Western Nevada College Nursing Program Review
Western Nevada College (WNC), then known as Western Nevada Community College opened its doors to the first group of students in 1971. Then community college was meant o serve the residents of western Nevada especially Reno and Carson City. The college had a satellite campus in Reno which was later separated as independent campus to what today is Truckee Meadows Community College in late 1979. In 2007, the college dropped its community college name to the current name to reflect the expanded academic outlook. It offers 2-year degrees, certificates and work force training programs in its main campus at Carson City and 7 other education and learning centers across the state.
Nursing at Western Nevada College
Western Nevada College offers two nursing programs. One is a short Nursing assistant course while the other is a 2-year program that leads to the award of an occupation-based Associate of Applied Science in nursing degree. The associate degree program is approved by the National League in Nursing and accrediting Commission and is approved by the Nevada State Board of Nursing. Details of each program are provided below:
Nursing Assistant
The nursing assistant program is designed to train entry-level students basic bedside patient care skills. It is a 1-course program that enables students to apply for the Nurse Aide evaluation tests for certification as a nursing assistant. The course is also meant to meet the application requirements of most associate of science in nursing programs in the state.
Associate Degree Nursing
The associate degree in nursing at Western Nevada is the only main nursing program offered by the college. It offers a curriculum that leads to education eligibility of students to apply and write the NLCEX-RN exam to become registered nurses. Candidates applying for this program must take the Kaplan Nursing Entrance Test instead of the common TEAS test. The program is offered at the Carson City campus on a full time basis. At times, students may be required to attend classes in the evening and weekends if need arises.
A total of 71 credits must be completed on a sequential complexity progression basis to be eligible for graduation. 21 of these are general education and must be completed before the candidates apply to the program. The remaining 50 credits are taken after admission into the program and include nursing and support courses covered in a period of 4 semesters. Courses are offered on-site at Carson City or through the Western Nevada College Online Moodle therefore, students need to be computer literate. Satisfactory completion of the program awards the students an Associate of Applied Science Nursing degree.
High School Programs
Western Nevada College has partnered with High school in the western region of the state to enable them complete some courses that can be used to full some of the associate degree requirements. One such program is the Tech Prep-Nursing and Criminal justice program. Through the program, students earn college credits at their senior level at no extra cost.
Contact:
Western Nevada College
2201 W College Pkwy, Carson city,
NV 89703
