Nursing Eligibility Requirements

An admission rubric may be applied to applicants based upon eligibility criteria, previous education, and TEAS score.

Meeting the criteria does not guarantee admission into the nursing program. A greater score on the admission rubric improves the applicant’s chances of being selected. Violations of the Academic Integrity or Student Conduct policies in JCC’s Constitution of the Student Body, or any violations of equivalent policies at other postsecondary institutions, shall also be considered as a factor in the admissions decision.

Prior to entrance into NUR 1510, students are required to present evidence of completion of a course in Basic Life Support (BLS) that includes infant, child, and adult CPR and Automated External Defibrillator (AED). The acceptable courses are: BLS for the Health Care Provider (American Heart Association) or CPR/AED for the Professional Rescuer (American Red Cross). Students are strongly encouraged to take BLS during the summer prior to entering the nursing program. By taking BLS during the summer, the student will be compliant with the CPR requirement throughout the two-year nursing program. Courses may be available through the nursing program, JCC, and/or in the community.

The State University of New York no longer requires a COVID-19 vaccine for students attending Jamestown Community College, effective as of summer 2023, which coincides with the official end of the national public health emergency by President Biden’s administration. However, nursing students participate in clinical site placements held at third-party locations and must comply with all required health and safety guidelines, including any vaccination or testing protocols, that are in place at their clinical site placements. Changes in local conditions or requirements by the federal, state, local, or third-party site agencies may result in changes to student vaccination policies.

• For more information, visit jmswierski.com/covid19.

All health care agencies in Pennsylvania require criminal background checks on nursing students before beginning a clinical placement. All JCC nursing students will be assigned to clinical experiences in PA during some semester(s). Therefore, nursing students are required, at their own expense, to complete the required child abuse background check and a state or federal background check before beginning clinical placement. Inability to obtain a satisfactory clearance will prevent a student from being assigned to clinical experiences in PA, and as a result, the student will not be able to complete the clinical objectives for the course and will not be allowed to continue in the nursing program. (The college will not move a student from an agency that denies background clearance to another.) A criminal record may also jeopardize a graduate’s ability to obtain registered nurse licensure.

• Lab fees: $250 per semester (NUR 1510, NUR 1520, NUR 2510, and NUR 2520).
• Physical information: To certify the health of students working with patients or clients in health care facilities, JCC, by law, must notify the health care agencies of the status of the students. Therefore, a physical examination to determine the student’s health is required prior to registration and enrollment in any nursing course requiring a clinical component. JCC will provide the forms and information regarding the physical examination following the student’s written acceptance to the nursing program. The fees for these services will be added to the semester tuition bill.
• Drug screen: It is a contractual requirement between the college and some healthcare agencies that prior to    beginning their clinical experiences at the healthcare agency; students must complete a 10 panel urine drug screen evaluation and receive clinical clearance to practice. Therefore, the college must require all Jamestown Campus freshman nursing students to complete a 10 panel drug screen evaluation and receive clearance prior to any clinical experience. The Campus Health Center performs the drug screen. Students who do not receive drug screen clearance from the initial 10 panel screen evaluation will be required to undergo a second drug screen at a higher additional cost.  Subsequently, if a student does not receive drug screen clearance from the second screening, the student will not be allowed to participate in any clinical experiences. Students who are not able to complete their clinical experiences will not be permitted to continue in the nursing program.
• Hepatitis B vaccine: The vaccine provides active immunity against Hepatitis B. It is strongly recommended by JCC and health care agencies that all students receive this immunization.
• Criminal background check and clearance
• Transportation: A variety of area agencies are used to provide clinical experiences for the nursing student. Among these agencies are private and public acute care hospitals, psychiatric facilities, long-term care facilities, rehabilitation centers, public schools, health care clinics, and home care agencies. Transportation and all the expenses associated with the agency experience are the responsibility of the student. Clinical agency placements are limited and in high demand by a variety of health care programs. Clinical agency assignments for JCC’s nursing program may be located in the following areas but are not limited to: Jamestown, Dunkirk, and Olean, NY and Bradford, Erie, and Warren, PA. Although students will have an opportunity to express their preferences for clinical site locations, the time and location of the clinical agency experience is at the discretion of the faculty. It is also a faculty policy to insure that students have well-rounded clinical experiences in a variety of clinical agencies. Therefore, students must attend more than one agency for their primary rotation during their four semesters of the program.
• Uniforms: Each student is expected to have a uniform for selected clinical experiences beginning with NUR 1510. Uniforms will be ordered during the first week of the fall semester. Other expenses associated with the uniform include a name embroidered & patch sewn on, white shoes, wrist watch (with second hand or timer), scissors, blood pressure cuff, and stethoscope.
• License and first registration fees: Fees for the licensure examination and first registration, which occur after the final semester of the program, are approximately $425 for New York state and $390 for Pennsylvania. Fees charged by other states will vary with the state.

Cognitive, physical, & behavioral criteria

JCC provides the following technical standards with examples of learning activities to inform prospective and enrolled students of the skills required in completing their chosen profession’s curriculum and in the provision of health care services. These technical standards reflect the performance abilities and characteristics that are necessary to successfully complete the requirements of the Nursing program. These standards are not a requirement of admission into the program. Individuals interested in applying for admission to the program should review these standards to develop a better understanding of the skills, abilities, and behavioral characteristics required to successfully complete the program.

Students admitted to the Nursing program are expected to be able to complete curriculum requirements, which include physical, cognitive, and behavioral core competencies that are essential to the functions of the entry-level professional nurse. These core competencies are considered to be the minimum and essential skills necessary to protect the public. These abilities are encountered in unique combinations in the provision of safe and effective nursing care and can meet the criteria with or without reasonable accommodations. Students who are unsure if they can meet these criteria because of disability, or know they will need help in meeting them, must contact JCC’s Accessibility Services office to discuss the use of reasonable accommodations and/or auxiliary aids. The college will provide reasonable accommodations but is not required to substantially alter the requirements or nature of the program.

Progression in the program may be denied if a student is unable to demonstrate the technical standards.

Cognitive:

1. Recall, collect, analyze, synthesize, and integrate information from a variety of sources.
2. Measure, calculate, reason, analyze, and synthesize date.
3. Problem-solve and think critically in order to apply knowledge and skill.
4. Communicate verbally, and through reading and writing, with individuals from a variety of social, emotional, cultural, and intellectual backgrounds.
5. Relay information in oral, written, and electronic form effectively, accurately, reliably, and intelligibly to individuals and groups, using the English language.

Examples of learning activities found in the nursing curriculum and related to industry standards:

• Process information thoroughly and quickly to prioritize and implement nursing care.
• Sequence or cluster data to determine client needs.
• Develop and implement a nursing plan of care for clients in acute, long     term, and community settings. Discriminate fine/subtle differences in medical word terminology.
• Report verbally and in writing client data to members of the healthcare team.
• Read and comprehend medical orders and client information found in the medical record.
• Perform math computations for medication dosage calculations both with and without a calculator. 

Physical, motor:

1. Move efficiently enough to meet the needs of patients in a timely fashion.
2. Coordinate fine and gross motor movements.
3. Coordinate hand/eye movements.
4. Maintain balance from any position.
5. Negotiate level surfaces, ramps, and stairs.
6. Function with both hands free for performing psychomotor tasks.
7. Maneuver in small areas.
8. Attend to cognitive and psychomotor tasks for up to 7-12 hours.

Examples of learning activities found in the nursing curriculum and related to industry standards:

• Transfer patients/clients in and out of bed from stretchers and wheelchairs.
• Turn and position patients.
• Control a fall by slowly lowering client to the floor.
• Perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
• Lift or move (turn, position) clients or objects, pull or push objects, weighing up to 50 pounds.
• Reach to shoulder or higher level to place or access equipment such as intravenous fluid bags, bend or squat to access equipment below bed level.
• Carry equipment and supplies to the client bedside.
•  Manipulate small equipment and containers, such as syringes, vials, ampoules, and medication packages to administer medications without extraneous movement, contamination, or destruction.
• Accurately place and maintain position of stethoscope for detecting sounds of bodily functions.
• Record data with a pen or graphics and other flow sheets.
• Operate a computer.
• Dispose of needles in sharps container.
• Complete assigned periods of clinical practice (7-12 hour shifts, days, evenings, or nights).

Sensory:

1. Acquire information from demonstrations and experiences, including but not limited to information conveyed through online coursework, lecture, small group activities, demonstrations, and application experiences.
2. Collect information through observation, listening, touching, and smelling.
3. Use and interpret information from diagnostic maneuvers.

Examples of learning activities found in the nursing curriculum and related to industry standards:

• Detect changes in skin color or condition. (pale, ashen, grey, or bluish)
• Detect a fire in the client care environment.
• Draw up a prescribed quantity of medication into a syringe.
• Observe clients in a room from a distance of 20 feet away.
• Detect sounds related to bodily functions using a stethoscope.
• Detect audible alarms generated by mechanical systems such as those that monitor bodily functions, fire alarms, call bells.
• Observe and collect data from recording equipment and measurement devices used in client care.
• Communicate with client and members of the healthcare team in person and over the phone in a variety of settings, including isolation and the operating room where health team members are wearing masks and there is background noise.
• Detect foul odors of bodily fluids or spoiled foods.
• Detect smoke from burning materials.
• Detect changes in skin temperature.
• Detect unsafe temperature levels in heat-producing devices used in client care.
• Detect anatomical abnormalities, such as subcutaneous crepitus, edema, or infiltrated intravenous fluids.
• Feel vibrations such as an arterial pulse.

Behavioral:

1. Demonstrate emotional stability to function effectively under stress and adapt to changing environments.
2. Maintain effective, mature, and sensitive relationships with others.
3. Examine and modify one’s own behavior when it interferes with others or the learning environment.
4. Possess attributes that include compassion, empathy, altruism, integrity, honesty, responsibility, and tolerance.
5. Establish a therapeutic relationship and communicate in a supportive manner.