- Welcome Message
- Admissions Requirements
- Practical Nursing/PN
- Associate Degree Nursing/ADN
- Our Nursing Philosophy
- Preparing for Nursing School
- What Do Our Students Say?
- Meet Our Faculty & Staff
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Accreditation
- Return to the MCC Website
- Schedule a visit to MCC
- Costs to attend
- Return to the ECC Website
- Schedule a visit to ECC
- Costs to attend
All about our Associate Degree Nursing/ADN program
Associate Degree Nursing (ADN) Curriculum Requirements for the Traditional and Blended programs (Blended program offered only at ECC)
Students planning to enter the Associate Degree Nursing program are required to have completed BIO 168 Human Anatomy & Physiology I, BIO 173 Human Anatomy & Physiology II and EDU 160 Human Growth and Development in addition to a successfully completed Practical Nursing program prior to admission. Students must also possess a current nursing license from the State of Iowa. It is strongly recommended that students have as many of the additional prerequisites listed in the table below completed prior to entry. The schedule below is purely a sample of what a student’s schedule may look like prior to entering the program and can be modified to fit student’s needs if necessary. An exception is Human Anatomy & Physiology I which must be taken as a prerequisite to Human Anatomy & Physiology II. All students are advised to register for classes with nursing program advisors or nursing faculty at each campus. A list of these contacts can be found on the “Meet Our Faculty and Staff” page.
| Semester One: Prerequisites only if not completed during PN coursework | Credits |
| BIO186 Microbiology | 4 |
| SOC110 Introduction to Sociology | 3 |
| ENG105 Composition I | 3 |
| PSY111 Introduction to Psychology | 3 |
• If a student has not completed BIO186 Microbiology before acceptance into the ADN program, do not register for that course in the fall semester. The course will only fit into the ADN schedule for the spring semester.
• If a student does not have any of the above prerequisite courses completed, as well as Human Anatomy & Physiology II and Human Growth & Development, it will take longer than one semester to complete all of the ADN prerequisites.
• Transfer Students: It is highly encouraged to send transcripts to the Admissions Office early to have them evaluated for transfer credit. Transfer credit can vary between institutions, so it is wise to plan ahead to avoid any possible delays due to differences in the way courses may be transferred into the program.
• Science courses must have been completed within 7-10 years.
Enrollment in the ADN Program is limited; therefore, acceptance of eligible applicants will be based on considerations such as the number of general education courses completed prior to applying, performance in required nursing and general education courses, clinical performance, attendance, and work experience.
Applications for the program are accepted throughout the year, with a new class beginning each June. Your Nursing Admissions Folder must be completed by March 15 for full consideration. Students applying to ECC must choose which program they wish to pursue, traditional on-campus or blended (online coursework with some on-campus requirements) at the time of application. If admitted, students are required to stay in the program in which they were initially admitted; switching between the traditional and blended programs is not permitted.
Associate Degree Nursing core course schedule sample for students who attend MCC (Traditional option only) |
|
| Summer Session (6 weeks, 6 credits) START OF ADN PROGRAM | Credits |
| ADN114 Foundations of Professional Nursing | 2.5 |
| ADN521 Medical-Surgical Nursing of the Adult I | 3.5 |
| Fall Semester (15 credits) | |
| ADN522 Medical-Surgical Nursing of the Adult II | 3.5 |
| ADN471 Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing | 3.5 |
| ADN523 Medical-Surgical Nursing of the Adult III | 4.5 |
| ADN431 Family Centered/Maternal Newborn Nursing | 3.5 |
| Spring Semester (8.5 credits) | |
| ADN431 Maternal/Newborn Nursing (continued) | |
| ADN441 Pediatric Nursing Concepts | 3.5 |
| ADN524 Medical-Surgical Nursing of the Adult IV | 3.5 |
| ADN815 Transition to Professional Nursing Practice | 1.5 |
| TOTAL PROGRAM CREDITS (includes prerequisites listed in the chart above) | 42.5 |
Associate Degree Nursing core course schedule sample for students who attend ECC (sequence of coursework is identical for the Traditional & Blended programs) |
|
| Summer Session (6 weeks, 6 credits) START OF ADN PROGRAM | Credits |
| ADN114 Foundations of Professional Nursing | 2.5 |
| ADN521 Medical-Surgical Nursing of the Adult I | 3.5 |
| Fall Semester (15 credits) | |
| ADN522 Medical-Surgical Nursing of the Adult II | 3.5 |
| ADN431 Family Centered/Maternal Newborn Nursing | 3.5 |
| ADN523 Medical-Surgical Nursing of the Adult III | 4.5 |
| ADN441 Pediatric Nursing Concepts | 3.5 |
| Spring Semester (8.5 credits) | |
| ADN441 Pediatric Nursing Concepts (continued) | |
| ADN471 Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing | 3.5 |
| ADN524 Medical-Surgical Nursing of the Adult IV | 3.5 |
| ADN815 Transition to Professional Nursing Practice | 1.5 |
| TOTAL PROGRAM CREDITS (includes prerequisites listed in the chart above) | 42.5 |
Blended ADN program requirements
The Blended ADN program at ECC offers students who would benefit from an alternative delivery option (in place of a full-time, on-campus nursing program) a way to meet their goals of enrolling in an Associate Degree Nursing program.
The Blended program allows students to complete all of their classroom learning online through a variety of teaching methods such as audio lectures, videos and discussion boards, for example. Homework assignments are submitted online and faculty are readily available for questions and correspondence. Students are required to come to the Ellsworth campus once every two weeks to take exams and participate in clinical simulation and additional learning activities.
All students enrolled in the Blended program will be required to attend clinicals two days per week at designated clinical facilities. The curriculum and clinical requirements for both programs, traditional and blended, are identical.
Students who enroll in the ADN programs at Ellsworth Community College will receive the same high quality education regardless of the learning mode they choose to pursue. Our full-time ADN Nursing faculty members teach the same courses in both programs to ensure consistency. They are dedicated to students’ success.
Associate Degree Nursing Course Descriptions
BIO186: Microbiology (4 credits) – Microorganisms and their beneficial and harmful relationships to humans.
ENG105: Composition I (3 credits) – Written communication using various rhetorical methods. For students whose standardized test scores indicate insufficient preparation, ENG060 is a prerequisite.
PSY111: Introduction to Psychology (3 credits) – Basic concepts, methods and principles of the study of behavior and mental processes.
SOC110: Introduction to Sociology (3 credits) – Beginning course in sociology with emphasis on terminology. Includes basic concepts such as group influence on individual behavior, principles and processes, culture, social institutions, social class, collective behavior, and ethnic groups.
ADN114: Foundations of Professional Nursing (2.5 credits) – Examines the role of the professional nurse and contemporary theories of nursing. Reviews the history of nursing and nursing education and compares educational routes that prepare for NCLEX. Identifies current issues and trends in nursing. Reviews legal and ethical aspects of nursing and initiates the associate degree study of bioethics and nursing informatics. A developmental approach is used to study nursing care of adults, and students get an opportunity to compare and contrast the nurse’s role in health and illness.
ADN431: Family Centered Maternal/Newborn Nursing (3.5 credits) – Contemporary nursing care of the childbearing family through normal antepartum, labor, delivery, and postpartum experiences. Overview of common health problems and high-risk complications for mother and newborn. Includes a clinical inpatient component.
ADN441: Pediatric Nursing Concepts (3.5 credits) – Applies principles of growth and development to provide nursing care for families with infants, children, or adolescents. Students study the role of families, pediatric health promotion, children with special needs, and acute and chronic childhood illnesses. The organizing framework for the clinical component is the nursing process. The clinical component is primarily in a pediatric acute care setting, and also includes a brief examination of the role of school nurses.
ADN471: Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing (3.5 credits) – Explores the associate degree study of mental health nursing, including mental health concepts, nursing interventions, psychiatric disorders, and nursing of special populations. The associated clinical component includes experiences in acute and outpatient mental health settings. Clinical specialties also include an observational experience in a chemical dependency center.
ADN521: Medical-Surgical Nursing of the Adult I (3.5 credits) – Initiates the associate degree study of medical/surgical nursing, including concepts relating to fluid and electrolytes; intravenous therapy; shock; pre-op, intra-op, and post-op care; pain; immune disorders; oncology nursing; and trauma. The course includes theoretical foundation and skills practice lab for infusion-related therapy. Course work develops the skills for client assessment, the nursing process, and comprehensive nursing interventions for maintenance and health promotion for complex health deviations. The associated clinical component is in an acute care medical-surgical setting.
ADN522: Medical-Surgical Nursing of the Adult II (3.5 credits) – Examines the associate degree study of medical-surgical nursing, including concepts relating to nutrition; skin integrity and burns; endocrine disorders; bowel disorders; and kidney disorders. Course work develops the skills for client assessment, the nursing process, and comprehensive nursing interventions for maintenance and health promotion for complex health deviations. The associated clinical component is in public health/community nursing preceptor sites and an acute medical-surgical care setting.
ADN523: Medical-Surgical Nursing of the Adult III (4.5 credits) – Examines the associate degree study of medical-surgical nursing, including concepts relating to leadership and management; cardiac disorders; peripheral vascular disorders; and respiratory disorders. Course work develops the skills for client assessment, the nursing process, and comprehensive nursing interventions for maintenance and health promotion of complex health deviations. The associated clinical component includes an acute medical-surgical care setting and a preceptor experience in leadership/management on an acute care medical-surgical and skilled nursing unit.
ADN524: Medical-Surgical Nursing of the Adult IV (3.5 credits) – Examines the associate degree study of medical-surgical nursing, including concepts relating to neurological disorders; visual and auditory disorders; reproductive disorders; sexual disorders; and musculoskeletal disorders. Course work develops the skills for client assessment, the nursing process, and comprehensive nursing interventions for maintenance and health promotion of complex health deviations. The associated clinical component includes an acute medical-surgical care setting and a preceptor leadership experience in critical care, including intensive and emergency care nursing.
ADN815: Transition to Professional Nursing Practice (1.5 credits) – Course will cover information needed to prepare ADN students for entry into nursing practice. The course includes a required preceptorship experience designed to promote independent critical thinking skills and to facilitate transition to professional nursing practice. A clinical preceptor will serve as a role model and a clinical resource person for 45 hours.
Clinical Requirements
Associate Degree Nursing students must complete clinical rotations while in the program. The total number of clinical hours required for the entire Associate Degree Nursing program is 423 hours broken down between six different clinical rotations and a preceptorship at the end of the program. Each student will gain clinical experience in the areas of medical/surgical nursing, obstetrics, pediatrics and mental health nursing in the hospital setting. Students will also receive clinical experience in specialty settings such as public health, leadership and school nurse. Clinical rotations are taught by full time nursing faculty and adjunct clinical nursing faculty.