Answers to questions you may have about Tri-County Technical College Nursing

Placement tests – Are they required?
If you have never had college classes, the placement tests will tell you and your advisor where you need to start in the areas of math, reading and English. We don’t want you to waste time by being in classes that are below your level of achievement. In the same way, it is a waste of time to be placed in too high a level and receive a poor grade or need to repeat the course. If you feel that you have received a score that is lower than your typical working level, you may ask to repeat the test for a nominal charge.

Updates to Nursing – What should I expect?
This is a general information session that lasts approximately 1 ½ hours. Attendance is required as part of the Notice of Completion. It is also a good place to start to find what next-steps are for beginning your program. You are not required to register to attend. You verify your attendance by signing in. The link above takes you to the Updates schedule.

AHS 117 Patient Care – Is it required?
Tri-County Nursing requires that each student has nurse aide training. You get this training by taking AHS 117 Patient Care. There are several other ways to achieve this training. If you are already a CNA, you may get a waiver and exempt the class by bringing proof of training to the Nursing Department. You may choose to take Nurse Aide training at a local tech school or nursing home. If your job requires you to perform the same duties, you may be able to exempt the class. Cases such as this are handled on an individual basis.

Which biology pre-requisite?
In order to take Biology 110 or Biology 210, a general biology is required as a pre-requisite. Biology 100 will satisfy this requirement. However, if you are planning to continue your education past ADN, Bio 101 is the level that will transfer to the university. To qualify to take Bio 101, a student must have Eng 101 or test scores for Eng 101. CHM 100 is also required for BIO 210 if you begin with BIO 100.

What are the current NCLEX pass rates for this school?
See the pass rates for all SC Nursing Schools at http://www.llr.state.sc.us/pol/nursing/forms/NCLEXPNPassRate.pdf

Competitive Clinical Entry
Tri-County Technical College utilizes an application and competitive entry to fill seats in Associate Degree and Practical Nursing.

The Practical Nursing program accepts 40 students in fall and 24 students in spring. You must be on the complete list to apply, but you must also submit a Competitive Clinical Entry application to be considered for a seat in the program. The application and guidelines can be viewed and printed from the link above.

The Associate Degree Nursing program accepts 60 students in fall and 60 students in spring. You must be on the complete list to apply, but you must also submit a Competitive Clinical Entry application to be considered for a seat in the program. The application and guidelines can be viewed and printed from the link above.

The LPN to RN Transition Nursing Program does not utilize Competitive Clinical Entry at this time. Students are required to submit a Notice of Completion to be considered.

BSN Completion
We encourage our nursing students to continue their education past PN and ADN levels. We work most closely with Clemson University’s Nursing Program for a BSN Completion. A student is able to complete all general education classes at Tri-County, and have a smooth transition to Clemson’s University Center after receiving their ADN. Kay Rhodes is our Admissions Liaison (krhodes2@tctc.edu) Fulp 401. Many of our students begin sprinkling BS general education classes into their curriculum early in their program. It is possible to have completed these by the end of the Associate Degree.

Which courses are required to complete the nursing programs?

Practical Nursing
LPN to RN Transition
Associate Degree (RN)

Is CPR certification required?
You may contact Lynn Lollis llollis1@tctc.edu to ask about classes offered here. You are not required to get recertification if your certificate is less than one year old and is a Health Care Provider Certificate.

How does the scope of practice for Associate Degree Nursing differ from that of Practical Nursing?
This chart identifies some of the differences between ADN and LPN licenses.