Congratulations message for PGCC Nursing Program ranking #1 nationally FY23-24, with stethoscope images in the background.

*National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) Mountain Measurement Report

Explore Nursing at Prince George's Community College

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History of Prince George's Community College Nursing

The nursing program at Prince George’s Community College was established in 1968. The nursing program, was approved by the Maryland Board of Nursing in 1969 and accredited by the National League for Nursing (NLN) , now the Accreditation Commission for education in nursing (ACEN), in 1976. The first class graduated 13 students. The program placed students in three clinical sites and employed two full time faculty members. The department of nursing established an LPN to RN Transmission Pathway in 1995, after successful completion of transition courses, students entered the second year of RN program. In 2010, a paramedic to RN Transmission Pathways was developed, after successful completion of the transition course, students entered the second year of the RN program. In summer 2012, the Department of Nursing moved from its original location in Lanham Hall to the new state-of- the-art Center for Health Studies (CHS) building. This move greatly expanded the program’s ability to achieve student learning outcomes using instructional technologies and choice learning strategies such as simulation, lab scenarios, skills lab practices and assessment, and tutoring.

In the late 1990’s the college, as well as the nursing program, began experiencing more minority student admission. Currently 90% of students are minorities. Students represent over 15 countries. The majority of students enrolled in the nursing program are considered nontraditional students. This means that they are adult learners, most of whom work part-time or full time, and support families in some way. Since the advent of the program, Prince George’s Community College has graduated over 6000 nurses who work in facilities throughout the United States and worldwide. The Nursing Program at Prince George’s Community College celebrated its 50th anniversary on May 18, 2018.

Mission

The Mission of the Prince George’s Community College (PGCC) Department of Nursing is to educate and transform the lives of our diverse population of nursing students to become caring, competent, and ethical professional nurses who will meet the healthcare needs of our community and who will develop a continued practice of learning to position themselves in the global community.

Philosophy

The Philosophy of the nursing program also reflects the beliefs and values of the faculty concerning the nature of the individual, health, nursing practice, nursing education, and learning. It states:

  • We believe the client is a unique individual, possessing dignity and worth. Clients are complex beings with physiological and psychosocial needs, capable of change and growth within diverse and evolving physical, social, and cultural environments.
  • We believe health is a dynamic process that encompasses one’s physical, mental, social, and spiritual well-being. Clients have the right to make choices regarding their healthcare.  They may require assistance to meet self-care needs, to establish and attain health goals. 
  • We believe nursing is both an art and a science based on knowledge obtained from research and holistic, culturally competent practice. Nursing care should be accessible to the diverse community it serves in a unique, creative, and caring manner with an emphasis on addressing health risk reduction and healthcare disparities.
  • We believe nursing reflects ethical and legal standards. The practice of nursing is an interprofessional collaboration that uses therapeutic communication and evidence-based practice to promote, maintain, and restore health with a focus on physiological and psychosocial integrity to clients across the lifespan.
  • We believe the goal of nursing education is to prepare the graduate to become a safe, responsible, entry-level practitioner able to demonstrate effective clinical judgment in adapting care to the individual, guided by the National League for Nursing’s core values of caring, integrity, diversity, and excellence to obtain quality healthcare outcomes.
  • We believe learning is an active, collaborative, life-long process in which the diverse learning styles of students are accommodated through a variety of teaching methodologies. Nursing students are adult learners who are accountable for their learning and engage in the learning process actively and through self-direction.

Nursing Program Outcomes

License Practical Nurse (LPN) Certificate
  1. Collaborate with members of the health care team to facilitate care of patients in regard to the legal and ethical standards of the practice of a licensed practical nurse.
  2. Use patient data to plan and implement activities that promote safety and protection of the patient.
  3. Cooperate with other health care providers to assist patients in meeting age-associated health needs.
  4. Provide patient teaching and care activities that promote health and prevent disease.
  5. Utilize therapeutic communication skills to support the patient’s emotional, mental, and social well-being.
  6. Participate in culturally sensitive nursing interventions to assist the patient/family to adapt to stressors.
  7. Initiate caring interventions based on relevant data for patients who are experiencing common health alterations while in a variety of settings.
  8. Identify for patients/families potential threats to the physiologic function and initiate interventions to promote adaptation.

 

Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) to Registered Nurse (RN)
  1. Prescribe nursing activities within an environment that reflects ethical and legal standards of nursing practice
  2. Manage the patient care environment in a variety of settings with regard to factors affecting safety across the lifespan
  3. Evaluate the patient’s adaptation to developmental changes across the lifespan
  4. Evaluate the patient’s ability for self-care and initiate activities that promote optimal functioning
  5. Develop a therapeutic plan for patients/family members/significant others with psychosocial health alterations in a variety of settings
  6. Evaluate the effects of culture, values, and the environment to develop a plan of care that facilitates the coping of patients/family members/significant others
  7. Evaluate therapeutic nursing interventions to reduce risks of patients’ health alteration within a variety of settings
  8. Collaborate with members of the health care team to modify the plan of care and promote optimal physiologic function for patients within a variety of settings
Paramedic to Registered Nurse (RN)
  1. Prescribe nursing activities within an environment that reflects ethical and legal standards of nursing practice
  2. Manage the patient care environment in a variety of settings with regard to factors affecting safety across the lifespan
  3. Evaluate the patient’s adaptation to developmental changes across the lifespan
  4. Evaluate the patient’s ability for self-care and initiate activities that promote optimal functioning
  5. Develop a therapeutic plan for patients/family members/significant others with psychosocial health alterations in a variety of settings
  6. Evaluate the effects of culture, values, and the environment to develop a plan of care that facilitates the coping of patients/family members/significant others
  7. Evaluate therapeutic nursing interventions to reduce risks of patients’ health alteration within a variety of settings
  8. Collaborate with members of the health care team to modify the plan of care and promote optimal physiologic function for patients within a variety of settings
Registered Nurse (RN)
  1. Prescribe nursing activities within an environment that reflects ethical and legal standards of nursing practice
  2. Manage the patient care environment in a variety of settings with regard to factors affecting safety across the lifespan
  3. Evaluate the patient’s adaptation to developmental changes across the lifespan
  4. Evaluate the patient’s ability for self-care and initiate activities that promote optimal functioning
  5. Develop a therapeutic plan for patients/family members/significant others with psychosocial health alterations in a variety of settings
  6. Evaluate the effects of culture, values, and the environment to develop a plan of care that facilitates the coping of patients/family members/significant others
  7. Evaluate therapeutic nursing interventions to reduce risks of patients’ health alteration within a variety of settings
  8. Collaborate with members of the health care team to modify the plan of care and promote optimal physiologic function for patients within a variety of settings

Facilities & Resources

The nursing department is located at the state-of-the-art Center for Health Studies building. The nursing department has two general nursing skills labs, four specialty nursing skills labs, two interdisciplinary simulation labs, and dedicated tutoring areas. The classrooms are equipped with Smart podiums and interactive instructional technology which enhance the learning experience of students.

The skills lab suites and simulation rooms contain high fidelity simulation manikins, critical care equipment, and medication administration capabilities. The students are provided with supplies and medical equipment to meet the learning outcomes of the nursing courses, and provides a learning environment that coincides with current practice and clinical setting.

Vivian Kuawogai

Contact Us

Vivian Kuawogai
Department Chair and Professor
Health, Wellness, and Hospitality Division
Prince George's Community College
Office Telephone: 301-546-0734
Email: kuawogvp@pgcc.edu

Prince George’s Community College
Center for Health Studies, Room 1402
301 Largo Road
Largo, MD 20785