Mission Statement

The mission of the nursing department at Butte Community College is to provide a comprehensive, accessible, state-of-the-art curriculum that prepares students from diverse backgrounds to be competent, caring, entry-level practitioners in a variety of settings.   The vocational nurse and registered nurse at the associate degree level and the certified nursing assistant at the certificate level.  Student learning, based on national standards of practice, will be facilitated by instructors using adult learning principles and role modeling of professional behaviors, attitudes and client advocacy.  Inherent in the mission is the preparation of graduates that are eligible for certificates, degrees and state licensure.  

Program Description

Certified Nursing Assistant/Home Health Aide program: The Certified Nursing Assistant/Home Health Aide (CNA/HHA) program prepares the student for State Certification as a nursing assistant/home health aide. Students complete a minimum of 190 hours of instruction: 82 hours of theory and 108 hours of supervised clinical instruction in a nursing facility. Upon successful completion of this program the student is eligible to take the written and skills tests for State certification.

In Spring of 2012, the CNA/HHA program began with a total of 30 students and was funded by the Health Workforce Initiative grant and county funds (Cal Works). This program was run by a full-time faculty and a part-time faculty member.  This pulled a valuable resource away from the ADN program and led to the need to hire additional part-time faculty.  In the Fall of 2012 through Fall of 2013, the CNA/HHA program admitted a total of 15 students.  This program was funded by the Alliance for Workforce Development (AFWD) and was taught by two part-time faculty.  The full-time faculty member was allowed to return to teaching in the RN program. In Spring of 2015, the full-time faculty was pulled back into the CNA program, and will remain there indefinitely.

In the Spring of 2013, we admitted 30 additional students to begin the CNA/HHA program.  This class is funded by AFWD, and has the same two part-time faculty teaching.  In the Fall of 2013, one of the part-time faculty had to leave on a medical leave, which returned one of our Full-time faculty to the CNA program.  This individual has now returned and again, two part-time faculty will teach 15 students.

In the Spring of 2014, two part time faculty taught 15 students. In Fall of 2014, the nursing department received an Arthur Rupe Foundation grant for $34,000 for new equipment and student scholarships for the 2014-2015 academic year. With this grant , the department was able to purchase $10,000 worth of new equipment, and provide the students a $400 scholarship each for assistance with expenses for the program.  The department was also able to add a four week Acute Care CNA section to the program.  This was added at the request of the acute care hospitals in our service area.  The goal is to continue this program indefinitely, admitting 24 students every semester.  For Fall of 2014, one full-time faculty, and two part time faculty managed the program.  In Spring of 2015, the full-time faculty must be pulled back into the RN program due to staffing reasons, therefore it will be necessary to hire two, possibly three additional part-time faculty to manage this program. 

In the Fall of 2015, we received an additional grant from the Arthur Rupe Foundation for $40,000, for student scholarships and to pay for testing, fingerprinting and certification through the California Department of Public Health. In Fall of 2015, 19 CNA's completed the program. We have applied for an additional grant for the 2017-2018 academic year. This will cover student scholarships, live-scan fees and testing fees.

An additional CNA course was added in Summer of 2016.  Due to the lack of qualified CNA instructors, a full-time CNA instructor is imperative for the success of our students. A full-time CNA instructor was approved and hired.  This instructor has been instrumental in the increased success rate in the CNA program.  The CNA program also received a grant from the Arthur Rupe Foundation for $40,000.  This grant was used to improve the equipment in the skills lab the CNA's use for training.  We are currently in discussion with several local skilled nursing facilities to secure a contract education agreement that could substantially increase the number of 8 week rotations in the CNA program.  

In Fall 2018 the California Chancellor's office allowed programs to apply for a grant to expand their CNA programs.  We applied and were granted $45,000.  We expanded our CNA program to allow an additional 15 students in Spring 2019 as well as Fall 2019. We also changed our process of admitting students.  It used to be a selection process, starting in Spring 2019, it was changed to open enrollment.  As a result of this change, there have been a slight increase in the number of students who complete the CNA course.  In Spring 2020 we again applied for the Rupe Grant of $40,000.  These funds if received will be utilized, as mandated, for student supplies and and fees not for instructor salaries or support. Spring of 2019 brought the pandemic which created a challenge to find clinical site in long-term care facilities. 


Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN) program: The LVN program provides the necessary curriculum for a student to qualify to sit for the state board examination for licensure as a vocational nurse. The curriculum includes three prerequisite courses and the equivalent of three academic semesters of nursing theory and supervised clinical experience. Upon successful completion of the program, students will be able to qualify for examination leading to licensure by the California Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians (BVNPT).

In Fall of 2012, we graduated 22 LVN students.  This cohort began with 24 students, and had a retention rate of 92%, significantly improved from the graduating class of Spring of 2011 (63%).  The full-time faculty teaching in this program, as well as the high caliber of students has been credited with the student's success.  In the past this program had two full-time faculty members teaching in the program.  Because of lack of availability in the RN program, faculty were switched to that program, so currently there is only one full-time faculty.  This has resulted in significant program fragmentation with several part-time faculty teaching in both theory and clinical courses.  It is difficult to find part-time faculty, as most individuals also have full-time employment as nurses.  In addition, the full-time faculty had a significant amount of overload for the entire year, making it difficult to teach at the optimal level due to increased workload.  An LVN class will graduate in the Spring of 2014, and a new class of 24 will begin in Fall of 2014.

In Fall of 2014, a new class of 24 students was admitted into the LVN program.  During faculty prioritization, one full-time LVN faculty was approved to be hired in Fall of 2015.  That individual began as a full-time tenure track faculty in Fall of 2015.This will significantly improve continuity and will also provide less fragmentation, thus improving student success.

In the Fall of 2015, the LVN class graduated 21 students.  The nursing department was able to hire a full-time nursing instructor in the LVN program starting in Fall of 2015.  This has been a tremendous asset to our LVN program and our students. In the Fall of 2015, the LVN program graduated 21 students. In May of 2017, 21 LVN students graduated, in Fall 2017 a new cohort of 24 students was admitted and all 24 students graduating in December 2018.  We have started another cohort of 24 students in the LVN program in Spring 2019. We had one of the full-time instructors retire in Spring 2019 and were able to replace that instructor with another full-time instructor. The current LVN cohort will graduate in Spring 2020 with 22 students.  2 students dropped from the LVN program because they were admitted to an RN program.  One student to a non-Butte program and the other to the Butte RN program. In Fall of 2020 we increased the number of students that we allowed to start the LVN from from 24 to 30. Butte College was already approved by the BVNPT to have 30 students in the program.

LVN to RN program: The Licensed Vocational Nurse to Registered Nurse (Associate Degree) program prepares currently licensed LVN's for examination and licensure as RN's at the Associate Degree level. Training as an LVN and prerequisite classes replace the first year of the traditional two-year Associate Degree RN program. Two additional semesters of clinical and theory provide the necessary nursing content required for RN licensure.

In Spring of 2012, we reduced the number of students entering the two-year ADN program to 24 students per semester rather than 48.  This change allows the program to admit 16 LVN-RN students each semester rather that 12 in the past. This increase in cohort size for the LVN-RN students began in Spring of 2013. This also increased the size of our Transition to ADN Nursing courses (Nursing 64 and Nursing 65) from 12 to 16 per semester, making the courses more cost effective. In Fall 2017 we again increased our RN program and allowed 48 students per semester, thus we reduced the number of LVN to RN students back to 12, and that number does not plan on being changed.

Registered Nurse program (Associate Degree Nurse or ADN): The two-year, traditional RN program prepares the student for licensure as an RN at the Associate Degree level. The four semester program provides theory and clinical content required for RN examination and licensure. Upon completion of the program the student is eligible to sit for the National/State licensure examination for Registered Nursing.

Beginning in Spring of 2012, the department began the reduction process for admissions to the two-year ADN program.  We admitted 24 students for Spring and 24 for Fall of 2012.  The nursing department received a Workforce Initiative Act (WIA) grant for Spring of 2013.  Part of this grant allowed for increased admission to the RN program for veterans.  The department has admitted 36 students for Spring of 2013.  The program returned to admitting 24 student in Fall of 2013.  Due to the increased number of students, new part-time faculty needed to be hired.  One faculty member was converted to temporary full-time, and one full-time, currently employed grant funded position is needed to accommodate the increased number of students.  This increase in class size will follow through the program until the students graduate in Fall of 2014. At the request of the District, the program admitted 36 students into the Spring 2014 cohort.  Beginning in Fall of 2014, 36 RN students were admitted, with an additional 12 Transition students to be added in the third semester. Beginning in Fall of 2017, after receiving Board of Registered Nursing approval, the nursing department began admitting 48 students into the first semester and then will add an additional 12 into third semester starting Fall 2018. This increase was made possible through Strong Workforce funding. This will allow for 60 students to graduate every semester.  Spring 2019 was the first cohort to graduate with 60 students. Even with the pandemic and the challenge of finding clinical placement the Nursing Program continued to allow 48 RN students into 1st semester. While clinical placement is a challenge due to COVID, there has been no reduction of cohort size.  Butte Nursing has increased the skills lab hours in 1st semester to 100%.  

Simulation education continues to grow in the health care industry.  Currently the Board of Registered Nursing allows 25% of clinical time to be provided through simulation.  In the future, the hope is to be able to increase that time to 50%.  In Fall of 2016, the Nursing Department was able to hire a 100% full time Simulation faculty member. This has been an incredible asset to the program, and the plan will be to include simulation in all clinical courses including LVN and RN programs.  Starting fall 2018, Simulation will be a clinical rotation in 3rd and 4th semester of the RN program.  This will increase the number of days that a student spends in simulation from four days to eight days.  The students will have simulation experiences that integrate learning across the theory courses in the nursing program.  In 3rd and 4th semester this will achieve the maximum number of hours of simulation currently allowed by the BRN, which is 25%. This is only accomplished because of the full-time lab technician for simulation.  During the pandemic that started in Spring of 2020, we relied heavily on the simulation department to help meet the required clinical hours.  The Board of Registered Nursing expanded the allowed simulation hours and thus the Nursing department was able to meet the required hours in large part because of the simulation department.

The Health Occupations office currently has one full-time Program Assistant, one full-time Administration Secretary III that started in Spring 2017 and one part-time student assistant. With the increase in the number of students in the RN program and with the increased the number of students in the CNA program, is the reason for a full-time secretary to Program Assistant.  Each student in any health care occupation course of study requires an application process, pre-screening of a litany of vaccinations and trainings and then follow-up to ensure the completion of the pre-screening requirements.  Program assistants throughout the college have secretaries and currently, the health.  In the Spring of 2012, the Director of Health Occupations was transferred to the Dean of Career and Technical Education.  Many responsibilities of the Director were then transferred to the Department Chair and to the Program Assistant in the nursing department. This has increased the workload and responsibilities for each position significantly. Thankfully, in Fall of 2014, a Lab Tech for Health Occupations was hired to assist with the nursing programs, as well as Respiratory Therapy, and Paramedic Programs.  

The Health Occupations Lab Technician is currently a full-time position.  60% of the funding comes from Nursing and the other 40% comes from Strong Workforce monies.

The total number of nursing students in the Spring of 2017 was approximately 215.  

The total number of nursing students in the Spring of 2018 was approximately 260 students.  

The total number of nursing students in Spring of 2019 is approximately 312 students.

The total number of nursing students in Spring of 2021 is approximately 288.

Student Learning/Administrative Unit Outcomes

RN - Demonstrate decision-making coordination with the client, significant support persons and members of the healthcare team.
RN to LVN - Demonstrate decision-making coordination with the client, significant support persons and members of the healthcare team.
LVN - Demonstrate caring behaviors based on recognition of individual needs and cultural differences.
CNA - Describe basic principles of nutrition and types of therapeutic diets.

Standards/Goals for Student Achievement (Instruction Departments)

The nursing attrition and failure rate remains low despite the pandemic.  The nursing department's enrollment remains at pre-pandemic rates. This translates into a high percentage of nursing graduates or certificates earned. Each instructor is invested in helping students succeed.  The nursing departments meets with students individually, counsels with them individually and even sets up individual learning plans if necessary.

Standards/Goals for Student Achievement (All Other Departments)

The nursing department did not reduce enrollment despite the pandemic.  The nursing department continues to adjust, adapt and implement tools to ensure academic success of each student.

Strategic Direction

1. Enhancing a Culture of Completion and Goal Achievement
Support Student Progress and Completion - The nursing department has a pathway for entry into the nursing program by completing necessary and required pre-requisites. The CNA program which has no pre-requisites has reached out to high school students to enroll as a entry point into a nursing career. 
The nursing instructors take supporting students and helping them complete personally.  Each students is important. Instructors make time to meet one on one and help students succeed.
The demand for nurses - RN, LVN and CNA is increasing.  By keeping cohort numbers high, the nursing department is supporting the workforce demand.
 
4. Maximizing Resources to Support Student Learning
Through the pandemic we have utilized the simulation department and virtual simulation programs to meet the required clinical hours.  Simulation has been invaluable to student learning.

Program Review

Recommendations - 
Complete implementation of SLO's and PLO's - the department has developed a comprehensive plan for evaluation of SLO's and PLO's and plans on a "Deep Dive" at every Institute Week Tuesday faculty meeting.
Use of surveys and how they can be used for program evaluation and improvement - the dpertment has recently implemented the use of a student and facility tracking tool, which includes surveys for students, facilities and advisory committee members to provide feedback on our program and how it can be improved. The feedback and suggestions will be presented and discussed at faculty meetings and implemented as appropriate.
Evaluate and improve the clinical evaluation tool - a new clinical evaluation tool was implemented in Spring of 2014. It is a running, living document that is passed on from instructor to instructor throughout the program. This tool has been significantly improved and provides excellent ongoing feedback to students.
Better social integration of LVN graduates into the step up RN Program - currently, we provide an all department potluck at beginning of each semester. We also provide opportunities for socialization at the orientation for third semester (which is an all day orientation).
Purchase of eight laptop computers for student testing - 8 laptops were purchased through Perkins funding for Nursing and 8 were purchased for Respiratory Therapy. Those laptops are shared and housed on a rolling cart and are utilized frequently for student testing.
Expand the RN program from admitting 24 in 1st and 40 in 3rd semesters - currently, and indefinately, there are 36 admits in 1st semester, an an additonal12 are added in third semester for a total of 48 students garduating each semester.
Increase in LVN program - We currently admit 24 CNA students every semester.
Convert two Grant funded faculty to District funded - one position has been converted to District Funding, the other is still funded by the CCCCO Enrollment Growth grant.
Lab Tech Position - the Allied Health Department hired a 60% Lab Technician. This position has been invaluable for our department and we are hopeful that it will become a full time 100% position.
Professional Experts - at this time, we do not have funding for Professional Experts in our Nursing Programs.
Standardized testing as a predictor for student success in the LVN program - at this time a standardized predictor test has not been implemented in the LVN program but is still being researched.
Kaplan implementation - Kaplan has now been thoroughly imbedded throughout the RN and LVN programs. We have a designated Kaplan faculty that assists with the program and student success in the program an ultimatley NCLEX success.
Workforce demand for LVN program - currently, LVN's are in increasing demand around the state. Because health care is moving to more of an outpatient basis, the employment of LVN's in clinics and Dr's offices is dramatically increasing.
Campus Wide Dissemination of information about Allied Health Programs - we hold a monthly "All About Nursing" information session on campus, and EMS will be implementing the same this semester. The Health Occupation Webpage on the Butte College Website provides extensive informationabout all Allied Health Programs.
Providing information about job opportunites - we hold a job fair every semester, as well as posting fliers on available jobs.
 

Department Goals

Continue to support students learning.
Keep the attrition rate low.
Continue to foster student success on NCLEX.
Investigate and initiate a new accelerated RN program.

Future Development Strategies

Requested Non-Financial Resources

Current Financial Resources

Augmentation Requests