Medical / Nursing Programs in Los Angeles / Orange County area CA

Pacific College, Orange County:
With two campuses in Orange County CA, in Costa Mesa and The Citadel (East Los Angeles off Freeway 5), Pacific College is an accredited private post-secondary educational institution founded in 1993 to provide accessible healthcare education to adult learners. We provide full and part-time degree and diploma programs in Vocational Nursing and Cardiovascular Technology, as well as a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing. Today’s fast paced, complex society, along with increasing technological advances have created an unprecedented need for expert health care professionals. You could be one of them. Contact us today to learn more about our fully accredited programs.

Full and Part-time Healthcare Degree and Diploma Programs

Bachelor of Science Degree (BSc) in Nursing
The Bachelor of Science in Nursing program is designed for a person who is currently a Registered Nurse (RN) and is seeking to complete the requirements for an earned Bachelor of Science degree. The curriculum provides registered nurses with a better understanding of the ethical, cultural, political, economic, and social issues that affect patients and influence healthcare delivery. Critical thinking, leadership, management, research, physical assessment, and health promotion across a variety of community-based healthcare settings is emphasized in the program. The Bachelor of Science in Nursing program can be completed in 17 months.

- Program Objectives
- To develop critical thinkers who creatively engage in rational inquiry utilizing the nursing process in both well-defined, relatively common clinical situations and in complex clinical situations
- To develop skilled healthcare providers prepared to provide a higher level of nursing assessment in their direct or indirect care of ethically, culturally and/or spiritually diverse patients and their families
- To develop effective collaborators of healthcare prepared to work in a leadership capacity to design and manage the care of individuals and their families
- To develop caring and therapeutic communicators prepared to utilize broadened tools of communication in advocating the comfort and self-determination of patients and their families
- To develop nursing professionals practicing nursing within a legal/ethical framework

LVN / Vocational Nursing (offered as an Associate of Science degree program or a diploma program)
Vocational Nursing students are provided with the education and training that will enable them to successfully perform the duties required by a Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN). Under the supervision of a physician or Registered Nurse (RN), Licensed Vocational Nurses provide direct patient care for children, adults and the elderly in hospitals, clinics, long-term care facilities, and home health agencies  Graduates of the program are prepared to sit for the state Licensure Examination (NCLEX) for Licensed Vocational Nursing (LVN). Vocational Nursing is offered as an Associate of Science degree program or a diploma program. The length of the program is 1542 hours. Full and part time programs are available.  For full time students the program is equivalent to approximately 48 weeks; for part time students the program will take approximately two years.

- What type of work do Licensed Vocational Nurses do?
A Licensed Vocational Nurse is an essential member of the healthcare team. Licensed Vocational Nurses provide care for people who are sick, injured, convalescent, or disabled under the direct supervision of physicians and registered nurses. Patient care includes basic bedside care, prepare and give injections, monitor equipment, record vital signs, dress wounds and provide patient comfort.

- What is the career outlook for Licensed Vocational Nurses?
According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of Licensed Vocational Nurses is projected to grow by 21 percent between 2008 and 2018, much faster than the average for all occupations, in response to the long-term care needs of an increasing elderly population and the general increase in demand for healthcare services. Jobs for Licensed Vocational Nurses are expected to increase by 17.5 percent or 10,100 jobs between 2006 and 2016.

Cardiovascular Technology (offered as an Associate of Science degree program or a diploma program)
Cardiovascular Technologists perform diagnostic and therapeutic examinations of the heart and blood vessels using ultrasound and monitoring devices and equipment under direction of a licensed physician. Cardiovascular Technology students are prepared to graduate with training and skills that will prepare them for entry level positions in the field of cardiovascular technology.  Depending upon the career path chosen by the student there are multiple career options within the field including EKG Technician, Telemetry Technician, Echocardiography Technician, Cardiovascular Technician and Cardiology Technician. Cardiovascular technologists work in hospitals, physicians’ offices and clinics, educational facilities, medical center, noninvasive cardiovascular laboratories, electrophysiology laboratories and mobile diagnostic units.

Online RN (Registered Nurse) to BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) Completion Program
This program has been designed for nurses who have earned the equivalent of an active registered nursing license (US) in their own home county and wish to further their professional studies in nursing. This program is delivered entirely online and the degree earned is a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) completion program. The program is taught in English and offers an excellent opportunity to bolster English reading and writing proficiency skills.