Access to Practical Nursing Diploma

Admission Requirements: Domestic applicants only, per the College's program page. This is the shorter route into the Practical Nursing Diploma for people already working as care aides - 52 instructional weeks rather than 62. Health-care background required: a B.C. certificate in Health Care Assistant, Resident Care Attendant or Home Support/Resident Care Attendant, or a current B.C. Care Aide Registry number; plus 600 hours of work in that role within the last two years, in a hospital or long-term care setting where care is given to a group of clients. The hours must involve caring for several patients or residents at once, so that prioritising and clinical judgement are in play, and must be confirmed in an official letter from the employer. Home-care work with one client at a time does not count toward the 600 hours. Academic base: B.C. secondary-school graduation or the equivalent (ABE or GED), or mature-applicant standing. English: 65 per cent in English 12, English First Peoples 12 or the provincial-level ABE English course. Mathematics: 60 per cent in one of Pre-Calculus 11, Foundations of Mathematics 11, Principles of Mathematics 11 or ABE MATH 011, or 60 per cent in ABE IALG 011 or in both MATH 084 and MATH 085. Biology: a Grade 12 biology course with human anatomy and physiology (or Anatomy and Physiology 12, or the ABE equivalent) at 60 per cent, plus PNUR 113 at 65 per cent. Applicants schooled in another language need three years of full-time, in-person study at an accredited institution where English was the teaching language and an official language of the country - ESL courses excluded - or IELTS Academic 7.0 overall with 7.0 listening, 7.0 speaking, 6.5 reading and 6.5 writing, or CELBAN at 9 listening, 8 speaking, 8 reading and 7 writing. Also required: criminal record check clearance through the B.C. Criminal Records Review Program, started only when Admissions asks. Before practice: CPR level C, current immunisations (diphtheria and tetanus, polio, hepatitis B, MMR, varicella, influenza), a negative TB test or chest x-ray from within six months of applying or documented follow-up, and the B.C. Provincial Violence Prevention Curriculum including the eight-hour in-person class, with an annual refresher if previously completed. Practicum placements run across the North, Central and South Okanagan; students arrange and pay for their own travel and, in most cases, need a driver's licence and a reliable vehicle. The College assigns placements and may change them.