海角视频

The California Board of Registered Nursing in May gave 海角视频鈥檚 nursing program five-year approval, further cementing the college as one of Northern California鈥檚 top places to study nursing.

In addition to meeting the requirements of WASC and other organizations, 海角视频鈥檚 nursing department must continually renew and be approved regularly. The BRN conducts a standard evaluation and visit of the program every five years with 2022 being the most recent.

Nurse education consultants visited PUC and met with the department鈥檚 faculty and staff, student support services and administration. The formal evaluation took two days. However, preparation for the assessment took months. 

Kimberly Dunker, director and chair of Nursing Health and Sciences, said that because the college must continually renew, preparation for evaluation is ongoing and it involves everybody in the department. 

Dunker, along with Assistant Directors Debbie Wallace and Susan Bussell, prepared the self-study, which thoroughly and critically examined PUC鈥檚 entire nursing program to identify its strengths and deficiencies. It also involved planning for modifications and improvements, if necessary. 

In addition to clinical sites and facilities, individual faculty members and directors must be approved by the BRN in order to teach theory, clinical and lab courses, Dunker said. 
Faculty databases, including continuing education courses, require submission as well as curriculum plans. The nursing website and course catalog are assessed for accuracy. 

In April, PUC鈥檚 nursing department received the recommendation from the BRN -- 100% compliance and not one citation. The review described PUC as having a 鈥渟tellar鈥� nursing program.

A month later, on May 18, the BRN gave its official and full approval. 

鈥淲e were so excited,鈥� said Dunker, of the faculty and staff when they heard the news.

Dunker said the BRN鈥檚 approval is even more significant than its praise for their current program. It provided the green light for the AS program for the next five years and granted permission to grow the nursing student body -- 27 students for Angwin and nine for Napa鈥檚 campus. It also allows the college to expand its nursing department by adding additional programs and nursing tracks. 

鈥淲e continue to graduate excellent students ready to successfully complete and pass the NCLEX and move onto their bachelors and eventually their masters in nursing,鈥� Dunker said.