college catalog
Nursing Program
The Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program
The BSN program equals 184.5 quarter hours and is divided into 12 quarters. The program, if completed on-time takes 36 months.
The baccalaureate nursing program from the School of Nursing at Platt College is accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN).
ACEN
3343 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 850
Atlanta, GA 30326
404-975-5000
The Bachelor of Science in Nursing is approved by the Colorado State Board of Nursing (June 22, 2005) and is included within the scope of institutional accreditation by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (August 30, 2005).
Competencies
Achievement of the Program Outcomes for the nursing program at Platt College will be measured using the following five competencies based upon the national standards of The Essentials of Baccalaureate Education for Professional Nursing Practice (American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), 2008) and the Pre-Licensure knowledge, skills, and attitudes delineated by Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN).
- Nursing Process
- Nursing Informatics
- Professional Standards
- Evidence-Based Practice
- Interprofessional Communication & Collaboration
Consumer indices are also tracked as outcomes for the BSN program and include:
First-time NCLEX pass rates Program completion rates Graduate Satisfaction Graduate Employment Rates
Simulation
Mission Statement for Simulation
Platt College offers simulated clinical experiences to nursing students who will assume accountability for safe, holistic, and patient-centered care as professional nurses. Within our Simulation Lab, the simulation team creates immersive patient care environments and utilizes high fidelity simulators and a Simulation Learning System that support student-centered learning.
Vision Statement for Simulation
Provide a high- quality student-centered learning experience utilizing human simulation experience to create realistic, life-like scenarios where students engage in the practice of nursing skills and theory for the purpose of facilitating competence in provision of care, evidence-based practice, informatics, professional standards, and interprofessional communication and collaboration.
The Simulation Lab at Platt College provides life- like learning environments for students to practice safety while delivering patient care, develop hands-on nursing skills, to increase their levels of confidence and to develop critical thinking. A family of high-fidelity patient simulators awaits the delivery of safe care by the nursing students of Platt College. Nursing students who experience simulated clinical education using high fidelity simulation had significantly increased scores in patient safety, communication, self-confidence, and critical thinking.
Students participate in simulation clinical experiences in the following areas of nursing study:
- Health Assessment and Health Promotion
- Nursing Care of Adults and Older Adults
- Nursing Care of Pediatric Patients
- Nursing Care of Persons with Mental Health Impairments
- Nursing Care of the Childbearing Family
- Community and Population-Based Nursing
- High Acuity Nursing Care
- Nursing Leadership
Patient care simulators “come to life” through a simulation learning system programmed into each computerized simulator. The simulation learning system provides decision-making algorithms and their resultant physiological alterations within the patient simulator.
Students providing care to a simulated patient will cause the simulator to alter its physiology as the students make decisions. Students practice their nursing skills, including medication administration, IV therapy, and wound care. The simulation lab provides the environment to deliver care in an emergency room, birthing suite, intensive care, pediatric unit, acute and long-term care. Following a simulated clinical experience, students participate in a debriefing and self-reflection session with their faculty.
Clinical Experiences
At Platt College, students are exposed to a wide variety of clinical settings—including hospitals, outpatient and community clinics, treatment centers, and long-term care facilities—as well as patient populations diverse in age, gender, health status, socioeconomic background, and geographic distribution. Nursing students participate in approximately 930 hours of diverse and educationally rewarding clinical experiences. Most clinical facilities are located within a 70-mile radius of the College. Travel to and from clinical facilities is the student's responsibility so the use of a vehicle is expected.
Students can participate in clinical courses including the following areas of nursing study:
- Patient Centered Care
- Health Assessment and Health Promotion
- Nursing Care of Adults and Older Adults
- Nursing Care of Pediatric Patients
- Nursing Care of Persons with Mental Health Impairments
- Nursing Care of the Childbearing Family
- Community and Population-Based Nursing
- High Acuity Nursing Care
- Nursing Leadership
- Capstone: Transition to Professional Nursing
In addition, students have opportunities to work independently with a nurse preceptor. The Senior Capstone occurs over a 90-hour period and provides a one-on-one educational learning experience with a professional nurse to develop competencies in a variety of specialties. Clinical experiences begin during the second quarter of study.
The office of the Clinical Placement Coordinator is responsible for ensuring that students meet the health care and clinical site requirements for their clinical experiences. This office is also responsible for securing the appropriate off- campus clinical learning sites and faculty who teach in both on and off-campus clinical.
Meeting these health care requirements is critical to progression through the nursing curriculum.