Nursing (ADN), Associate Degree

Associate degree nursing education provides the basic education necessary to become a registered nurse.  Graduates are eligible to sit for NCLEX-RN licensing examination and, if licensed, may practice in structured care settings, including hospitals, long-term care facilities, clinics, and offices.  Associate degree nursing education incorporates nursing knowledge, knowledge of key biological and social sciences, and study of the humanities.  The length of the program is 20 months and 67 total credits.

Description of Clinical requirements

1. In the clinical setting, critical competencies include Therapeutic Nursing, Skills/Safety, the Nursing Process, Accountability and Responsibility, Communication and Collaboration, and Professional Growth and Development.The curriculum includes 14 semester credits of clinical course work totaling 630 hours of clinical practice.
2. Students must pass both theory and the concurrent clinical with at least a 76 percent to progress to the next term.
3. Clinical competencies are written that define and describe the level of competency for the beginning, intermediate and advanced level of nursing student.
4. The curriculum offers a professive level of theoretical instruction and supervised clinical practice, which ranges from common to complex, and ensures coverage of critical concepts that directly reflect the mission, philosophy, and objectives of the nursing program.

ADN international MD transfer policy

West Coast University accepts a general education block transfer credit from any international institution that granted a Medical Doctor (MD) degree and is recognized by the country’s Ministry of Education or Department of Education. An MD international graduate has to complete at WCU FYS001 and prove English proficiency by providing one of the below listed requirements. If no proof of English proficiency is available, in addition to the WCU FYS001, international students must complete WCU ENGL140 with a grade of C or better.

 In order for the transfer of general education credits including English courses to be granted one has to:

• Graduate with an MD degree from an international higher education institution that is recognized by the country’s Ministry of Education or Department of Education.
• Complete an international transcript equivalency credential evaluation from one of the WCU approved professional evaluation agencies. This evaluation should include: the degree comparability, course by course evaluation, GPA, grade and credit conversion.

• Pass the TEAS exam with a minimum score of 58.7 or composite score of 192.3 or higher.
• Prove English proficiency. This is required by providing either one of the below listed:

• TOEFL (minimum 500 PBT, 61IBT-paper based, internet based),
• IELTS (minimum 6.0 on speaking and writing)
• Pearson Test of English (minimum 44; or level 3,4 or 5 of PTE-general test)
• Eiken English Proficiency exam (Minimum Pre-1 grade)
• Exams identified within the Common European Framework of reference--Cambridge English: FCE -grade of C or better; or CEFR- B-2 level
• TEAS exam, Reading and English & Language Usage scores to be above 47.6%
• CLEP minimum score of 50 in College Composition or College Composition modular
• Graduated with a grade C or better from an English as a Second Language (ESL) program, or college level English course taken at an accredited English-speaking post-secondary institution

The following listed courses will be transferred for international MD degree graduates:

Program Credit Distribution

ADN Program Costs

For program costs, please see the Undergraduate Tuition and Fees section.