Department
of Nursing
Gist Hall 122
(707) 826-3215; fax 826-5141
www.humboldt.edu/~nurs
Our program prepares graduates for entry-level positions as adult health,
medical-surgical, geriatric, mental health, child health, childbearing health,
or community health nurses. It also prepares graduates for pursuing a master’s degree in nursing, which may
qualify them in the future as clinical specialists, midwives, nurse administrators,
nurse anesthetists, nurse practitioners, or nurse educators.
Nursing students receive clinical experience at local hospitals, clinics, health
departments, and community agencies such as day health care agencies, schools,
and physicians’ offices. In these settings, students are encouraged to
develop leadership and management skills in addition to learning/applying patient
advocacy skills.
Beyond the broad foundation in liberal arts and sciences, students learn specific
entry-level nursing skills.
Humboldt nursing students find the program emphasizes independence, problem
solving, and critical thinking, which help them develop flexibility in their
careers. The curriculum is based on views of client, health, environment, and
nursing influenced by the Modeling and Role-modeling theory of Erickson, Tomlin,
and Swain.
Our program is endorsed by the American Holistic Nurses Association; graduates
are eligible to sit for the exam for Holistic Nurse Certification.
Research is an important component. Attention focuses on understanding the
process of research and being a consumer of research that impacts nursing care.
The program is approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing (BRN)
and accredited by the Commission for Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). Students
are eligible
to sit for the BRN licensing exam after successful completion of required
nursing major courses. Completion of the BS degree makes one eligible for
the public health nursing certificate (PHN) or to enter a variety of graduate
programs in nursing.
Note: When applying for licensure in California, applicants are required
to report any misdemeanor or felony convictions to the Board of Registered
Nursing.
Certain convictions may result in denial of licensure. Cases are considered
individually.
Because of the tightly structured curriculum and rigorous course work, nursing
students choose either not to work or to limit the hours of employment. Reliable
transportation is necessary, as clinical labs are held at several off-campus
sites and often begin before public transportation is available.
For current registered nurses (RNs), there are special courses have been added
for a
BS degree (see Special Programs below).
Apply to the university under published guidelines.
Incoming freshmen should have taken high school chemistry with lab, one other
lab science course, elementary algebra, and a higher mathematics course.
Transfer students should pay careful attention to the CSU transfer student
policies for general education.
Admission to the major occurs fall and spring semesters. Obtain a separate application to the major directly from the Department of Nursing. February 1 is the deadline for applying to the major for the fall semester class; October 1 is the deadline for the spring semester.
All students must meet the following minimum admission standards to be considered
for space in the nursing class:
SUPPLEMENTARY CRITERIA
Due to the impacted status of the nursing major and limited clinical facilities,
the department screens and selects majors based on supplementary criteria.
These criteria are applied to those who have already met minimum standards
described above. Criteria may be modified slightly from year to year, so
contact the department directly to verify current criteria.
An applicant competing for a place within the major may score as many as 105
points in the following categories:
3.70 GPA or higher 55 points A = 4.0 C+ = 2.3 3.30 to 3.69 45 points A- = 3.7 C = 2.0 3.00 to 3.29 35 points B+ = 3.3 C- = 1.7 2.70 to 2.99 25 points B = 3.0 D+ = 1.3 2.50 to 2.69 15 points B- = 2.7 D = 1.0
| 3.70 GPA or higher | 15 points |
| 3.30 to 3.69 | 12 points |
| 3.00 to 3.29 | 9 points |
| 2.70 to 2.99 | 6 points |
| 2.50 to 2.69 | 3 points |
75 or higher 20 points 55-74 15 points 40-54 10 points 39 to 16 5 points 15 or less 0 points
Paid employment in a health care setting providing direct patient care, such as LVN, RT, Psych Tech, CNA, etc., or Volunteer in a health care setting with direct patient interaction. Must be documented on letterhead by employer or volunteer coordinator.
Applications are screened during spring semester. Letters of acceptance will be conditional on satisfactory completion of the above-listed prerequisite courses by the end of the spring semester. Final decision as to which students are accepted for admission to the nursing major is normally completed by mid-June.
BEFORE FIRST NURSING COURSES
Students receiving official department notification of acceptance for the first
nursing courses
(NURS 260, 262, 268) must:
Note: Students must earn grades of C or higher in all required courses for the major. Students are strongly encouraged to review course descriptions for prerequisites and corequisites to make certain they are eligible to enroll.
Prerequisites:
BIOL 210
Medical Microbiology
CHEM 107
Fundamentals of Chemistry
CHEM 117
Nursing Chemistry
COMM 100 Fundamentals
of Speech Communication
ENGL 100
First Year Reading & Composition
ZOOL
214 Elementary Physiology
ZOOL 270 Human
Anatomy
Plus Mathematics (GE B3)—STAT 106 Introduction to Statistics for the Health Sciences preferred, and Critical Thinking (GE A3).
Concurrent with major courses:
SOC 104 Introduction
to Sociology, or
ANTH 104 Cultural
Anthropology
HED 231 Basic
Human Nutrition
PSYC 104 Introduction
to Psychology
PSYC 311 Human
Development
NURS
260 Beginning Assessment Skills
NURS
262 Theory-Based Nursing Practice
NURS 268 Clinical Nursing I: Foundations in Adult Health & Illness
NURS 306 Pathophysiology & Pharmacotherapeutics in Health Care
NURS 368 Clinical Nursing II: Critical Thinking in Adult Health & Illness
NURS 372 Psychiactirc-Mental Health Nursing
NURS 374 Maternal/Child/Family Nursing
NURS
462 Nursing in the Community
NURS 468 Clinical Nursing III: Analysis of Adults with Complex Needs
NURS 472 Senior Clinical Capstone
NURS
495 Introduction of Research & Scholarship for Professional Nursing Practice
NURS
496 Trends in Nursing
The registered nurse seeking a BS degree must fulfill the same academic requirements
as other nursing students. However, since the RN enters the university with
knowledge and skills validated by licensing, s/he may challenge certain nursing
courses for credit.
Special courses have been developed to enable the RN to obtain the BS degree
in a special pathway (RN Bridge). With the completion of required support course
work and lower division general education, nursing courses and upper division
general education can be completed in three semesters.
The RN student must:
Inorganic & Organic Chemistry
Human Nutrition
Microbiology
Introductory Sociology/CulturalAnthropology
Anatomy
Physiology
Introductory Psychology
Lifespan Growth & Development
Statistics
NURS 353 Applying Concepts: Adult Health Nursing
NURS 354 Applying Concepts: Mental Health Nursing
NURS 355 Applying Concepts: Mat/Child Nursing
NURS 357 Concepts in Professional Nursing
NURS 358 Bridging Concepts for the RN
NURS 359 Applications & Trends in Clinical Care for the RN
NURS 460 Advanced Physical Assessment
NURS 462 Community Health Nursing
NURS 465 Leadership & Management for the RN
NURS 495 Introduction of Research & Scholarship for Professional Nursing Practice
The licensed vocational nurse who seeks a BS degree is also recognized as
having strengths and experience. S/he too may challenge courses within the
major, primarily at the sophomore level.
Humboldt State University offers a 29-unit non-degree option enabling LVNs
to sit for the registered nurse licensing exam. The requirements for this
pathway are available directly from the Department of Nursing.