Nursing Program Credentials

Accreditation through ACEN

Jamestown Community College's associate nursing program has been awarded accreditation for achievement of quality and excellence in nursing education through spring 2025 by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, Inc. (ACEN), formerly the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC), 3390 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 1400, Atlanta, Georgia 30326, phone: 404.975.5000; fax: 404.975.5020; or acenursing.org.

RN licensure

Graduates of the nursing program are eligible to apply for the National Council Licensing Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN).

At the time of submission of an application for licensure and first registration, the applicant is required to report a history of a felony or misdemeanor, or if such charges are pending. State boards of nursing will review the information submitted by the applicant and will determine if the applicant is eligible for licensure. A history of a felony or a misdemeanor may jeopardize the applicant’s eligibility for licensure by state boards of nursing. Prospective applicants with a felony or misdemeanor are encouraged to discuss their situation with the board of nursing in the state where licensure will be sought.

Persons intending to practice nursing in New York should contact the New York State Board of Nursing, 89 Washington Ave., Albany, NY 12234-1000 (518.474.3817). Those intending to practice nursing in Pennsylvania should contact the Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing, PO Box 2649, Harrisburg, PA 17105-2649 (717.783.7142).

Jamestown Community College nursing curriculum and the program of study meets the educational requirements by the Board of Regents in New York State to award an Associate in Applied Science Degree (AAS) with a major in nursing. Graduates are eligible to take the NCLEX-RN exam for Registered Nurse licensure in New York. Other states may have different educational requirements for program completion and licensure requirements. Jamestown Community College has not made a determination of whether the curriculum meets the educational requirements for professional nursing licensure in states other than in New York. If seeking licensure in a state other than New York, review the requirement of that State's Board of Nursing.

To search a particular State's Board of Nursing, visit: https://www.ncsbn.org/contact-bon.htm

Cognitive, physical, & behavioral criteria

JCC provides the following technical standards with examples of learning activities to inform prospective and enrolled students of the skills required in completing their chosen profession’s curriculum and in the provision of health care services. These technical standards reflect the performance abilities and characteristics that are necessary to successfully complete the requirements of the Nursing program. These standards are not a requirement of admission into the program. Individuals interested in applying for admission to the program should review these standards to develop a better understanding of the skills, abilities, and behavioral characteristics required to successfully complete the program.

Students admitted to the Nursing program are expected to be able to complete curriculum requirements, which include physical, cognitive, and behavioral core competencies that are essential to the functions of the entry-level professional nurse. These core competencies are considered to be the minimum and essential skills necessary to protect the public. These abilities are encountered in unique combinations in the provision of safe and effective nursing care and can meet the criteria with or without reasonable accommodations. Students who are unsure if they can meet these criteria because of disability, or know they will need help in meeting them, must contact JCC’s Accessibility Services office to discuss the use of reasonable accommodations and/or auxiliary aids. The college will provide reasonable accommodations but is not required to substantially alter the requirements or nature of the program.

Progression in the program may be denied if a student is unable to demonstrate the technical standards.

Cognitive:

  1. Recall, collect, analyze, synthesize, and integrate information from a variety of sources.
  2. Measure, calculate, reason, analyze, and synthesize date.
  3. Problem-solve and think critically in order to apply knowledge and skill.
  4. Communicate verbally, and through reading and writing, with individuals from a variety of social, emotional, cultural, and intellectual backgrounds.
  5. Relay information in oral, written, and electronic form effectively, accurately, reliably, and intelligibly to individuals and groups, using the English language.

Examples of learning activities found in the nursing curriculum and related to industry standards:

  • Process information thoroughly and quickly to prioritize and implement nursing care.
  • Sequence or cluster data to determine client needs.
  • Develop and implement a nursing plan of care for clients in acute, long     term, and community settings. Discriminate fine/subtle differences in medical word terminology.
  • Report verbally and in writing client data to members of the healthcare team.
  • Read and comprehend medical orders and client information found in the medical record.
  • Perform math computations for medication dosage calculations both with and without a calculator. 

Physical, motor:

  1. Move efficiently enough to meet the needs of patients in a timely fashion.
  2. Coordinate fine and gross motor movements.
  3. Coordinate hand/eye movements.
  4. Maintain balance from any position.
  5. Negotiate level surfaces, ramps, and stairs.
  6. Function with both hands free for performing psychomotor tasks.
  7. Maneuver in small areas.
  8. Attend to cognitive and psychomotor tasks for up to 7-12 hours.

Examples of learning activities found in the nursing curriculum and related to industry standards:

  • Transfer patients/clients in and out of bed from stretchers and wheelchairs.
  • Turn and position patients.
  • Control a fall by slowly lowering client to the floor.
  • Perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
  • Lift or move (turn, position) clients or objects, pull or push objects, weighing up to 50 pounds.
  • Reach to shoulder or higher level to place or access equipment such as intravenous fluid bags, bend or squat to access equipment below bed level.
  • Carry equipment and supplies to the client bedside.
  •  Manipulate small equipment and containers, such as syringes, vials, ampoules, and medication packages to administer medications without extraneous movement, contamination, or destruction.
  • Accurately place and maintain position of stethoscope for detecting sounds of bodily functions.
  • Record data with a pen or graphics and other flow sheets.
  • Operate a computer.
  • Dispose of needles in sharps container.
  • Complete assigned periods of clinical practice (7-12 hour shifts, days, evenings, or nights).

Sensory:

  1. Acquire information from demonstrations and experiences, including but not limited to information conveyed through online coursework, lecture, small group activities, demonstrations, and application experiences.
  2. Collect information through observation, listening, touching, and smelling.
  3. Use and interpret information from diagnostic maneuvers.

Examples of learning activities found in the nursing curriculum and related to industry standards:

  • Detect changes in skin color or condition. (pale, ashen, grey, or bluish)
  • Detect a fire in the client care environment.
  • Draw up a prescribed quantity of medication into a syringe.
  • Observe clients in a room from a distance of 20 feet away.
  • Detect sounds related to bodily functions using a stethoscope.
  • Detect audible alarms generated by mechanical systems such as those that monitor bodily functions, fire alarms, call bells.
  • Observe and collect data from recording equipment and measurement devices used in client care.
  • Communicate with client and members of the healthcare team in person and over the phone in a variety of settings, including isolation and the operating room where health team members are wearing masks and there is background noise.
  • Detect foul odors of bodily fluids or spoiled foods.
  • Detect smoke from burning materials.
  • Detect changes in skin temperature.
  • Detect unsafe temperature levels in heat-producing devices used in client care.
  • Detect anatomical abnormalities, such as subcutaneous crepitus, edema, or infiltrated intravenous fluids.
  • Feel vibrations such as an arterial pulse.

Behavioral:

  1. Demonstrate emotional stability to function effectively under stress and adapt to changing environments.
  2. Maintain effective, mature, and sensitive relationships with others.
  3. Examine and modify one’s own behavior when it interferes with others or the learning environment.
  4. Possess attributes that include compassion, empathy, altruism, integrity, honesty, responsibility, and tolerance.
  5. Establish a therapeutic relationship and communicate in a supportive manner.