Curriculum

The philosophy of the Fresno City College Associate Degree Nursing Program reflects the interrelationship between the four central concepts of nursing (patient, environment, health, and nursing). Nursing is guided by standards of practice and standards of professional performance. Standards reflect the values and priorities of the nursing profession.

The philosophy’s definitions of patient, environment, health, nursing, education, students, and faculty members are incorporated into the conceptual framework and curriculum. This framework serves as a guide for nursing instruction in the attainment of student learning outcomes.

The National League for Nursing (NLN) competencies for nursing are central to the conceptual framework of the FCC nursing program because they define the competencies of the graduate Associate Degree Nurse.  The related Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) competencies for graduate nurses define the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that the graduate nurse should possess to continuously improve the quality and safety of the healthcare systems within which they work (QSEN).

The Fresno City College Associate Degree Nursing (ADN) Program is designed to prepare students to transition from student to entry-level Registered Nurse, safely and competently, as defined by the functions of the Registered Nurse as the provider of care, manager of care, and member of the profession (NLN,2000).

Provider of Care: The nurse as the provider of care promotes wellness and insures safe nursing care to patients through therapeutic nursing interventions. This care is characterized by consistent critical thinking and problem-solving skills, clinical competence, accountability, effective communication skills, respect for diverse cultures, with an emphasis on health education and a commitment to the value of caring.   

Manager of Care: The nurse as the manager of care posseses the ability to assess and establish priorities of care for a group of patients. The manager of care collaborates with other members of the health care team, including organizational and community resources, using effective multimodal communication skills. The manager of care is competent in providing evidence-based nursing care.   

Member of the Profession: The nurse as the member of the profession consistently demonstrates accountability, advocacy, legal/ethical behavior, and caring. The member of the profession demonstrates responsibility for their own professional growth, behavior, and education and makes changes to improve the practice of nursing. 

Within each of these functions the registered nurse assumes the roles of Caregiver, Decision Maker, Communicator, Professional, Advocate, Educator, and Manager/Leader. Adherence to and promotion of nursing standards of practice are requisites for providing patient-centered care (QSEN).

Caregiver: The caregiver considers the holistic (developmental, bio-psychosocial, and cultural/spiritual) needs of the patient.  It is the responsibility of the caregiver to provide a safe environment.

Decision Maker: The nursing process provides the framework for the application of critical thinking. Using the nursing process, the decision maker analyzes the patient’s condition and develops a plan of care. The decision maker collaborates with the health care team to facilitate the implementation and evaluation of the plan of care so optimal outcomes can be attained. 

Communicator: The communicator uses therapeutic multimodal communication approaches when interacting with members of the interprofessional health care team, patients, and their families. 

Professional: The professional nurse models a spirit of inquiry when examining data, challenging the status quo, questioning underlying assumptions, and offering new insights to improve the quality of care. Professional nursing includes the application of personal and professional ethics and legal conduct when implementing patient care requiring collaboration when making decisions for optimal patient outcomes. 

Advocate: Patients and their families rely on the registered nurse to be their advocate. The nurse as an advocate must consider the patient's cultural and spiritual beliefs. 

Educator: The educator provides health education to promote and facilitate decision making, achieve positive outcomes, and support self-care activities in a variety of healthcare and community settings. 

Manager/Leader: The manager/leader uses the process of planning, organizing, directing, and controlling to assure the coordination, integration, and continuity of care.  The nurse functions as a coordinator, delegator, and collaborator of the health care team. 

The End of Program Student Learning Outcomes reflect both the philosophy and organizational framework of the Fresno City College (FCC) Nursing Program.  They correspond to the functions of the nurse as the provider of care,manager of care, and member of the profession.  They are organized by the nursing process and acknowledge each of the roles of the Registered Nurse -- Caregiver, Decision Maker, Communicator, Professional, Advocate, Educator, and Manager/Leader.

By the end of the FCC Registered Nursing program, the ADN graduate will exemplify the following:

Caregiver: Provide competent, holistic care and comfort in a diverse healthcare setting to patients of all ages. 

Decision Maker: Utilize evidence-based data to make clinical judgments and decisions that promote safe, holistic care in diverse healthcare settings.

Communicator: Communicate effectively with patients and interprofessional healthcare teams through multimodal communication approaches to optimize health care outcomes. 

Professional: Demonstrate professional behavior as an entry-level nurse, reflecting integrity, responsibility, ethical practices, and a commitment to providing safe, holistic care in diverse healthcare settings. 

Advocate: Advocate for the preferences and needs of the individual patient and their family to ensure optimal care outcomes. 

Educator: Provide health teaching so optimum levels of patient functioning can be achieved. 

Manager/Leader: Demonstrate leadership in professional practice through accountability, influence, and collaboration with others in a way that provides quality patient centered health care. 

Assessment is an on-going cycle of goal setting, measurement of outcomes, and interpretation of results, with subsequent improvement of the program, student learning outcomes, curriculum, and instructional activities. Student learning and program outcomes are assessed by: 

  • HESI RN Exit Exam results 
  • National Council Licensure Exam (NCLEX-RN) performance
  • Student Course/Program Evaluations 
  • Program Completion and Attrition Rates
  • Employer Satisfaction

First Semester/ 18 Weeks   

  • RN 31 Foundations and Introduction to Medical Surgical Nursing-Theory  
  • RN 32 Foundations and Introduction to Medical Surgical Nursing-Clinical 
  • RN 32A Foundations and Introduction to Medical Surgical Nursing-Skills  
  • RN 33 Transcultural Healthcare 
  • RN 35A Pharmacology-A Introduction to Pharmacology (changed to RN 37A effective Spring 2023)
  • RN 37A Pharmacology A: Introduction to Pharmacology
  • RN 105 Medical Math (Recommended) 
  • RN 107 Nursing Process (Recommended) 
  • RN 202 Success Strategies for RN Students (Recommended) 

Second Semester/ 18 Weeks 

  • RN 41 Nursing Care of the Adult with Common Health Problems-Theory 
  • RN 42 Nursing Care of the Adult with Common Health Problems-Clinical  
  • RN 42A Nursing Care of the Adult with Common Health Problems-Skills  
  • RN 45 Nursing Care of the Childbearing Family-Theory 
  • RN 46 Nursing Care of the Childbearing Family-Clinical 
  • RN 35B Pharmacology-B Nursing Pharmacological Applications (changed to RN 37B effective Spring 2023)
  • RN 37B Pharmacology B: Nursing Pharmacological Applications

Third Semester/ 18 Weeks 

  • RN 51 Nursing Care of the Adult with Complex Health Problems-Theory 
  • RN 52 Nursing Care of the Adult and Older Adult with Complex Health Problems-Clinical  
  • RN 52A Nursing Care of the Adult and Older Adult with Complex Health Problems-Skills  
  • RN 53 Nursing Care of the Older Adult-Theory (course no longer available effective Spring 2023)
  • RN 55 Nursing Care of Infants and Children-Theory 
  • RN 56 Nursing Care of Infants and Children-Clinical
  • RN 37C Pharmacology C: Advanced Nursing Pharmacological Applications (effective Spring 2023) 

Fourth Semester/ 18 Weeks 

  • RN 61 Nursing Care of the Critically Ill Adult and Coordinator of Care-Theory
  • RN 62 Nursing Care of the Critically Ill Adult and Coordinator of Care-Clinical
  • RN 62A Nursing Care of the Critically Ill Adult and Coordinator of Care-Skills 
  • RN 65 Nursing Care of the Client with Behavioral and Emotional Disorders-Theory  
  • RN 66 Nursing Care of the Client with Behavioral and Emotional Disorders- Clinical
  • RN 201 NCLEX-RN Review (Recommended)

Fresno City College Nursing program offers two options for California Licensed Vocational Nurses (LVN) articulating to become Registered Nurses (RN), the Associate in Science Degree Articulation and the “30 Unit Option Non-Degree Articulation. The program for California Licensed Vocational Nurses requires one academic year (two semesters) of the Registered Nursing Program. LVN to RN students enter the third semester of the RN curriculum but take a different sequence of courses from the basic RN students. It is the student’s responsibility to meet with the nursing counselor to clarify the pathway desired. 

The 30-unit option is unique to California and some states will not issue a license to an individual who was originally licensed in California under the 30-unit Option regulations. Students completing the 30-unit option are eligible to take the NCLEX-RN exam but do so as non-degree candidates. Students selecting the “30 Unit Option” are not considered graduates of Fresno City College as per the requirements of Fresno City College. Once the student has completed the 30-unit option and received an RN license from the Board of Nursing (BRN), the BRN cannot change the status to that of a graduate even if the student goes on to acquire a degree in nursing at a later date. 

Ten Week Summer Semester 

  • RN 101 Transition to Fresno City College ADN Program-Theory  
  • RN 102 Transition to Fresno City College ADN Program-Skills 
  • Third and Fourth Semester Courses – Same as for ADN Program 

 

The following courses are recommended:
  • RN 19 Work Experience  
  • RN 105 Medication Math 
  • RN 107 Introduction to the Nursing Process
  • RN 201 NCLEX-RN Review  
  • RN 202 Success Strategies for RN Students 

Students must achieve a grade of 75% or higher in all program courses to pass and move forward. 

A = 90-100  

B = 80–89.99  

C = 75–79.99  

D = 70–74.99 

F = 69.99 - 0 

No extra credit is offered in the nursing program. 

Elsevier’s Health Education Systems, Inc. (HESI) provides review and testing products that offer valid and reliable assessments and preparation products that enable students and faculty to analyze and improve student performance, promote clinical judgment, and achieve even greater levels of success. Students are required to purchase access to the HESI products. HESI is used as a comprehensive assessment program alongside the Fresno City College Nursing curriculum to help students prepare for the nursing profession more efficiently, as well as increase confidence and familiarity with nursing content.

With 237 graduates in 2022/2023, Fresno City College was the largest community college nursing program in California!

The FCC RN program NCLEX Pass Rate in 2022/2023 was 74.26%. (Refer to rn.ca.gov for regular updates.)