To be eligible for the Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree the student must have completed 124 units of which 56 units must be in Nursing. A student must have a minimum grade of ‘C+’ (2.3) in nursing coursework. Minimum passing grade in nursing prerequisite and corequisite courses is ‘C’ (2.0) with the exception of Human Anatomy and Human Physiology where the minimum pass grade is a ‘B’ (3.0). Students must earn at least a 3.25 GPA in the prerequisite courses and overall to be admitted to the program. Students cannot repeat previously passed prerequisite courses in order to raise their GPA. Prerequisites in chemistry, anatomy, physiology, and microbiology must be taken within the past five years. Students who do not pass more than one class required for the nursing major (i.e., prerequisite, corequisite, or nursing courses) are disqualified from the nursing program. For transfer students, failed courses that were taken more than five years prior to DUC matriculation are disregarded. However, failed courses taken within five years of matriculation apply to the progression policies of the nursing department. During the Senior year, nursing students are required to complete a project that is based on research and that addresses a current issue or health problem related to professional nursing practice. 30 of the last 36 units counted toward the degree must be taken at Dominican.
Nursing Major BS Requirements
Additional courses may be needed in Math and Chemistry as determined by placement assessment.
To be eligible for progression into the Nursing Program, students must fulfill the criteria listed below.
Prerequisite Courses:
| BIO 2500 | Human Anatomy | 3.00 units |
| BIO 2505 | Human Anatomy Lab | 1.00 unit |
| BIO 2600 | Human Physiology | 3.00 units |
| BIO 2605 | Human Physiology Lab | 1.00 unit |
| CHEM 1600 | Chemistry for Health Sciences | 3.00 units |
| CHEM 1605 | Chemistry for Health Science Lab | 1.00 unit |
| EC 1000 | Effective Communication 1: Verbal and Visual Literacies | 4.00 units |
| PSY 1100 | Introduction to Psychology | 4.00 units |
CORE
| Nursing approved courses within Civic Knowledge and Engagement Category | 4.00 units |
| Total Credit Hours: | 24 |
*NOTE: Transfer students may substitute Sociology or Cultural Anthropology to meet the Nursing Prerequisite requirement but not necessarily the CORE Civic Knowledge and Engagement requirement.
Non-Nursing Courses
| BIO 3450 | Nutrition for Disease Prevention and Treatment | 3.00 units |
| BIO 3455 | Nutrition for Disease Prevention and Treatment Lab | 1.00 unit |
| BIO 3600 | Microbiology for Health Sciences | 3.00 units |
| BIO 3605 | Microbiology for Health Sciences Lab | 1.00 unit |
| EC 2000 | Effective Communication 2: Rhetoric and Research | 4.00 units |
| PSY 3187 | Statistics for Health & Behavioral Sciences | 4.00 units |
CORE
| Any course from Examined Life Category | 4.00 units |
| Total Credit Hours: | 20 |
Lower Division Nursing Courses:
| NURS 2002 | Nursing Fundamentals | 4.00 units |
| NURL 2002 | Nursing Fundamentals Lab | 0.00 units |
| NURS 2014 | Health Assessment Across the Lifespan | 4.00 units |
| NURL 2014 | Health Assessment Across the Lifespan Lab | 0.00 units |
| NURS 2040 | Pathophysiology/Pharmacology I | 4.00 units |
| NURS 2050 | Medical-Surgical Nursing I | 4.00 units |
| NURL 2050 | Medical-Surgical Nursing I Lab | 0.00 units |
| NURS 2150 | Geriatric Foundations | 4.00 units |
| NURL 2150 | Geriatric Foundations Lab | 0.00 units |
| Total Credit Hours: | 20 |
Upper Division Nursing Courses:
| NURS 3040 | Pathophysiology/Pharmacology II | 2.00 units |
| NURS 3100 | Maternal-Newborn and Women's Health Nursing | 4.00 units |
| NURL 3100 | Maternal-Newborn and Women's Health Nursing Lab | 0.00 units |
| NURL 3101 | Child and Family Nursing Lab | 0.00 units |
| NURS 3105 | Medical-Surgical Nursing II | 4.00 units |
| NURL 3105 | Medical-Surgical Nursing II Lab | 0.00 units |
| NURS 3106 | Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing | 4.00 units |
| NURL 3106 | Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing Lab | 0.00 units |
| NURS 3120 | NCLEX-RN Preparation I | 1.00 unit |
| NURS 4100 | Medical-Surgical Nursing III | 4.00 units |
| NURL 4100 | Medical-Surgical Nursing III Lab | 0.00 units |
| NURS 4120 | NCLEX-RN Preparation II | 1.00 unit |
| NURS 4150 | Community Health and Nursing | 4.00 units |
| NURL 4150 | Community Health and Nursing Lab | 0.00 units |
| NURS 4200 | Leadership and Nursing Care Management | 4.00 units |
| NURL 4200 | Leadership and Nursing Care Management Lab | 0.00 units |
| NURS 4500 | Nursing Research and Senior Thesis | 4.00 units |
| Total Credit Hours: | 36 |
Honors Student Nursing Requirements:
| NURS 4998 | Honors: Directed Research II | 1.00 unit |
Total Credit Hours: 100-101
LVN to RN 30 Unit Option
In compliance with the regulations of the California Board of Registered Nursing, Dominican University of California offers an LVN to RN option plan for LVN’s who are currently licensed in California and who wish to prepare only for licensure as a registered nurse in California. Upon successful completion of the required courses, the student is eligible to take the NCLEX-RN Examination for licensure. This program does not lead to a BSN and licensure may not be recognized in all states.
The LVN to RN option is up to 30 units. Admission is based on space availability. In order to enter clinical nursing courses, students must have a 3.25 cumulative GPA and have completed Microbiology and Human Physiology (with a grade of ‘B’ or better).
LVN’s who are interested in the full BSN program must enter at the beginning of the nursing program and complete all BSN requirements.
Courses required for the LVN to RN option:
| BIO 2600 | Human Physiology | 3.00 units |
| BIO 2605 | Human Physiology Lab | 1.00 unit |
| BIO 3600 | Microbiology for Health Sciences | 3.00 units |
| BIO 3605 | Microbiology for Health Sciences Lab | 1.00 unit |
| NURS 2014 | Health Assessment Across the Lifespan | 4.00 units |
| NURL 2014 | Health Assessment Across the Lifespan Lab | 0.00 units |
| NURS 2150 | Geriatric Foundations | 4.00 units |
| NURL 2150 | Geriatric Foundations Lab | 0.00 units |
| NURS 3106 | Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing | 4.00 units |
| NURL 3106 | Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing Lab | 0.00 units |
| NURS 4100 | Medical-Surgical Nursing III | 4.00 units |
| NURL 4100 | Medical-Surgical Nursing III Lab | 0.00 units |
| NURS 4200 | Leadership and Nursing Care Management | 4.00 units |
| NURL 4200 | Leadership and Nursing Care Management Lab | 0.00 units |
Total Credit Hours: 28-30
*NOTE: May transfer BIO 2600/BIO 2605 Human Physiology/Lab and BIO 3600/BIO 3605 Microbiology for Health Sciences/Lab up to 5 units each.
Additional Nursing BSN Requirements
Academic Advising
All Nursing majors are assigned an academic advisor. Students are responsible for monitoring their progress toward meeting degree requirements and for consultation with their advisors at least once every semester.
Essential Qualifications of Candidates for the BSN Program
A Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Dominican University of California signifies that the holder of the BSN degree has been educated to competently practice nursing in all healthcare settings and to apply for the RN licensure in the state of California. All students in the Department of Nursing are expected to meet specific qualifications and successfully complete course requirements. The Department of Nursing will endeavor to make reasonable modifications and otherwise reasonably accommodate students with disabilities. Students with disabilities should consider their ability to meet the qualifications with reasonable accommodations. A more complete description of these qualifications below is found in the Nursing Student Handbook.
Clinical Health Record Clearance Policy
Before beginning clinical classes all nursing students are required to submit results of a physical examination, a health history, two-step TB screening, and required immunizations done within six months prior to registration. Forms may be obtained from the Nursing Department office on the Dominican campus. Students are also required to submit documentation of current Health Care Provider CPR certification and will be required to have background checks and drug clearance done by a provider designated by the nursing program annually. Annual 2-Step TB screening and current CPR certification are required before beginning each semester of the clinical nursing major as well. Nursing students are also required to submit copies of lab reports for titers to Varicella (Chickenpox), MMR, and Hep B. Nursing students are responsible for the costs of the physical examination, screening, immunizations, and CPR certification. Students’ pre-clinical and annual physical examinations will be reviewed and the University reserves the right to require additional diagnostic information and treatment, if necessary. Nursing applicants who are concerned about health problems that might interfere with their fulfillment of clinical course objectives should seek medical consultation well in advance of their pre-clinical physical examination. Clinical instructors will be provided with Clinical Record Clearance before the beginning of each clinical experience. Background checks are required by the clinical sites. This process takes place via https://www.castlebranch.com. Drug testing clearance is also required by clinical sites. Clinical Nursing students should expect to be tested yearly.
Insurance
Students are covered by the University for liability insurance. Maintaining ongoing health insurance is a requirement for this program. Students are required to upload a copy of both sides of their health insurance card to the immunization tracker on Castlebranch.com.
Program Progression
A student who earns less than ‘C+’ (2.3) in a nursing course must repeat that course before enrolling in the next course in the nursing sequence. If a student withdraws from a nursing course after the academic mid-term in the semester and the student is failing the course at that time, the ‘W’ (for withdrawal) is considered a failure in terms of the Nursing Department's progression policy (refer to the Nursing Student Handbook for specific dates for each semester). Students who do not pass more than one class required for the Nursing major (i.e., prerequisite, corequisite, or NURS/NURL) are disqualified from the Nursing program. Placement into any repeated nursing course will be on a space-available basis. In addition, if a student withdraws from a course before the mid-term when they have failed the clinical component of that course, the “W” (for withdrawal) will also be considered a failure. Students may repeat non-nursing courses off campus with department approval. Information about approved equivalents may be obtained from the Nursing Department office at Dominican.
Students must demonstrate competence in both theory and clinical in order to earn a course grade of ‘C+’ (2.3) or higher and to be eligible to progress in the Nursing program. Thus, in nursing courses with a clinical component, students must meet all clinical performance objectives satisfactorily in order to earn a grade of ‘C+’ (2.3) or higher for the course. A student who fails to complete any of the clinical performance objectives at a satisfactory level cannot receive a course grade higher than a ‘D’ (1.0) regardless of the grades earned in the theory component of this course. Students required to repeat a clinical course must repeat both the clinical and theory components.
Clinical evaluations are important, especially those given at mid-rotation. At this time the student and instructor meet to assess the student’s progress in achieving class and clinical objectives. Students whose mid-term grade is below ‘C+’ may be asked to meet with course faculty to plan strategies for improving performance.
Students must achieve a 77% (absolute) or better on all coursework in order to earn a course grade of ‘C+’ (2.3) or higher. Grades are not rounded up.
Advanced Standing in Nursing
Registered nurses with previous education or experience in nursing may apply for admission to the Nursing Major with advanced standing. Transfer students enrolled and in good standing at an accredited RN Nursing school or who have been enrolled and in good standing within the past semester, may apply for advanced standing in the major. All missing prerequisite courses must be completed within one semester of matriculation to Dominican University of California. Transfer students must complete 30 units at Dominican and half of the upper division major courses including NURS 4100, NURS 4200, NURS 4120 and NURS 4500, and at least one other upper division clinical course. Part-time and full-time programs of study are available.
Advanced Placement for Military Trained Healthcare Personnel Policy
After meeting all general entrance requirements to the Sophomore 1 semester, individuals who have held an occupation in the military may apply for advanced placement into the second semester of the DUC undergraduate nursing program (contingent upon space availability). Specifically, those with the following ranking and honorable discharge from their service:
- Basic Medical Technician Corpsman (Navy HM or Air Force BMTCP)
- Army Healthcare Specialist (68W Army Medic)
- Air Force Independent Duty Medical Technician (IMDT 4N0X1C)
Advanced placement must include success in the following areas:
- Successful skills competency testing on all required learning objectives and skills for Fundamentals in Nursing
- 100% success rate on a fundamental medication examination
- 77% or above on a Challenge exam for Fundamentals of Nursing Practice
- 77% or above on Health Assessment Challenge Exam
- Successful completion of a full health and physical assessment
- Successful written application of the nursing process assessment
- Successful completion of all Sophomore 1 Nursing and co-requisite courses (i.e., Pathophysiology/Pharmacology 1, and Microbiology.)
The candidate for application for advanced placement must have:
At least one year experience working as Basic Medical Technician Corpsman (Navy HM or Air Force BMTCP) or any Army Health Care Specialist (68W Army Medic or an Air Force Independent Duty Medical Technician (IMDT 4N0X1C)).
Applicants must have proof of active military service in the above roles within the last five years. Students who have been disqualified from another program are not eligible for admission to Dominican's Nursing program.
Academic advising is an integral part of the advanced placement program. Each student’s educational preparation and nursing experience are evaluated individually. In consultation with a nursing advisor, the student plans a program of study which is appropriate to his/her background, abilities, knowledge, and career aspirations. Credit for prior learning for all nursing courses may be obtained by transfer of earned college credits.
Advanced placement candidates should apply for admission to the University as early in the academic year as possible. Placement in clinical classes is contingent on the availability of spaces and these may be limited.
These guidelines are subject to change. For the most current information and guidelines, please contact the nursing department at Dominican University of California.