CT State Community College Catalog 2023-2024
- New students enrolling for the first time in Fall 2023 will begin as students of Connecticut State Community College under this catalog.
- Continuing students from one of the 12 community colleges will be transitioned into a CT State program in this catalog as of the start of the Fall 2023 term.
- The policies, courses and programs described are applicable as of the Fall 2023 term and may be updated as circumstances require.
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The Connecticut Community College Nursing Program (CT-CCNP) is an innovative associate degree program of study offered at six Connecticut State Community College campuses (Capital, Gateway, Naugatuck Valley, Northwestern CT, Norwalk and Three Rivers community colleges). The common nursing programming offers a five-semester curriculum designed to prepare registered nurses to function in the professional role utilizing current standards of nursing practice.
The curriculum is built upon courses from the social and biological sciences, liberal arts, and nursing; these courses provide the foundation for the practice of nursing. The curriculum is organized by concepts that guide student learning about the nursing profession, health and illness, health care systems and patients who are the recipients of nursing care. The curriculum is guided by local, regional, and national standards and trends within healthcare, higher education, and the nursing discipline. The delivery of the curriculum is accomplished through a dynamic educational experience that involves active and diverse learning processes.
Learning Outcomes:
While providing nursing care to individuals, families, groups, communities, and populations within the health care system, the nursing graduate:
- Demonstrates communication strategies that promote accurate exchange of information, prevent and manage conflict, and establish and maintain therapeutic relationships.
- Integrates evidence-based practice into clinical decision-making for the provision of patient-centered care.
- Uses data and patient care technology to communicate, differentiate, and manage patient information to support clinical decision-making for optimal patient outcomes.
- Integrates leadership and priority-setting skills into the management and coordination of safe, quality, patient-centered care.
- Uses the nursing process to provide patient-centered care that is responsive to the patient’s physiological, pharmacological, psychological, cultural, and sociological preferences, values, and needs.
- Integrates integrity and accountability that upholds established regulatory, legal, and ethical principles into cost effective, standard-based nursing care.
- Uses quality improvement to promote the delivery of patient-centered care and to optimize patient outcomes.
- Promotes a safe culture that minimizes the risk of harm to patients, self, and others at the work unit and health care system levels.
- Analyzes the impact of the health care system on the provision of safe, quality, patient-centered care at the level of the work unit.
- Collaborates with the interprofessional health care team to manage and coordinate the provision of safe, quality, patient-centered care.
The Connecticut Community College Nursing Program (CT-CCNP) prepares the student for entry-level practice as a registered nurse. The CT-CCNP is a selective admissions program. For admission criteria please refer to: Nursing Information Packet 2024-2025 Final.pdf Detailed information regarding selective admisson events and deadlines is available on the CT State Selective Admissions Webpage.
Consistent with the Connecticut State Community College mission and those of the colleges offering the program, the Mission of the CT-CCNP is to support students’ aspirations to become a registered nurse, to advance their education, and to improve health within the communities served.
The Vision of the CT-CCNP is to be a personally and professionally rewarding academic program of choice. The CT-CCNP fosters diversity, innovation, quality, and excellence. As lifelong learners, CT-CCNP graduates impact the lives of those they care for, their communities of practice, and the profession of nursing.
The Philosophy of the CT-CCNP Curriculum is grounded in the metaparadigm of nursing, and a belief in dynamic, professional relationships between students and faculty. The metaparadigm or focus for the nursing discipline describes the roles of the nurse and directs professional practice. The metaparadigm includes four concepts, the Person, the Environment, the Nurse, and Health. The Person is considered within Environments of care where the Nurse promotes Health and manages illness in partnership with the Person and the interprofessional health care team.
The Person as the recipient of health care is distinctive, holistic, and worthy of respect. Their values, beliefs and goals must be honored and supported, regardless of the nurse’s own values, beliefs and goals. The person is the central focus of the professional nurse. Sensitive and caring nursing practice demands an awareness of and respect for infinite types of relationships and perceptions of the world.
Environment is a literal or relative term. The environment of care is a healthcare setting or place where the human experience occurs and where nurses are a component of the interaction. Nurses interact with patients in a variety of settings within healthcare systems.
Health has multiple definitions; it is a dynamic state of the person/individual, family, group, community or population as they interact with the environment. Nurses assess and intervene in human responses to actual and potential health problems along a continuum from wellness to acute conditions, chronic illness, and end of life. Nurses assess patient’s definition of health and collaboratively plan for patient-centered care.
The Nurse provides a unique interpersonal, professional service, cognizant of legal and ethical principles and grounded in caring. Nurses recognize the need for integrity, accountability, advocacy, and systems-based thinking as they provide safe, effective patient-centered care. A commitment to continuous quality improvement, leadership development, and lifelong learning is essential for nursing practice. The Nurse possesses the knowledge, skills and attitudes (KSAs) to apply the nursing process using evidence, reflection, and caring. Nurses also consider patient preferences when making clinical judgments to reach positive patient outcomes.
The CT-CCNP Concept-Based Curriculum (CBC) is organized by Concepts within the categories of Nursing Profession, Health and Illness, Health Care Systems and Patient Attributes. The curriculum is guided by local, regional and national standards and trends within healthcare, higher education, and the nursing discipline. The delivery of the curriculum is accomplished through a dynamic educational experience, which involves active and diverse learning processes. CT-CCNP graduates possess the capacity for sound clinical judgment that enables the achievement of optimum patient outcomes along the health-illness continuum across the lifespan.
After the Associate in Science degree is awarded, the graduate is eligible to apply for licensure through the Connecticut Department of Public Health and take the National Council Licensing Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN.) The graduate is prepared to function as a safe, competent entry-level practitioner within settings across health care systems such as acute care (general or specialty hospitals), subacute or long-term care, and community based care settings such as provider offices and clinics.
The CT-CCNP curriculum has been approved by the Connecticut Board of Regents for Higher Education and the Connecticut State Board of Examiners for Nursing, with the consent of the Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Public Health.
The associate degree nursing program at Capital Community College located in Hartford, Connecticut is accredited by the: Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN), 3390 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 1400 Atlanta, GA 30326, (404) 975-5000. The most recent accreditation decision made by the ACEN Board of Commissioners for the nursing program is Continuing Accreditation. View the public information disclosed by the ACEN regarding this program at http://www.acenursing.com/accreditedprograms/programsearch.htm
The associate degree nursing program at Gateway Community College located in New Haven, Connecticut is accredited by the: Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN), 3390 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 1400 Atlanta, GA 30326, (404) 975-5000. The most recent accreditation decision made by the ACEN Board of Commissioners for the nursing program is Continuing Accreditation. View the public information disclosed by the ACEN regarding this program at http://www.acenursing.com/accreditedprograms/programsearch.htm
The associate degree nursing program at Naugatuck Valley Community College located in Waterbury, Connecticut is accredited by the: Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN), 3390 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 1400 Atlanta, GA 30326, (404) 975-5000. The most recent accreditation decision made by the ACEN Board of Commissioners for the nursing program is Continuing Accreditation. View the public information disclosed by the ACEN regarding this program at http://www.acenursing.com/accreditedprograms/programsearch.htm
The associate degree nursing program at Northwestern Connecticut Community College located in Winsted, Connecticut is accredited by the: Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN), 3390 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 1400 Atlanta, GA 30326, (404) 975-5000. The most recent accreditation decision made by the ACEN Board of Commissioners for the nursing program is Continuing Accreditation. View the public information disclosed by the ACEN regarding this program at http://www.acenursing.com/accreditedprograms/programsearch.htm
The associate degree nursing program at Norwalk Community College located in Norwalk, Connecticut is accredited by the: Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN), 3390 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 1400 Atlanta, GA 30326, (404) 975-5000. The most recent accreditation decision made by the ACEN Board of Commissioners for the nursing program is Continuing Accreditation. View the public information disclosed by the ACEN regarding this program at http://www.acenursing.com/accreditedprograms/programsearch.htm
The associate degree nursing program at Three Rivers Community College located in Norwich, Connecticut is accredited by the: Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN), 3390 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 1400 Atlanta, GA 30326, (404) 975-5000. The most recent accreditation decision made by the ACEN Board of Commissioners for the nursing program is Continuing Accreditation. View the public information disclosed by the ACEN regarding this program at http://www.acenursing.com/accreditedprograms/programsearch.htm
Licensure Disclosure Statement:
The Connecticut Community College Nursing Program (CT-CCNP) at Capital Community College, Gateway Community College, Naugatuck Valley Community College, Norwalk Community College, Northwestern Connecticut Community College, and Three Rivers Community College meet the state education requirements for a Registered Nurse license in the state of Connecticut.
The CT-CCNP has not determined if the associate degree registered nurse program meets the state education requirements in any other state, any U.S. Territory, or the District of Columbia. Applicants should investigate licensure requirements prior to accepting an offer of admission to any CT CCNP program.
The licensure boards in each state are responsible for establishing the requirements for licensure/certification for their state. Students who intend to seek licensure in any state other than Connecticut need to consult with the state professional licensing board. The state professional licensing boards make the decision on whether an individual is eligible for licensure based on the rules and regulations in place at the time the individual submits their application for licensure.
Websites for each State Regulatory Agency for Nursing can be found at this link: https://www.ncsbn.org/membership/member-boards.page