NURSING/PSYCHIATRIC TECHNICIAN TO RN (Option #3)

The two-year Associate of Science in Nursing Degree program is designed to prepare students for employment as a registered nurse, providing direct care to patients. Graduates receive an Associate of Science in Nursing Degree. The program is approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing (B.R.N.). Students who complete the curriculum are qualified to take the examination leading to licensure as a registered nurse. For students who seek to complete option #3, a current California psychiatric technician license is required.

To acquire the Associate of Science in Nursing Degree, students must complete one of the following: Río Hondo College General Education and Proficiency requirements, California State University General Education Breadth (CSU GE), or Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC).

The goals and objectives of the RHC nursing program will not change and continue to be student centered and align with the campus and Chancellor’s office goals and objectives. To offer students degrees that will allow them to upon graduation secure a job making a livable wage and align them to achieve a bachelor’s degree in their chosen major. 

The primary purpose of the change to the program is to develop a common nursing curriculum that is integrated into a fully articulated ADN-BSN concurrent enrollment pathway, decreasing units, and eliminating redundant content. In addition, the program will be seeking National Accreditation, allowing for a partnership with the CSUs. Once implemented, the curriculum will provide a streamlined, cost-effective pathway from AND to BSN, serving the needs of the regional healthcare industry and the diverse students served.

This is not a new program but a change to our existing curriculum allowing our students to be able to complete the program in less time and a curriculum change based on evidence to increase student success by decreasing repetitive content. Teaching the concepts as opposed to the specifics.

The Regional Nursing Curriculum Consortium (RNCC) originally funded through money from the California Workforce Initiative has been disbanded and no longer meeting officially. The new curriculum has been discussed at an area advisory committee (refer to attached minutes). In addition, the curriculum that will result in this degree has been discussed at the Board of Registered Nursing Education and Licensing committee meeting and received full Board approval at the November 2023 meeting.

The program at RHC has not changed since its induction, and the number of students we are admitting is not changing currently. The core nursing courses have just undergone a total curricular revision.

This program is the only program offered at RHC that provides the students upon completion of State licensure as a Registered Nurse upon successful completion of the NCLEX-RN. The prerequisites to enter the program include science courses, English 101 as well as psychology and Sociology. So, this program does support students taking courses in other campus divisions.

As part of the Regional Nursing Curriculum Consortium (RNCC), Rio Hondo College along with 17 other community colleges in the Los Angeles area collaborated to develop a common concept-based curriculum. The plan to teach the same concepts in the same order in all the colleges allowing for student transferability if needed. In addition to this, it reduced the units in the core nursing courses, allowing for the opportunity to partner with the CSUs for concurrent enrollment. This allows our students to have a smooth transition and completion of a BSN program as they will take courses concurrently at the two schools. Not all schools are at the point yet where they have begun transitioning to the new curriculum. Colleges already teaching the curriculum include Long Beach City College and Cerritos. The new curriculum for Rio Hondo College has had all the courses in the new curriculum approved by both the Chancellor’s office and The Board of Registered Nursing.

1. Cerritos College
2. Citrus College
3. Compton College
4. East Los Angeles College
5. El Camino College
6. Glendale College
7. Long Beach City College
8. Los Angeles City College
9. Los Angeles City College of Nursing and Allied Health
10. Los Angeles Harbor College
11. Los Angeles Pierce College
12. Los Angeles Southwest College
13. Los Angeles Trade-Tech College
14. Mt. San Antonio College
15. Pasadena City College
16. Rio Hondo College
17. Santa Monica College

CTE Headcounts 621

This is not a new program that is being offered at Rio Hondo College, but a change in the entire curriculum. It is a transition to an evidence-based approach to the delivery of the content required by the California Board of Registered Nursing to allow a student to be eligible to take the exam for State licensure as a Registered Nurse in California.