Nursing involves the care and counsel of the ill and injured, the maintenance of health, and the prevention of illness. Delhi's Nursing programs prepare graduates to become licensed practical nurses or registered nurses.

In New York State, the licensed practical nurse (LPN) must practice under the supervision of a doctor or a registered nurse (RN). Registered nurses may practice in a greater variety of settings and with more autonomy. Such care is dependent on knowledge of the liberal arts and biological, physical, and social sciences. Therefore, the Nursing programs require instruction in these disciplines.

The Instructional Program

The Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) is a two-year program. Practical Nursing is a one-year certificate program. Delhi's Nursing program is accredited by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission, 61 Broadway, New York, NY 10006 / 1-800-669-1656. To be eligible to take the NCLEX-RN examination for registered nursing, students must complete the Associate Degree in Nursing. Students completing the one-year certificate program are eligible to take the NCLEX-PN examination for licensed practical nursing.

The curriculum is also designed to provide options for career mobility. Advanced placement is possible for successful graduates of many BOCES and hospital-based practical nursing programs. Students desiring advanced placement are considered on an individual basis after the admissions process to the College is initiated. This process includes a challenge by examination of Nursing courses in the first year of the Nursing program.

Delhi's Nursing programs provide individual attention to meet the needs of a diverse group of students, including recent high school graduates and adults seeking career changes and advancement. To help students acquire and develop skills, the program provides a skills laboratory, computer laboratory, and video programs.

The Nursing programs consist of a combination of theoretical and clinical courses. Classroom, laboratory, and actual clinical settings are used for educational purposes. The goal is to educate students to deliver optimum total patient care in uncomplicated situations. Students learn to take responsibility for their clients and to make mature decisions with regard to the physical and psychosocial needs of each client. The combination of classroom instruction and clinical experience gives students many opportunities to apply their theoretical knowledge to clinical practice. Clinical rotations are provided at several hospitals, nursing homes, physicians' offices, and mental health facilities.

Full- and part-time study within the Nursing curriculum is available.

The Medical-Surgical Nursing courses are sequential in a fall/spring continuum and must be taken in correct order with a clinical component.

If part-time study is pursued, a student must complete program requirements within a specified number of semesters. To qualify for graduation, students must earn a grade of 75% or better in each Nursing course, a grade of 70% or better in all other required courses, and a Pass in all clinical courses. Program graduates are eligible to take the appropriate exam for licensure. Nursing is a licensure program and has special requirements for entry and licensure. This information should be utilized when making career choices. Conviction for a felony or misdemeanor may affect an individual's right to be licensed. Applicants with concerns should contact the Albany Licensing Bureau at 1-800-342-3729.

Transportation to clinical sites is the responsibility of the individual student. Because of the clinical component, special uniforms, health requirements, and immunizations are required of Nursing students. Students will receive information about this after they are accepted into the program.

Partnership for Nursing Opportunities

SUNY Delhi, Hartwick College, and Bassett Healthcare in Cooperstown have joined forces to provide attractive and affordable paths to both associate and baccalaureate degrees in Nursing, as well as employment with a major regional healthcare provider. The program is sequential and begins with entrance in the A.A.S program in Nursing at Delhi. After completing the first year of study, attaining a certificate in Practical Nursing, and passing the LPN exam, a student is eligible for employment at Bassett Healthcare. The student can then work full time and continue on through a specially designed educational program leading first to an associate degree in Nursing from Delhi and then to a bachelor degree in Nursing from Hartwick College. Special financial aid is available to program participants. For additional information, contact Delhi's Enrollment Services Office at 1-800-96-DELHI.

Curriculum

SUNY Curriculum Code: 0622

First Semester

Second Semester

Third Semester

Fourth Semester

Degree Requirements: 69 credit hours, a grade of 75% or better in each Nursing course, a grade of 70% or better in all other required courses, and a Pass in all clinical courses.

In addition to academic requirements, all applicants must also be able to meet the minimum Technical Standards for the program with or without reasonable accomodation.

Admissions Requirements

• High school graduate with a minimum overall average of 80.
• Laboratory-based biology, Math A, and English with a minimum grade of 80 or better on the Regent exams.
• Professional Rescuer Certification in CPR (American Red Cross or American Heart Association Course C).
• A current immunization record (including Hepatitis B vaccine).
• High school chemistry and Math B are strongly recommended.
• Students requesting to transfer from another school of nursing must provide a letter of recommendation from the department chair or director.
• While not a requirement, it is an advantage to complete English, A & P, and/or psychology requirements prior to enrolling in the program.

Program Objectives

At the completion of the Nursing A.A.S. program, graduates will have assumed the following behaviors:

1. Be prepared as effective providers and managers of nursing care, as members of the nursing profession, and practice nursing within the parameters of the legal, ethical, and regulatory framework of the NLN educational outcomes of associate-degree programs and competencies.
2. Be able to function in acute and long-term care settings in community-based agencies and client homes.
3. Use effective problem-solving/critical-thinking concepts for client care through the nursing process.
4. Incorporate principles of bio-psychosocial, behavioral science, and human systems in nursing practice.
5. Assume responsibility for their personal and professional growth and continued lifelong learning.
6. Demonstrate accountability for their own actions, demonstrate responsible citizenship, and function as responsible members of the nursing profession.
7. Promote health, wellness, and client advocacy.
8. Function as accurate and safe entry-level professional nurses, and as collaborative members of the healthcare team.
9. Communicate effectively: orally, in writing, nonverbally, and with the use of technology. Establish interpersonal relationships and interact in a facilitative manner, reflective of value, dignity, and the worth of each individual in a culturally diverse society.
10. Assist the client to promote, restore, and maintain a high level of wellness on the health-illness continuum by assessing client's physiological and psychosocial modes. Manipulate the internal and external environments in an effort to effect positive change to the client's position on the health-illness continuum and provide caring, therapeutic nursing intervention.
11. Provide information, support, and purposeful teaching to clients, significant others, and members of the healthcare team.

Technical Standards

The following technical standards describe the non-academic qualifications required for entrance to, continuation in, and graduation with an LPN certificate or an Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degree in nursing from SUNY College of Technology at Delhi. Candidates must be able to meet these minimum standards with or without reasonable accommodation for successful completion of certificate/degree requirements.

Graduates are expected to have a broad competence in the basic skills underlying the general practice of nursing. All graduates must be able to conduct an assessment and synthesize the findings into a plan of care including intervention and evaluation. This must be accomplished independently without aid of an intermediary.

Nursing students must possess the capabilities to accomplish these requirements in a reliable manner and become competent and safe practitioners. Thus, our students must have the capability to undertake all our curricular requirements to the satisfaction of our supervising faculty.

Guidelines

Nursing education requires the acquisition of skills, professional attitudes and behavior as well as the accumulation of scientific knowledge. The complete process involves an intense professional education leading to an LPN certificate or an Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degree in nursing. In order to graduate the best possible nurses, school standards must be rigorous and exacting, and admissions must be extended only to those who are best qualified to meet the performance standards of the profession. Graduates must have the knowledge and skills to function in a broad variety of clinical situations, and to render a wide spectrum of patient care.

Candidates must have abilities and skills in five areas: 1) observation; 2) communication; 3) motor; 4) intellectual-conceptual, integrative and quantitative; and 5) behavioral, emotional, and interpersonal abilities. Since the care of patients is an essential part of the educational program, schools must at all costs act to protect the health and safety of patients.

Observation

The candidate must be able to observe demonstrations and experiments in the basic sciences, including but not limited to physiologic and pharmacologic demonstrations in animals, microbiologic cultures, and microscopic studies of microorganisms and tissues in normal and pathologic states. A candidate must be able to observe a patient accurately at a distance and close at hand, to communicate with accuracy, clarity and efficiency with patients, their families and other members of the health care team (including spoken and non-verbal communications, such as interpretation of facial expressions, affect and body language).

Examples of relevant activities:

• Draw up the correct quantity of medication in a syringe or detect changes in skin color or condition.
• Detect sounds related to bodily functions using a stethoscope or to detect audible alarms generated by mechanical systems used to monitor patient physiological status.

Communication

A candidate should be able to communicate with and observe patients in order to elicit information, describe changes in mood, activity and posture, and perceive nonverbal communications. A candidate must be able to communicate effectively and sensitively with patients. Communication includes not only speech but also reading and writing. Communication also includes computer literacy to be able to document in electronic medical record used in health care agencies. The candidate must be able to communicate effectively and efficiently with all members of the health care team.

Examples of relevant activities:

• Abilities sufficient to give directions to or follow directions from other members of the health care team and to participate in health care team discussions of patient care.
• Ability sufficient to elicit and record information about health history, current health state or responses to treatment from patients or family members.
• Ability sufficient to convey information to patients and others as necessary to teach, direct and counsel individuals.

 Motor and Tactile Abilities

The candidate must be able to provide general care and emergency interventions to patients in all health care settings. Required functions include carrying out nursing procedures, performing basic laboratory tests and providing routine and emergency care and treatment to patients.

Examples of relevant activities:

• Obtain assessment information by palpation, auscultation, percussion and other diagnostic maneuvers.
• Complete assigned periods of clinical practice.
• Carry out patient care procedures, such as tracheostomy care or performing emergency airway suctioning.
• Carry out patient care procedures, such as assisting in the turning and lifting of patients.
• Detect unsafe temperature levels in heat-producing devices used in patient care or detect anatomical abnormalities, such as edema or small nodules.

Intellectual-Conceptual, Integrative and Quantitative Abilities

These abilities include measurement, calculation, reasoning, analysis, and synthesis. Problem solving, a critical skill, requires all of these intellectual abilities. Candidates must have the ability to gather data, develop a plan of action, establish priorities and monitor treatment plans and modalities, and have the ability to comprehend three-dimensional and spatial relationships.

Examples of relevant activities:

• Calculate appropriate medication dosage given specific patient parameters.
• Analyze and synthesize data and develop an appropriate plan of care.
• Collect data, prioritize needs and anticipate reactions.
• Properly administer IM injections or assess wounds of varying depths. 

Behavioral, Emotional, and Interpersonal Abilities

A candidate must possess the emotional health required for full utilization of his/her intellectual abilities, the exercise of good judgment, the prompt completion of all responsibilities attendant to the diagnosis and care of patients, and the development of mature, sensitive and effective relationships with patients. Candidates must possess the ability to relate to colleagues, staff and patients with honesty, integrity and non-discrimination, and demonstrate the capacity for the development of a mature, sensitive and effective therapeutic relationship with patients.

A candidate must be able to tolerate taxing workloads and to function effectively under stress. They must be able to adapt to changing environments, to display flexibility, to learn to function in the face of uncertainties inherent in the clinical problems of many patients, modify behavior in response to constructive criticism, and the capacity to demonstrate ethical behavior, including adherence to the professional nursing and student honor codes.

Compassion, integrity, concern for others, interpersonal skills, interest and motivation are all personal qualities that shall be assessed during the admissions and education processes.

Examples of relevant activities:

• Remain calm in an emergency situation.
• Communicate effectively with patients and families of diverse religious, cultural or social backgrounds.
• Demonstrate the exercise of good judgment and prompt completion of all responsibilities attendant to the diagnosis and care of patients.