Division of Health Sciences
Fall Semester Start
The Practical Nursing Certificate program is designed to meet the educational needs of those who wish career entry as a licensed health care worker. Graduates are employed in various health care settings such as long-term care facilities, hospitals, clinics, physician offices, home health, and community health facilities. The Practical Nursing Program is conducted over a 40-week period beginning in the fall and continued through June. Classes, labs, and clinicals are scheduled full-time during the day. The theoretical, lab and clinical components of nursing courses must be taken concurrently and sequentially.
The Practical Nursing Program has been approved bythe Massachusetts Board of Registration in Nursing. Graduates are eligible to take the National Council Licensure Examination for Practical Nurses (NCLEX-PN).
A minimum grade of C, 75% is required for progression in all Practical Nursing courses.
Program Learning Outcomes
Program learning outcomes available by clicking here.
Admission Requirements
Students seeking admission to the Practical Nursing Program (PN) will be individually evaluated on the basis of the Grade Point Average (GPA) and performance on the HESI A2 Entrance Exam or the Assessment Technologies Institute, Test of Essential Academic Skills (ATI TEAS) Exam.
Students must also meet the following additional criteria for eligibility for acceptance into the practical nursing program:
- High School diploma or equivalent, or Associate Degree or higher
- MassBay Placement into EN 101 or completion of EN 98 with a grade of C or higher.
- MassBay Placement into MA 98 or completion of MA 95 with a grade of C or higher.
- Successful completion of Reading Assessment Test with a score of 246 or higher.
- Completion of BI 215 and BI 217 , within a five (5) year timeframe with a grade of C or higher at the time of matriculation into the Practical Nursing Program. Students can repeat each science course only once to achieve C or higher.
- Documentation from a healthcare provider stating that you have completed the 3-dpse Hepatitis B vaccine or 2-dose Heplisav-B, a positive antibody Hepatitis B titer, or have completed the Hepatitis B vaccine series and are a “non-responder” to the vaccine. You must allow a minimum of 6 months to complete this process.
- HESI Admission (A2) exam score of 70% or better. A Student may take the HESI exam a total of 4 times. HESI exam scores are valid for one year, at which time the exam must be retaken.
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Once students have been admitted to the program the following pre-program requirements must be completed:
Orientation:
Practical Nursing students are required to attend the mandatory New Student Orientation. Students who do not attend this orientation, and do not provide a legitimate excuse beforehand be withdrawn from the program and be considered for readmission at a later date.
Required Pre-Entry Documentation:
After being admitted into a Health Sciences program, students will receive instructions on how to upload required health documentation to an online platform. Students must submit all documents by the published deadline in order to be eligible to start Health Sciences classes.
- Medical clearance and proof of immunizations as required by state law and outlined in the Division of Health Sciences handbook and in admission paperwork and can be found on Division of Health Sciences’ web pages of the MassBay website by clicking the link, Health and Background Check Requirements.
- Proof of CPR certification. The Basic Life Support Provider Card (from the American Heart Association) and the Professional Rescuer Card (from American Red Cross or National Safety Council) or the equivalent from the Military Training Network are the only types of CPR certification that meet this requirement. Copies of both sides and a valid signature or American Heart Association eCard are required.
- The student must complete the CORI /SORI (Criminal/Sex Offender Record Information) to authorize a search of conviction and pending criminal case information under Standard Required Level 1 by DCJIS (Department of Criminal Justice Information Services). The CORI/SORI completion process is part of the New Student Orientation. If there is a finding of criminal convictions or “open cases,” the student will be ineligible to participate in the Health Sciences Program. A National County Criminal Background check will be conducted as part of the student’s completion of the clinical requirements.
More information is available on the Division of Health Sciences pages on the MassBay website.
Applicants to the Practical Nursing Program are required to attend a recent Information Session. Times and dates for these sessions can be located at Information Session Schedule
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