St. Clair County Community College

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Nursing

Nursing

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There are three nursing programs at SC4:

SC4 is one of the first Associate Degree Nursing (ADN) programs in Michigan and is currently ranked the 10th best nursing school in the Detroit metropolitan area among both two- and four-year institutions (No. 4 community college in Michigan) by the Nursing Schools Almanac.

SC4’s nursing faculty are knowledgeable and caring and have thousands of hours of actual patient care experience to share with their students. Our facilities are state-of-the-art and always improving, with simulation lab manikins and other equipment that allow our nursing students to experience real-world situations long before they face them in a clinic, hospital, or other setting.

Technical Standards for Nursing for Admission, Academic Progression, and Graduation 

The goal of the St. Clair Community College Nursing programs is to prepare every student to practice nursing with competence and compassion to optimize health, prevent illness, and foster ethically safe patient care. Through the accumulation of scientific knowledge, technical skills, and professional attitudes and behaviors, the nursing program facilitates socialization into the role of the professional nurse. 

Throughout the nursing program, the nursing education will be delivered in a variety of environments (classroom, skills lab, and clinical settings). There are academic as well as technical standards that must be met by students to successfully progress in and graduate from the nursing programs. The technical standards (1) observation, (2) communication, (3) motor, (4) intellectual-conceptual, and (5) behavioral-social have been defined by the nursing department for admission, progression, and graduation from the nursing program.

Students must be able to independently meet the general and technical standards of abilities, with or without reasonable accommodation. If a student or applicant is requesting accommodation,  the applicant or student is responsible for making disability known and to request accommodation. The clinical learning accommodation factor patient safety and clinical site requirements that are not applicable to the classroom. Request for accommodation is directed to Anne McPherson, appointments can be made at Disability Resources.

Students are required to possess the ability to smell, see (including depth perception), touch, and hear as is necessary to meet the requirements of the nursing program. Students must be able to proficiently read, write, and understand English and utilize computer equipment. Students must have the mental capacity to focus and maintain attention on tasks, appropriately manage distractions, and handle multiple tasks concurrently. Students must have the physical ability to lift/push/pull 50 pounds, perform repetitive movements, move quickly to respond to emergencies, carry equipment and supplies, and maintain physical tolerance for clinical up to 12 hours.

RequirementStandardsExamples
Observation1. Ability to observe and participate in didactic, lab and clinical learning environments.
2. To observe or discern changes in physical and mental conditions
3. The capacity to interpret observations in the context of the learning activity.
4. Ability to perform observation with the use of the senses of vision, audition, olfaction, and palpation
• Ability to hear tones, monitor devices, and other emergency signals
• Discern appropriate assessment findings upon auscultation or other methods of assessment
• Ability to interpret speech
• Assess color distinction
Communication1. Communicate verbal and non-verbal in classroom and clinical settings (face to face, email or phone)
2. Communication abilities for effective interaction with healthcare team, patients, and families
3. Ability to communicate in writing that is legible, utilizing appropriate spelling and grammar
4. Elicit information from patients, healthcare team and the electronic health record
• Receive report, provide clinical updates and hand-off report
• Present information in a professional logical manner and provide patient teaching effectively
• Documentation and interpretation of interventions and patients’ response
• Accurately interpret information from patient record to effectively evaluate patient condition
Motor1. Ability to perform gross and fine motor skills with the coordination to perform the techniques of inspection, palpation, percussion, and auscultation to complete physical examination
2. Ability to reach below the waist and above the head, bend, stoop, and squat
3.Posess tactile abilities
4.Ability to maintain psychomotor skills to complete procedures and use equipment needed to perform patient care
5. Sufficient neuromuscular control and eye-hand coordination, maintain ability to stand, balance, ambulate and write with a pen
6. Maintain physical and mental tolerance to stand for long periods of time (3-6 hours)
• Complete physical examination noting temperature changes, tremors, vibrations, and pulses. Also, determine size and shape differences while assessing surface characteristics
• Perform procedures that require the ability to maintain aseptic technique
• Assist patients with activities of daily living including operation of maneuver devices that assist with mobility (lift or wheelchair)
• Administer medications
• Perform life saving measures such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation
• Move from patient room to workspace and treatment areas
Intellectual-conceptual1. Ability to synthesis knowledge and use knowledge from long- and short-term memory
2. Critically think with effective critical reasoning and clinical judgement
3. Ability to problem-solve and make decisions in a time sensitive environment
• Evaluate patient outcomes in a timely way using analyzed and synthesized objective and subjective data
• Identify cause and effect relationships
• Calculate medication dosages, measure, and draw up medications, and read measured amounts
• Ability to apply nursing theory to clinical experience
Behavioral-Social1. Possess the emotional health to fulfil the use of intellectual abilities
2. Acquire the skills
necessary for promoting
change for necessary
quality health care
3. Remain calm in a quickly changing environmental setting
4.Effective intrapersonal skills for professional interactions with patients, families, and healthcare team.
5. Acceptance to function as a student nurse under the supervision of the nurse educator of preceptor
• Work effectively in groups and independently
• Establish therapeutic/effective relationships with those from a variety of socioeconomic, cultural, and intellectual backgrounds
• Demonstrate professional role as a healthcare team member

The examples are not all-inclusive. As noted above, if a student needs accommodation to perform these functions, the student must make the request.

All courses within the associate and practical nursing programs must be completed successfully. Students will acquire a foundation of knowledge and skills throughout the program as defined by the End-of-Program-Student-Learning-Outcomes of Human Flourishing, Nursing Judgment, Professional Identity, and Spirit of Inquiry.

The associate degree and practical nursing programs meet the nursing education requirements of the states of Alabama, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, and Ohio.

With the completion of the nursing education, students in the associate degree tracks are eligible to graduate with an associate in applied arts and science and take the National Council Licensing Examination (NCLEX-RN) to practice as a Registered Nurse.

Students who complete the practical nursing program are eligible to graduate with a certificate in Practical Nursing and take the National Council Licensing Examination (NCLEX-PN) to practice as a Licensed Practical Nurse.

Approvals and accreditation

The Associate Degree Nursing (ADN) and Practical Nursing (PN) programs at SC4 are approved by the Michigan Board of Nursing, Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, P.O. Box 30670, Lansing, MI 48909.

The Associate Nursing Program at SC4, located in Port Huron, Michigan, is accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN). The most recent accreditation decision by the ACEN Board of Commissioners for the Associate Nursing Program is Continuing Accreditation.

Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN)
3390 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 1400, Atlanta, GA 30326
(404) 975-5000

View the public information disclosed by the ACEN regarding this on the ACEN’s website.

Effective August 1, 2023, the practical nursing program at SC4 at the Port Huron campus, located in Port Huron, Michigan, is a candidate for initial accreditation by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing. This candidacy status expires on August 1, 2025.

Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN)
3390 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 1400 Atlanta, GA 30326
(404) 975-5000

View the public information disclosed by the ACEN regarding this candidate program on the ACEN’s website.

Steps to apply for SC4 Nursing programs

  1. Apply to SC4
  2. Apply to a specific health sciences program
  3. Attend a mandatory group advising session for the program of your interest (View upcoming dates and times below.)
  4. Schedule and take the mandatory admission HESI exam.

Questions about HESI Testing?

Nursing Information Sessions (Group Advising Sessions)

Attending a mandatory Group Advising Session is an important step toward attaining a nursing degree. Please choose the session(s) applicable to your goal and click on the applicable link below at the time listed. Please give yourself time to download and setup the Microsoft Teams app on your computer or device.

*Dates and times are subject to change; check this page before coming to campus.

DateTimeLocation
January 30, 20253 to 4 p.m.Join Microsoft Teams
March 4, 202510 to 11 a.m.Join Microsoft Teams
March 27, 202510 to 11 a.m.Join Microsoft Teams
May 8, 20253 to 4 p.m.Join Microsoft Teams
June 10, 202510 to 11 a.m.Join Microsoft Teams
August 12, 202510 to 11 a.m.Join Microsoft Teams
October 28, 20253 to 4 p.m.Join Microsoft Teams
November 20, 20253 to 4 p.m.Join Microsoft Teams
DateTimeLocation
March 6, 202510 to 11 a.m.Join Microsoft Teams
May 7, 20253 to 4 p.m.Join Microsoft Teams
June 12, 202510 to 11 a.m.Join Microsoft Teams
August 14, 202510 to 11 a.m.Join Microsoft Teams
September 9, 20253 to 4 p.m.Join Microsoft Teams
November 19, 202510 to 11 a.m.Join Microsoft Teams
DateTimeLocation
March 5, 20253 to 4 p.m.Join Microsoft Teams
May 6, 202510 to 11 a.m.Join Microsoft Teams
June 11, 20253 to 4 p.m.Join Microsoft Teams
August 13, 20253 to 4 p.m.Join Microsoft Teams
September 10, 202510 to 11 a.m.Join Microsoft Teams
November 18, 20253 to 4 p.m.Join Microsoft Teams

Resources

Rebekah Smith, former CEO, Lake Huron Medical Center

“SC4’s nursing instructors are very good about teaching theory and also real-life situations. You can read and read and read, and it’s never going to prepare you for what to do once you really are faced with having a patient’s life in your hands.”

Rebekah Smith, former CEO, Lake Huron Medical Center