to the application to Tarleton. To be considered for the program admission the individual MUST meet admission requirements and submit application materials and *TEAS® scores to the Department of Nursing and application materials to the Tarleton State University Office of Admissions on or before the deadline of March 1st for the fall semester and September 1st for the spring semester.

Department of Nursing application materials are available in the Nursing Office.  The nursing program application must be submitted between December 1 to March 1 for Fall & June 1 to September 1 for Spring).  Applications submitted outside of this timeframe will not be considered.

Students may take the TEAS® at any time during the process of completing the non-nursing degree requirements – before, during or after. However, it may be beneficial to wait until completion of five to eight program degree requirement courses before taking the TEAS®.

Admission Requirements
    1.    GPA of 2.75 or higher on specific completed English and Science program prerequisite courses (BIOL 219, 220, and 307, CHEM 103 or 105, and ENGL 111 and 112).
    2.    *Composite score greater than or equal to the national baccalaureate program average on the Test of Essential Academic Skills (TEAS®) or have 1110 or higher on the SAT, or 24 or higher on the ACT.
Only TEAS® scores submitted from an authorized testing center will be accepted (directly from TSU testing center or with testing center seal/signature if taken at a college/university other that TSU). 
    3.    Achieve a minimum of 110 selection points before the residency points are added.
    4.    Ability to complete all program non-nursing degree requirement courses with a minimum grade of C prior to the program enrollment.
    5.    Eligibility for RN licensure upon graduation. All undergraduate applicants who are admitted to the Department of Nursing are required to complete a criminal background check. No student will be allowed program entry without a clear report or a letter from the Texas Board of Nursing certifying that any criminal history is not a danger to the public.

Full Admission
Students are considered for full admission to the undergraduate nursing program if all of the admission requirements 1-4 described in the previous section are fully met.

Conditional Admission
Students are eligible for consideration for conditional admission to the undergraduate nursing program if there are no more than five (5) outstanding non-nursing courses required to complete the nursing degree by the deadline and all the admission requirements 1-4 are fully met.

PROGRESSION AND RETENTION
The following criteria have been established by the Department of Nursing for progression and retention:

A student may progress in the program when the following conditions are met:
    1.    Satisfactory completion of the Tarleton State University requirements for progression.
    2.    Successful completion of required nursing and non-nursing courses with a minimum grade of C.
    3.    Successful completion of prerequisite courses for each nursing course.
    4.    Successful completion of both the theory and clinical portion of each nursing course with a clinical component.  Failure in one component constitutes failure of the course and if allowed to repeat the course, both the clinical and theory components must be repeated.

Following admission to the program, a student must:
    1.    Complete all nursing courses at Tarleton State University which are required for the degree.
   2.    Seek permission from the Department Head prior to enrolling in core curriculum and non-nursing degree requirements at other universities or colleges.

    The student must request permission to repeat a nursing course due to failure or withdrawal.  The student must write a letter of petition to the admission committee. 
    1.    This petition must include:
        •    Reason for withdrawal or failure to successfully complete the course.
        •    Steps which student will take to insure successful completion of course when repeated.
        •    Date corrective steps will be completed.
    2.    In judging whether a student should be given the opportunity to repeat a nursing course, the SAMAS Committee will assess the following information:
        •    Student’s overall academic performance - student’s GPA on required courses and review of the transcript for pattern of course loads, withdrawals, and number of repeated courses.
        •    The congruence of the student’s plans for corrective action in the letter of petition with the stated reasons for failure.  The feasibility of the plan is also assessed.
        •    The student file to determine adherence to program standards and clinical performance in the present or previous courses
    3.    Permission to repeat a course, if granted, is on a space available basis.  The student must usually wait at least one semester before being allowed to repeat a course.
   
    A student will be unable to progress in the program if any two nursing courses are failed or any one course is failed twice.

RE-ADMISSION TO THE DEPARTMENT OF NURSING
Re-admission to the Department of Nursing is not automatic. Students who have an interruption in the normal progression of nursing courses must gain permission before taking any nursing course.  An interruption is defined as an inability to achieve a passing grade, withdrawal, or non-enrollment called “stop out”. 

The Department of Nursing Student Affairs, Matriculation and Academic Standards (SAMAS) Committee evaluates the student’s request for readmission or to retake any nursing course.  The SAMAS committee grants or denies the request according to the student’s general academic history, nursing course grades, clinical evaluations, and potential for success.  Readmission to the nursing program or permission to retake any course is based on the professional judgment of SAMAS Committee members and is contingent upon class size (space available).  Students will receive a letter from the Department Head informing the student of the decision of the SAMAS) Committee.

Students who have withdrawn from a course or courses or fail to achieve a passing grade in a course should follow the procedure outlined in the Progression Policy.

When a student, following program admission, has an interruption due to non-enrollment in the next nursing course sequence, the student is considered a “stop out”.  Students who “stop out” must complete any university requirements for readmission and complete the following requirements for the Department of Nursing by March 1 for fall semester or September 1 for the spring semester. Students must be able to complete the BSN program within six (6) calendar years after completing NUR 250. A student needing additional time to complete the nursing program must submit a written request to the Department Head for the extension.

    •    After a lapse of one semester, students interested in returning to the program must notify the SAMAS Committee in writing of their desire to return. If the semester absence was due to a major health problem, a physician’s clearance must be submitted in order to return to classes and clinical.  Students must have the appropriate prerequisite courses to progress and meet with an advisor prior to registering to develop a degree to determine if all curricular and program requirements are met.  Students must undergo testing for the presence of drugs prior to reentering the program.  Readmission will be contingent on fulfilling any requirements specified in a letter from the Department Head.

    •    After a lapse of two semesters or more, students who “stop out” in addition to the above requirements must also:
        1.    Submit a completed nursing program application.
        2.    Adhere to the most current catalog requirements.
        3.    Submit a completed current physical examination form.
      4.    Submit a current CPR Certification (adult and child), current tuberculin skin test, pay malpractice insurance, and fulfill any other application requirements specified in the readmission letter from the Department Head.
        5.    Validate competency in clinical skills.

STANDARDIZED ACHIEVEMENT EXAMINATIONS
Standardized achievement examinations may be administered throughout the nursing program. In addition to fulfilling the academic requirements of the university and the Nursing program, all students must take a standardized comprehensive achievement examination in the final semester of the nursing program in order to graduate.

EXPENSES OF THE NURSING PROGRAM
In addition to general university tuition and fees, the student majoring in nursing assumes financial responsibility for payment of criminal background check, uniforms, and clinical accessories. Course fees collected through university tuition and fee structure provide funds to pay the student’s malpractice insurance, standardized achievement tests fees, and purchase of equipment and disposable lab supplies. In the final semester of study the student is required to pay fees for the application to take the NCLEX-RN and the application for licensure. Go to www.bon.state.tx.us for information on current fee structure.

Upon admission to the nursing program all students must submit evidence of the following: (1) current immunizations- MMR, hepatitis B series (3 injections), tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis, polio (2) TB screening (updated on a yearly basis) (3) American Heart Association Healthcare Provider CPR or Red Cross Professional CPR certification.

The student must also provide her/his own transportation to health care agencies. Driving distances will vary; clinical assignments will be based on availability of learning experiences.  Due to travel distances it may be necessary for the student to stay overnight in order to participate in clinical experiences. The student is responsible to pay room and board if overnight stay is necessary.