The Associate’s Degree in Nursing prepares students to attain licensure as registered nurses. The mission of the APU Associate Degree Nursing program is to produce nurse generalists with the cultural safety and foundational nursing skills needed to provide holistic, culturally safe care for Alaska Native Peoples and Alaskan communities. To achieve this, the APU ADN program is grounded in cultural safety. This program is designed to support pre-licensure nurses developing the self-awareness, knowledge, skills, and empathy required to aid individuals, families and groups to reach optimal health outcomes. The program meets APU’s strategic goals of developing and using relevant curricula, experiential learning, and culturally responsive delivery methods to provide academic programs that meet Alaska’s critical needs.

Prior college-level coursework (per APU transfer policies) can satisfy degree requirements, including Foundational Studies and pre-requisites.

Effective March 3, 2020, the associate nursing program at Alaska Pacific University located in Anchorage, Alaska is a candidate for initial accreditation by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing. This candidacy status expires on March 2022.

Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN)
3390 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 1400 Atlanta, GA 30326
(404) 975-5000

View the public information disclosed by the ACEN regarding this candidate program at

http://www.acenursing.com/candidates/candidacy.asp

Learning Outcomes

As a graduate, a student will earn an Associate Degree in Nursing with demonstrated achievement in APU’s Core Competencies:

1. Effective Communication [EC]: Demonstrate the ability to get one’s point across in writing, presentations, and organizations in order to share information, teach others, and foster collaboration
2. Critical Thinking [CT]: Demonstrate the ability to compute, analyze, make sense of information or data, and reach reasoned conclusions cognizant of possible bias or fallacies
3. Cultural & Historical Perspective [CH]: Demonstrate the ability to effectively consider tradition and heritage in relation to decision-making in a world shaped by diverse cultures and abiding histories
4. Scientific Inquiry [SI]: Demonstrate the ability to reach verifiable conclusions based on documented observations, findings, and recognized methods in order to know how things work in our world
5. Ethical Engagement [EE]: Demonstrate ability to raise needed questions and apply ethical and effective problem-framing and problem-solving to make things better

In addition to the Core Competencies, the program is designed to realize the following End-of-Program Student Learning Outcomes:

1. Apply new knowledge representing the aspirations and collective wisdom across multiple populations, from individuals and families to Alaskan Indigenous people in the delivery of holistic nursing care across the lifespan.
2. Demonstrate culturally safe communication within the context of a collaborative team approach to improve client safety and quality improvement initiatives in a variety of settings.
3. Conduct culturally safe comprehensive assessments of individuals and families through the integration of foundational concepts, critical thinking, clinical reasoning, evidence-based practice, and the use of the nursing clinical judgement model.
4. Apply evidence-based nursing practice to improve client outcomes across healthcare delivery systems.
5. Exhibit nursing advocacy through adherence to professionalism, ethical and legal frameworks, and patient-centered care as part of nursing practice.

Licensure

The State of Alaska licenses nurses. To receive initial licensure as a registered nurse (RN) in Alaska, candidates must have received their degree from a nursing-board approved program that is nationally nursing accredited, receive a passing score on the NCLEX-RN exam, and pass a background check. Each RN candidate for initial licensure through examination must submit a notarized application, a completed fingerprint card, official transcripts, and nursing program verification forms when applying to take the NCLEX through the Alaska Board of Nursing. For information about licensure in other states, see https://www.ncsbn.org/

Admissions

Candidates will apply initially to the BS in Health Sciences program, indicating interest in the pre-nursing concentration. Students interested in continuing nursing studies after taking pre-requisite courses will apply for the ADN program. Students will be selected for admission to the nursing program based on a systematic application review process and recommendations from nursing faculty. A grade of “C” (defined as: C+ or C) or better must be earned in all course requirements. A course must be repeated if a grade lower than “C” is earned.

The general requirements for admission to undergraduate programs at APU are found in the Admissions section of the catalog. In addition, there are supplemental requirements for the ADN program as follows.

1. A current resume and cover letter;
2. Pre-Requisite Worksheet;
3. Completion of an admissions interview with program area faculty.

Students who are accepted into the program must submit evidence of:

• Cleared background check in compliance with ICPA standards;
• Drug test negative of all federally controlled substances;
• Successful completion of mandatory training for compliance with Federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act;
• Successful completion of mandatory training for compliance with occupational safety and health administration requirements;
• Current Basic Life Support (BLS) for Healthcare Providers certification from the American Heart Association or other approved alternate providers;
• Current physical screening with a health provider to confirm that students can safely participate in clinical activities;
• Up to date evidence of screening for tuberculosis;
• Up to date evidence of required immunizations:
  • Current Tetanus/Diptheria/Pertussis (Tdap)
  • Current Measles/Mumps/Rubella (MMR)
  • Current Varicella (chicken pox)
  • Current and complete Hepatitis B series
  • Current seasonal influenza (must be updated yearly)
  • Current COVID-19 vaccine or vaccine series (as required by clinical agencies)

It is necessary to maintain current immunizations, tuberculosis screening, CPR, HIPAA and OSHA for clinical placement. Students must complete clinical requirements before the start of the program. Additional compliance requirements may be required based on the clinical site assignment. These requirements can include, but are not limited to: site orientations, additional background checks, additional vaccinations, medical screenings, computer or EHR trainings, other screenings such as drug screenings, etc. Information will be submitted to a credential & compliance management service to facilitate easier tracking and to alert students when items need to be renewed.