ASSOCIATE DEGREE NURSING (ADN)
(Wallace Campus)

Program Description:
Since the first class in 1969, almost 3,400 students have achieved their career goal of becoming a Registered Nurse (RN) through the WCC Associate Degree in Nursing Program. Entrance into the ADN program is competitive and applications are solicited twice a year for the five-semester generic track and for the LPN to ADN mobility track for Licensed Practical Nurses choosing to advance their nursing credential to that of an RN. In the field of nursing many employment opportunities exist in and beyond the traditional hospital setting. Clinics, elementary/secondary schools, outpatient surgery centers, industrial sites, home health services, hospice organizations, and the military are some examples of options for an RN. In addition, articulation agreements with four-year institutions offer career and BSN/MSN degree advancement opportunities to graduates while they work in area health care facilities.

Career Opportunities:
Employment of registered nurses is expected to grow by 22 percent from 2008 to 2018, much faster than the average for all occupations. Overall job opportunities for registered nurses are expected to be excellent, but may vary by employment and geographic setting. Some employers report difficulty in attracting and retaining an adequate number of RNs. Employment of RNs is expected to grow much faster than the average and, because the occupation is very large, 581,500 new jobs will result, among the largest number of new jobs for any occupation. Additionally, hundreds of thousands of job openings will result from the need to replace experienced nurses who leave the occupation.  Growth will be driven by technological advances in patient care, which permit a greater number of health problems to be treated, and by an increasing emphasis on preventive care. In addition, the number of older people, who are much more likely than younger people to need nursing care, is projected to grow rapidly. Employment is expected to grow more slowly in hospitals—healthcare's largest industry—than in most other healthcare industries. While the intensity of nursing care is likely to increase, requiring more nurses per patient, the number of inpatients (those who remain in the hospital for more than 24 hours) is not likely to grow by much. Patients are being discharged earlier, and more procedures are being done on an outpatient basis, both inside and outside hospitals. Rapid growth is expected in hospital outpatient facilities, such as those providing same-day surgery, rehabilitation, and chemotherapy.

More and more sophisticated procedures, once performed only in hospitals, are being performed in physicians' offices and in outpatient care centers, such as freestanding ambulatory surgical and emergency centers. Accordingly, employment is expected to grow fast in these places as healthcare in general expands. Employment in nursing care facilities is expected to grow because of increases in the number of older persons, many of whom require long-term care. Many elderly patients want to be treated at home or in residential care facilities, which will drive demand for RNs in those settings. The financial pressure on hospitals to discharge patients as soon as possible should produce more admissions to nursing and residential care facilities and referrals to home healthcare. Job growth also is expected in units that provide specialized long-term rehabilitation for stroke and head injury patients, as well as units that treat Alzheimer's victims.

Skills Needed:

• Social Perceptiveness — Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
• Active Listening — Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Coordination — Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
• Speaking — Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Critical Thinking — Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Reading Comprehension — Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Service Orientation — Actively looking for ways to help people.
• Monitoring — Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
• Judgment and Decision Making — Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
• Science — Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
• Problem Sensitivity — The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Inductive Reasoning — The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Oral Comprehension — The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Deductive Reasoning — The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Information Ordering — The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
• Oral Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Written Comprehension — The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Speech Clarity — The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Speech Recognition — The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
• Written Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

RNs teach patients and their families how to manage their illnesses or injuries, explaining post-treatment home care needs; diet, nutrition, and exercise programs; and self-administration of medication and physical therapy. Some RNs may work to promote general health by educating the public on warning signs and symptoms of disease. RNs also might run general health screening or immunization clinics, blood drives, and public seminars on various conditions.

When caring for patients, RNs establish a care plan or contribute to an existing plan. Plans may include numerous activities, such as administering medication, including careful checking of dosages and avoiding interactions; starting, maintaining, and discontinuing intravenous (IV) lines for fluid, medication, blood, and blood products; administering therapies and treatments; observing the patient and recording those observations; and consulting with physicians and other healthcare clinicians. Some RNs provide direction to licensed practical nurses and nursing aides regarding patient care.

Expected Earnings/Salary:

• The earnings of Registered Nurses will vary depending on experience, skill level, degree level, and location of employment. 
• Median national annual wages of wage-and-salary Registered Nurses were $64,690  based on an hourly wage of $31.10 in May 2010. 
• Projections of the low and high ten-percent range from $44,190 to $95,130.

CATALOG INFORMATION (Course and Admission Requirements)(pdf)