Nursing Program Admission Requirement

Delta's nursing program was first developed in 1961 and has a history of student success. The nursing programs are fully accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) and the Michigan Board of Nursing. Programs include Registered Nurse (ADN) full- and part-time tracks, Practical Nurse, Nursing RN transition from Licensed Practical Nurse to RN or Licensed Paramedic to RN.

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Validation

Please see your chosen program's notations section in the catalog. It details the courses and tasks required for validation.

• • Licensed Paramedic to Registered Nurse
  • Licensed Practical Nurse to Registered Nurse
  • Practical Nurse
  • Registered Nurse 
  • Registered Nurse - Dual with General Management

Scholarly Admission Requirements

The Nursing Scholar Program is an option for students to enter the clinical portion of the nursing program sooner than their ranking on the waitlist would permit. 

To be eligible to apply for the Nursing Scholar Program, you must be currently validated and meet the initial criteria of an overall GPA of 3.5 or better. Students who were unsuccessful in a nursing program are ineligible for Nurse Scholar application (even if they have a 3.5 GPA with Delta). Transfer students must have completed a minimum of 12 institutional college credits with Delta to apply. Nursing Scholar is available for the RN full time and RN part time programs. Fall semester application invitations are emailed to eligible students' Delta student emails in late February, early March. Winter semester application invitations are emailed to eligible students' Delta student emails in October. 

Up to 27 clinical spots are reserved for potential Scholar students for the full-time RN program each fall and winter semester, and up to 23 clinical spots are reserved for potential Scholar students for the part-time RN program each fall semester.

Various factors will be utilized to determine the top applicants.  Entry will be based not only on GPA, but also the number of credit hours completed at Delta, honors courses, repeated courses, final grade in BIO 152 and BIO 153 or BIO 240 and BIO 241, work experience related to nursing, and score on a standardized assessment exam.  Applicants must be a Certified Nursing Assistant or equivalent (include proof from employer) to apply.

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Basic Nursing Skill Requirements

Once a student validates for either the full or part-time tracks of the Associate Degree Nursing (ADN) program or Practical Nurse (PN) program they must provide documentation of ability to perform specific nursing skills prior to entry into the clinical portion of the program.

Students must be competent in performing ALL of the following specific nursing skills:

• • Obtaining, recording and reporting vital signs which include blood pressure, pulse, respirations, temperature and oxygen saturation
  • Bathing/Hygiene
  • Toileting
  • Ambulation
  • Feeding
  • Dressing/Grooming

Documentation

Prior to entry into the clinical portion of the nursing program, documentation verifying the student’s competency must be provided to the Nursing Discipline through one of the following means:

1. 1. Provide a copy of current certification as a nursing assistant (CNA)
      OR meet basic skill requirement by any of the items listed below.
   2. Completion certificate from a CNA course completed within the past 24 months.
   3.  Any individual who has prior registry as a CNA and currently is employed in a patient care setting that utilizes these nursing functions but does not require them to be a CNA.
      1. Provide documentation from employer, on company letterhead, of dates of employment and responsibilities (example, current job description attached). When attaining documentation of responsibilities and employment dates, please have employer sign and provide contact information should the Nursing Discipline have further questions.
      2. Provide proof of prior registry.
      3. Any individual who has prior registry as a CNA and has worked more than 150 hours in a long-term or acute care patient care setting within past 24 months.
      4. Provide documentation from present or past employer, on company letterhead, of employment dates and responsibilities (example, current job description attached). When attaining documentation of responsibilities and employment dates, please have employer sign and provide contact information should the Nursing Discipline have further questions.
      5. Provide proof of prior registry.
   4. Any individual who is employed and is presently performing all of the required nursing care responsibilities within a defined job role in an acute care or long-term care setting for a minimum of 150 hours.
      1.  Provide documentation from employer, on company letterhead, of a successful orientation to the patient care role, dates of employment and responsibilities (example, current job description attached). When attaining documentation of responsibilities and employment dates, please have employer sign and provide contact information should the Nursing Discipline have further questions.

The intent of providing this documentation is to assure either through certification or employer verification that the student possesses these basic skills related to nursing care. The nursing curriculum, for the ADN and PN programs, builds on this knowledge and expects each student to perform in a safe and competent manner related to these functions.

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Nursing Clinical Sites

Clinical sites used for nursing clinical rotations may vary from semester to semester. Clinical sites depend on several things:

• • Agency availability on course dates, days of the week and time slots. Also, agency availability may be affected by the number of nursing programs utilizing that agency.
  • The Nursing Course itself, like OB, PEDs, and Mental Health. These specialty areas may be in selected agencies only.
  • Student population. Most students are from the Great Lakes Bay Region, so we try to make the traveling time convenient to the best of our ability for the majority of our students. Students who live a distance from the clinical site may choose to stay with a colleague or friend in the area.
  • Faculty requests. We attempt to have faculty in the agencies where they are most comfortable, so that they know the paperwork, staff and the general operations of the agency well enough to assist students in learning. Generally, faculty are with their students whenever they are in the clinical site, except at the senior level of the RN program, when agency preceptors are used for the management rotation. Still in the senior level, faculty know the agency their students are in and they also make visits to again enhance student learning of the RN role.

Students' clinical schedules, including days, times, and locations, will vary from semester to semester based on a number of factors. Students within the same lecture class may have different clinical schedules, as lecture classes are divided into smaller clinical groups for the best clinical experience possible. Clinical schedules may include weekdays and/or weekends, as well as mornings and/or evenings.  

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Frequently asked questions