Nursing

The junior/senior-level program is four semesters long and provides learning experiences in a variety of clinical settings, including community health agencies, clinics, hospitals and homes.

Overview

Nursing courses include classroom and laboratory activities correlated with supervised clinical experiences. Students may be required to travel outside of Gainesville for selected clinical experiences.

Courses in the first two semesters focus on various states of wellness and illness across the lifespan, including experiences with clients in community and hospital-based settings. Courses in nursing care management, health assessment, pharmacotherapeutics, pathophysiology and genetics provide theoretical content for the application of patient-centered care. Students have the opportunity to analyze a variety of issues in professional nursing practice and healthcare and they are introduced to the process of translating evidence into nursing practice.

The last two semesters focus on nursing as the complexity and vulnerability of clients increases. Each conceptual course is accompanied by the clinical application across the lifespan in a variety of settings.

The transition experience is the culminating clinical experience that provides for integration and synthesis of the professional role, including clinical judgment and leadership skills. A course on the foundations of healthcare policy, including the financial and regulatory environment, supports this transition to professional practice.

Progression

Students must earn minimum grades of C in all required nursing courses and maintain a minimum 2.0 GPA every semester while enrolled. Students may repeat only one required nursing course. Students earning less than a C in any required nursing course may repeat that course only once and on a space-available basis. Students who do not achieve a passing grade in their second attempt must withdraw from the nursing program. Students may withdraw only once from any required nursing course.

Students who withdraw for non-academic reasons may petition for readmission on a space-available basis. The student's academic adviser, department chair, chair of the Academic Affairs committee and the assistant dean for student affairs will develop a revised curriculum plan.

Students are expected to comply with college health policy requirements.

Students in the health professions are held to standards of conduct that exceed those usually expected of university students. Consequently, nursing students are required to demonstrate safe practice in the care of patients and to exercise appropriate judgment as beginning-level professionals, including appropriate demeanor and appearance. Students must adhere to the standards of conduct outlined in the American Nurses Association Code of Ethics and the Florida Nurse Practice Act. Students can be removed from the nursing curriculum, and/or any college-sponsored programs or organizations, based on violation of professional conduct.

Critical Tracking

To graduate with this major, students must complete all university, college and major requirements.

Equivalent critical-tracking courses as determined by the State of Florida Common Course Prerequisites may be used for transfer students.

The following recommended curriculum plan for semesters 1-4 enables students to satisfy universitywide general education requirements and required preprofessional courses. The plan includes the courses and academic standards (overall GPA and preprofessional GPA) required each semester for continuation in the pre-nursing track and application for admission to the nursing major.

Semester 1

• 3.0 overall GPA on work (from all institutions)
• Complete 2 critical-tracking courses with minimum grades of C: APK 2100C,
  APK 2105C, DEP 3053 or EDF 3110 (recommended), HUN 2201, MCB 2000/2000L, STA 2023, 3 credits of social and behavioral science with prefix of PSY, SOP or SYG, and 3 credits of physical or biological sciences with prefix of BSC, CHM or PHY
• 3.0 GPA on all critical-tracking courses

Semester 2

• 3.1 overall GPA on work (from all institutions)
• Complete 2 additional critical-tracking courses with minimum grades of C
• 3.1 GPA on all critical-tracking courses

Semester 3

• 3.2 overall GPA on work (from all institutions)
• Complete 2 additional critical-tracking courses with minimum grades of C
• 3.2 GPA on all critical-tracking courses

Semester 4

• 3.3 overall GPA on work (from all institutions)
• Complete a total of 60 credits
• Complete all critical-tracking courses with minimum grades of C
• 3.3 GPA on all critical-tracking courses
• Complete writing and math requirements
• Complete all general education coursework with minimum grades of C

Semesters 5-8

Students cannot register for courses in semesters 5-8 before admission to the nursing major, which is competitive. The online application for admission must be submitted through the College of Nursing by March 1.

Recommended Semester Plan

To remain on track, students must complete the appropriate critical-tracking courses, which appear in bold. Students are required to complete HUM 2305 The Good Life (GE-H) in semester 1 or 2. These courses require minimum grades of C.