Many students come to MCC with interest in Nursing. However, only a small percentage of qualified applicants will get a seat in MCC’s Nursing Program each semester. For this reason, it is optimal to convey the following information via advisement and Nursing Admission Information Session attendance.

1. Make students aware of the competitive admission process and quality point bearing coursework and potential time to completion
2. Make students aware of the many health-related career alternatives including the Health Studies tracks
3. Advise students that the Health Studies Clinical track also includes prerequisite courses needed to apply to BSN transfer programs
4. Advise students to take HED 130 in their first semester for important health-related career information
5. Promote awareness of the realities of the field of nursing:
   • Nurses are responsible for the lives and daily care of patients, including hygiene, which involves patient contact and bodily fluids
   • Nurses need to have good math and science skills
   • Nurses typically work non-traditional hours

How do students get into MCC’s Nursing Program?  Students earn quality points by taking “point-bearing courses” in order to apply through a competitive admission process.  Higher grades are worth more points. The 70 applicants with the highest number of points will be offered seats in the program. There are typically over 250 applicants each semester who have met all of the entrance requirements and have approximately 60 quality points or higher. Approximately 1,000 more students are in a pathway with the goal of nursing. The pool of applicants determines the point range needed for admission. Generally, students who gain acceptance to MCC’s nursing program have A’s and B’s for grades. More detailed info is available at the following link: http://www.monroecc.edu/go/healthrelated

Students who are interested in nursing, but are not admitted directly to MCC’s Nursing Program are typically admitted to the Health Studies Clinical Track (HS03). (Health Studies also offers a Community Health track (HS04) and Healthcare Administration track (HS06).

Health Studies is a non-competitive program that serves as a good foundation for full-time students who do not get a seat in MCC’s Nursing Program. The quality point bearing courses needed to apply to MCC’s Nursing Program are required within the Health Studies Clinical Track.  The Health Studies Clinical track also includes prerequisites to apply to an RN BSN program at a transfer school.  Since seating is very limited for MCC’s RN program and New York State requires RN’s to earn their BSN within 10 years, it makes sense to plan for the BSN.  Also, since it takes two years from the time of acceptance to complete MCC’s RN Program and it can take multiple semesters before acceptance (which is not guaranteed) some students choose to complete the Health Studies Clinical Track and apply to RN BSN transfer programs.

What happens if a student does not get a seat in MCC’s Nursing Program? Students can apply to MCC’s Nursing Program multiple times.  They can also continue with the Health Studies degree and apply to transfer to an RN BSN program.  Students may also consider alternative health-related careers as options.  Students can transfer into other health-related fields with a Health Studies degree.  Public health or community health are currently very popular with multiple transfer programs available in those areas.  Students can also utilize a Health Studies degree to go into counseling or social work or they can switch into the Healthcare Administration track. Some students also find Health Information Technology to be a good alternative.

For part-time students or students who already have an earned degree, the focus would be on advising the quality point bearing courses. Students may also wish to retake point bearing courses to improve total points needed to re-apply.  MCC also has other competitive health programs, many of which have similar point bearing courses.  Students may wish to check into these other options and apply to an alternative competitive health program.  Quality point courses for other competitive health programs can be found at: http://www.monroecc.edu/go/healthrelated

Advisement and Registration for Students Interested in Nursing

MAPPING out a hypothetical 4+ semester plan is a best practice.  Below is a suggested sequence of coursework for the Health Studies Clinical Track. Many of the courses could be taken in a different order, however, some cannot.  As noted previously, point bearing courses (in BOLD) are important for application to MCC’s Nursing Program. Courses typically needed to apply to BSN transfer programs have an asterisk*  See next page for more information regarding transfer electives.

COURSE PLANNING WORKSHEET – Instructions:  Check off any completed coursework and write the planned sequence of coursework in the right hand column.  Be sure to include any required preparatory coursework.

 Encourage Ongoing Advisement:  It is strongly recommended that students make contact with an advisor when choosing courses every semester.  Choosing courses that are best for each individual situation can be challenging.  Advisement can be done electronically via email, via telephone, or in person.

Choosing Electives:  Prerequisite courses to be considered for admission to RN BSN programs are already included in the Health Studies Clinical Track, so not taking certain electives will not prevent a student from being accepted at a transfer school.  If a student knows where they would like to apply for transfer, choosing certain electives can reduce the coursework needed at the transfer school.  If transfer plans are unknown, then a student may wish to choose electives that could result in additional credentials.

WHY take HED 130 in the first semester? It can be extremely helpful for students interested in nursing to take HED 130 in their first semester or as soon as possible.  HED 130 – Foundations of Personal Health and Wellness includes a unit on health-related careers that helps students to learn about the many health-related career opportunities and to match their preferences and abilities to different health careers.  For the many who will not get a seat in MCC’s Nursing Program, learning about these options early on can help a student greatly if they determine that they need to make a shift or consider something else.

SCIENCE and MATH courses should be a priority due to the prerequisites required to take the series of science courses needed (BIO 144 Anatomy & Physiology 1, before BIO 145 A & P II and BIO 202 Microbiology), it is important to begin taking the sciences right away. There are prerequisites for BIO 144. If a student took a full year of high school biology/living environment and a full year of chemistry with a C or better in each, the prerequisites would be met. If a student did not, they would need to take college level courses to meet the prerequisites (BIO 120 or BIO 132/133 with C or better for the BIO requirement and CHE 100 with a C or better for CHEM. Note that a student needs to have MTH 098 or higher to take CHE 100.)

Should a Student take BIO 144 in the first semester as long as they qualify?  BIO 144 is one of the point bearing courses needed to apply to MCC’s nursing program. It is good to get started on the sciences because BIO 144 is a prerequisite for BIO 145 and BIO 202. Because BIO 144 is a point bearing course, the grade earned is very important.  If study skills and time management are good, then those are key aspects to success in the course.  There is also tutoring available at MCC.  Some students wait on starting A&P even if they qualify to take it if they feel they might not do well with it in the first semester.  Delaying the course also delays earning the points that could be accumulated toward application to nursing. (About 70 points are needed before application is recommended.)  Delaying can also add additional time until graduation depending on whether or not the student needs other preparatory courses such a math.  NOTE: An advisor would need to verify that the prerequisites are met and have an “override” done in the system before the student can register for BIO 144.

MATH – If preparatory math courses are needed, those should be a priority so that the math courses can be taken in a timely fashion, particularly if a number of courses are needed.  Although Stats is the highest math needed for Nursing, if a student needs to take CHE 100, they will need to be at math level 6 or have completed MTH 098 with a C or better to get in.  Students can be advised to take either 098 and 104 or FLEX 096 and FLEX 098.

PSY 101 or SOC 101 in the first semester?  PSY 101 is a point bearing course. Points will be earned based on the grade and will be used for competitive application. PSY 101 is a rigorous course and some students choose to delay the course until the second semester since a high grade is beneficial. Strong students with good study skills could take PSY 101 in the first semester or SOC 101 could be taken instead, as long as the student is at or above the level of ENG 101.

*Additional Credential Opportunity –  Health and Wellness Coaching Certification

Health and Wellness Coach Certification:  Students taking HED 130 (required in all Health Studies tracks) and HED 210 and PPE 240 as electives can become eligible for Health and Wellness Coach Certification.  This certification can be a very beneficial addition to a resume and is recommended for nurses.

Have questions or need assistance regarding this document?  Email the Health Studies Program Coordinator healthstudies@monroecc.edu or contact our Health Related Advisement Specialist (585) 292-2409 jkinslow@monroecc.edu  or School Specialist, Becky Babcock, rbabcock@monroecc.edu                                11/19

Transferring to a 4-year Nursing Program without an AAS in Nursing
St. John Fisher, Roberts, and Nazareth are the most “transfer friendly.” Utica College and D’Youville College will also accept transfer students into their nursing program. For more information, see: Guide for local programs