Program News

There are many new and exciting things happening at the RCC School of Nursing.  This is a  highlight of just a few of them …

RCC developed a comprehensive nursing curriculum in the 1970’s which was refined and modified many times over the last 30+ years. A little over a year ago, the nursing faculty determined a more radical approach was needed to better prepare our graduates to meet contemporary nursing practice expectations. Towards that end, RCC engaged a renowned nursing curriculum expert, Dr. Linda Caputi, to assist the nursing faculty in this endeavor. Starting with the development of a vision for the future, the nursing faculty developed a new curriculum that incorporates current nursing initiatives, such as the Institute of Medicine studies, National Patient Safety Goals, and Quality & Safety Education for Nurses competencies. The new curriculum will be implemented in Spring 2012 that will coincide with the opening of the NEW School of Nursing building.

The new School of Nursing building, funded through voter-approved state and local bonds, has been under development for almost 10 years. In January 2012, these plans will come to fruition when the new School of Nursing building opens. This building will triple existing classroom and lab square footage as well as provide a state of the art Virtual Hospital with the capabilities to implement and record realistic patient case scenarios using human patient simulators. The Grand Opening ceremony will occur in Spring 2012, so stay tuned!

In June 2011, the RCC School of Nursing, in collaboration with Health Workforce Initiative (HWI), began a Transition to Practice program for newly licensed registered nurses who have not yet found employment. This program has been implemented throughout Northern California and has recently made its way to Southern California community colleges. The program’s purpose is to improve the employability of new graduate registered nurses by providing an unpaid preceptored clinical experience as part of a cooperative work experience program. This 12-week program includes a variety of experiential teaching-learning techniques, such as simulation, reflective journaling, seminars, and clinical-based experiences. The course emphasizes the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses concepts throughout its curriculum. The first cohort of students will complete the course in August 2011.