Professional Nursing

The objective of this program is to provide the knowledge, clinical skills, nursing values, and experience necessary for an entry-level professional nursing position; and in turn facilitate competency in the core components of professional nursing: professional behavior, communication, assessment, clinical decision-making, caring interventions, teaching and learning, collaboration, and managing care. This program is designed to prepare the graduate to utilize and apply the nursing process (assessment, diagnosis, planning, intervention, and evaluation) to provide care across the life span and in diverse settings within the healthcare continuum. Upon graduating from this program, the graduate will have met the educational prerequisites to sit for the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX- RN®).

• Hospitals
• Clinics
• Rehabilitation Centers
• Long-Term Care Facilities

The Professional Nursing Associate program at Rasmussen University at the:

• Central Pasco campus, located in Odessa, Florida, is accredited by the ACEN. The most recent accreditation decision made by the ACEN Board of Commissioners for this associate nursing program is Continuing Accreditation.
• Fort Myers campus, located in Fort Myers, Florida, is accredited by the ACEN. The most recent accreditation decision made by the ACEN Board of Commissioners for this associate nursing program is Continuing Accreditation.
• Ocala campus (with a satellite in North Orlando and Orlando), located in Ocala, Florida, is accredited by the ACEN. The most recent accreditation decision made by the ACEN Board of Commissioners for this associate nursing program is Continuing Accreditation.
• Tampa/Brandon campus, located in Tampa, Florida, is accredited by the ACEN. The most recent accreditation decision made by the ACEN Board of Commissioners for this associate nursing program is Continuing Accreditation.

Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN), 3390 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 1400, Atlanta, GA 30326, 404-975-5000. View the public information disclosed by the ACEN regarding these programs at https://www.acenursing.org/search-programs.

The Professional Nursing Associate’s Degree is only offered at the Central Pasco, Fort Myers, North Orlando*, Ocala**, and Tampa/Brandon campuses in Florida. (*The North Orlando, FL campus is a satellite of the Ocala, FL program. **Some students enrolled through the Ocala campus may attend a portion of their classes at the Orlando location at 8541 Southpark Circle, Orlando, Florida 32819).

The Professional Nursing Associate’s Degree contains both online and residential courses and is designed to meet the educational requirement to apply for licensure as a Registered Nurse (RN) in Florida. While this program is only offered at select campuses in those states, it has been determined that this program meets the educational requirements for licensure as an RN in additional states as displayed below. “Meets” means that the program meets the educational requirements for professional licensure. “Undetermined” means that Rasmussen makes no determination whether this program meets the educational requirements for professional licensure and prospective students located in these states cannot enroll in this program. Other licensure eligibility requirements may apply; please verify your eligibility against applicable rules, which may change at any time.

• Meets: FL, IL, KS, MN, AL, GA, IN, IA, MO, MT, ND, SD, WI
• Undetermined: AK, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, HI, ID, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MS, NC, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WV, WY, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Marianas Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands

Applicants to this program must meet program-specific admissions requirements in addition to all general Rasmussen University admissions requirements. Please see the application procedures for this program under Academic Information and University Policies.

Students enrolled in this program who fail or withdraw from a core Nursing course must successfully repeat that same course in the next quarter the course is offered in order to progress in this program. Additionally, in order to take a course that lists a prerequisite, the student must have successfully completed the prerequisite course prior to registering for the post-requisite course. A student who drops, withdraws, or fails a prerequisite course will be withdrawn from any future courses that classify that course as a prerequisite; for additional information, see the Course Descriptions section.

To graduate from this program, students must complete all required NUR coursework with a grade of C or better, achieve all required skill competencies, and satisfactorily complete all required clinical learning experiences.

Entrants must complete the following steps in order to be deemed eligible for admission:

1. Applicants pursuing admittance into the Professional Nursing program must meet one of the following requirements to be deemed eligible for Admission:
   1. Current, unencumbered Practical Nursing License or Vocational Nursing License.
   2. Achieve a score on the School of Nursing and School of Health Sciences Entrance Exam acceptable for admission:
      1. HESI® Admission Assessment – A Cumulative Score of 70% or higher. The Cumulative Score must include Reading Comprehension, Vocabulary & General Knowledge, Basic Math Skills, and Anatomy & Physiology exams, or
      2. TEAS Admission Assessment – A Total Score of 62% or higher for all campuses, except Illinois campuses, which require a Total Score of 68% or higher and a Reading score of 68% or higher.
   3. ACT score of 19 or higher, completed within five years.
   4. SAT score of 1030 or higher, completed within five years.
   5. Conferred bachelor’s degree or higher with a minimum GPA of 2.25 from a United States (U.S.) accredited institution of higher learning as recognized by the U.S. Department of Education or by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). The official transcript showing the conferred degree must be received by the University no later than the sixth business day of the first quarter of enrollment, or the student will be withdrawn.
2. In addition to the Application, Enrollment and Acceptance Requirements, entrants who have successfully completed the School of Nursing Entrance Exam must complete the following programmatic specific Acceptance Requirements:
   • Health physical and proof of immunizations in accordance with the School of Nursing Student Handbook.
   • Criminal background screening.
   • The entrant will be required to have current Basic Life Saving and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Certification with Defibrillator. A valid certification is defined in the School of Nursing Undergraduate Student Handbook.
   • The School of Nursing Orientation.
   • Any additional program-specific requirements as specified at the time of enrollment.
   • Entrants with prior college credits will receive a transcript evaluation during the admissions process.

Entrants will receive written communication from the University confirming acceptance once all acceptance requirements have been met.

In addition to meeting all other acceptance requirements, Florida campus applicants must successfully pass two background checks: one through Rasmussen University’s chosen third-party vendor, and one meeting the Florida statutory definition of a Level 2 background check. An additional background check may also be required during active enrollment prior to practicum or clinical placement depending on site requirements. Any prospective student must also consider their history, lifestyle, and future actions before enrolling in this program, and carefully consider whether their actions may prevent them from attaining employment in the field they choose to pursue. Additional requirements, such as industry-specific training may be required to obtain employment in this field. Applicants for careers in this field may be subject to pre-employment screenings such as, but not limited to, criminal background checks, and drug/or alcohol testing. Employment decisions, including whether to require background checks and other tests, are made at the discretion of the employer.

Students who hold a current unencumbered Practical Nursing license (LPN/LVN) will receive credit for NUR1055 Introduction to Nursing (4 credits), NUR2243 Professional Nursing Skills I (3 credits), and NUR2356 Multidimensional Care I (5 credits) in the Professional Nursing Associate’s Degree program. Rasmussen University defines a current, unencumbered license as a license that is unexpired and has not been reprimanded, stipulated, suspended, revoked, or has any current or prior disciplinary action regardless of current ability to practice. The student’s license will be reviewed, and if the criteria are met, the course requirements will be waived and the grades will be posted on the student’s transcript as Course Waiver (CW). Students may also transfer in up to 42 credits of applicable General Education coursework previously completed with a grade of C- or higher. Graduates of the Rasmussen University Practical Nursing Diploma program will have eight (8) General Education credits fulfilled based on ENC1101 English Composition and MAT1222 Algebra completed in the Diploma program. Students must pass all remaining coursework in the Professional Nursing Associate's Degree program to earn this degree.