Saddleback College Nursing Program Review

Saddleback College is fully accredited and offers over 300 associate degrees and certificates in 190 programs. Established in 1968, it has educated over 500,000 students to date, and is focused on helping students reach their professional, educational, and personal goals.

Students at Saddleback College can expect to learn from faculty renowned for its expertise and experience, and have opportunities for online learning, cooperative work experience, and study abroad to enhance their college experience.

The College is the ideal location for students looking to earn associate degrees and transfer to four-year universities. It ranks high among California Community Colleges for transfers to University of California and California State University, as well as other top California schools, including UC Santa Barbara, UC Santa Cruz, UC Berkeley, and UC San Diego.

Nursing Programs

Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN)

The Registered Nursing Program at Saddleback College is designed to teach students to become competent nursing practitioners and to encourage continuing educational development of the student. This is a four semester program, after completing the prerequisite courses. Upon completion of this program, students will receive an ADN and will be allowed to take the NCLEX licensing exam for the state of California to become a Registered Nurse (RN).

Prior to applying to the program, students must be enrolled in Saddleback College and must have completed Anatomy, Microbiology, and Physiology with a GPA of 2.8 or better, and English with a grade of 2.5 or better. It is highly recommended that students enroll in the required core classes of Pharmacology, Gerontology, Psych, and Speech before applying. This will help to improve their multi-criteria admission scores and increase the chances of their success once in the program.

Students applying for entry into the nursing program will be selected using the multi-criteria admission process. They will be ranked based on the points accumulated from a number of criteria, including related certificates and work experience, completion of relevant course work, grade point average in relevant coursework, prior academic degrees, test scores, proficiency in a language other than English, and life experience.

The Saddleback College Registered Nursing Program is accredited by the Board of Registered Nursing (BRN) and the National League for Nursing (NLNAC).

Licensed Vocational Nurse to Registered Nurse (LVN to RN) Program

LVNs seeking to become RNs may enter the Registered Nursing Program after meeting the requirements listed above. In addition, they must take the Successful Transition to Professional Nursing course. During preadmission advisement with the Nursing Program Director or Assistant Director, they will be given their required core nursing courses and the sequence in which to take them. Students that graduate from this program will receive an ADN and be allowed to take the national RN licensing exam.

LVN to RN students may also complete the 30-Unit option to be eligible to take the state RN licensing exam. With this option, however, they will not receive an ADN and will not be eligible to participate in the Nursing Program pinning ceremony.

Other Health Care Programs

In addition to the Registered Nursing Program, Saddleback College offers a variety of other programs for those interested in a career in health care. These programs are also in the College of Health Sciences and Human Services, and include Emergency Medical Technology, Health Information Technology, the Medical Assistant Program, the Medical Laboratory Technician Program, the Paramedic Program, and the Phlebotomy Program.

Contact:

Saddleback College

28000 Marguerite Parkway

Mission Viejo, California 92692

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