Practical Nursing
CCD's practical nursing certificate program will teach you to care for the physical needs of patients while promoting their health, healing, and wellness.
You will learn how to provide basic patient care, administer medications, and document medical charts. You'll also develop leadership skills that will prepare you to excel in your career.
This program offers in-classroom learning, hands-on practice, inpatient simulation labs, as well as 405 hours of clinical rotation in local health care agencies. CCD will provide you with a well-rounded nursing education.
As a practical nurse (PN), you will have access to varying employment opportunities.
- In long-term care facilities, the PN is often the team leader providing care to multiple residents.
- In outpatient clinic settings, the PN works in collaboration with other health care professionals in treating and educating patients.
- In-home healthcare settings, PN provides in-home care to patients ranging in age from pediatric to geriatric.
- In hospitals, PNs provide routine care in many different departments with varying duties.
- Starts in August (Fall Semester)
- Totals 3 semesters: Fall, Spring and Summer semester
- Applications are accepted the first week of February through the last week of April. Eligible candidates will be invited to participate in interviews in late April.
- Starts in January (Spring semester)
- Totals 5 semesters: Spring, Summer, Fall, Spring and a Maymester semester
- Applications are accepted from the first week of September through the second week of November. Eligible candidates will be invited to participate in interviews in late November.
Currently enrolled students in need of academic advising can find their Academic Advisor and schedule an appointment using Navigate or the website.
Academic support is provided through CCD's Excel Zone, which helps students succeed by offering a variety of learning opportunities. We are located on campus on the 4th floor of the Confluence building.
The Practical Nursing program is approved by the Colorado Community College System(CCCS) and has approval from the Colorado State Board of Nursing (CSBON) and can be contacted at:
Colorado State Board of Nursing
1560 Broadway, Suite 1350
Denver, CO 80202
(303) 894-2430
Nursing HOME | Division of Professions and Occupations (colorado.gov)
Effective June 21, 2021, the Practical Nursing Program at CCD was approved for candidacy for accreditation by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN), formerly the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC), and is anticipating a site visit in the fall of 2023 semester. ACEN can be contacted at:
Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing
3343 Peachtree Rd NE
Atlanta, Georgia 30326
(404) 975-5000
Attendance at a non-accredited nursing school may make you ineligible to attend an accredited nursing school in pursuit of additional education.
Some programs and/or courses may require additional fees in addition to the base tuition and fees. High-cost course fees are used to support the maintenance and development of the course labs and are embedded within your general tuition.
View the 2024-2025 Course Specific Fees
This program is eligible for federal financial aid.
Your first step is to connect with the Financial Aid office to discover how you can afford college. Our dedicated staff and support services help you wade through all the legal language and get you past the first hurdle to completing your educational goals.
In addition, CCD has $1,000,000 available in scholarships. Learn More!
What Can I Do with My Practical Nursing Certification?
The practical nurse can work in a variety of settings, including hospitals, nursing homes, physicians' offices, and private homes.
The employment of licensed practical nurses is projected to grow 11 percent from 2018 to 2028. LPNs will be needed in residential care facilities and in-home health environments to care for older patients.
Percentage-wise, Colorado practical nursing is projected to see very high growth: 31.4% over the 2014 to 2024 decade.
How Much Can I Expect to Earn?
The median annual wage for Practical Nurses was $59,730 in May 2023.
The information provided here is by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook.
Students who graduate from the Practical Nursing program must take the NCLEX-PN national exam to become licensed Practical Nurses.
These statistics show our students’ performance on the NCLEX-PN exam and their employment rate as Licensed Practical Nurses after passing their NCLEX-PN and obtaining their Licensed Practical Nursing (LPN) licenses.
First Nursing Course Statistics
| YEAR | TOTAL NUMBER OF STUDENTS STARTING | TOTAL NUMBER OF ON-TIME GRADUATES | PROGRAM COMPLETION RATE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-2021 | 27 | 20 | 74% |
| 2021-2022 | 27 | 22 | 81% |
| 2022-2023 | 16 | 10 | 62.5% |
| 2023-2024 | 29 | Data not available yet | Data not available yet |
Ultimate Pass Rates
| YEAR | FIRST-TIME EXAMINATION PASS RATE | ULTIMATE PASS RATE (INCLUDES REPEAT TESTERS) |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 71% (10/14) | 95% (19/20) |
| 2022 | 74% (20/27) | 100% (22/22) |
| 2023 | 100% (11/11) | 100% (10/10) |
| Three-Year Average | 78.8% (41/52) | 98% (51/52) |
Job Placement Rates
| YEAR | ULTIMATE PASS RATE (INCLUDES REPEAT TESTERS) |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 77% (10/13) |
| 2022 | 100% (13/13) |
Fall Semester Start
First week of February through last week of April; candidates contacted soon after by email
Spring Semester Start
First week of September through 2nd week of November; candidates contacted by email by late November
In three to five semesters, you can develop the skills necessary to be employed as a practical nurse.
CCD’s Practical Nursing program utilizes a holistic admissions process to evaluate candidates. The holistic admission process evaluates students’ academic performance, work experience, and training in healthcare, as well as other socioeconomic variables, to determine a student’s preparedness and fit for the nursing program.
Applicants who qualify for the program will be invited to participate in an interview with the admissions committee and to write an essay on a pre-determined topic.
Applicants will be awarded points for each category and then ranked with other applicants based on their total scores. Applicants with the highest scores will be offered admission until all seats are filled. A wait list will be created in the event a student who is offered admissions declines or is otherwise deemed ineligible to start the program.
CCD's Practical Nursing program requires accepted students to perform a background check and drug screen through the CCCS CastleBranch website. The drug panel is a 10-panel drug screen that includes THC (marijuana). The Practical Nursing program requires a negative drug screen for all ten drugs screened, including marijuana and prescription marijuana, to enable students to participate in patient care. Students may be subject to further drug testing while enrolled in the program and will be required to maintain a negative drug screen as a student of the program. The cost for both tests is the responsibility of the student.
Please read the disqualifying offenses before applying to the program to understand which offenses will disqualify you from being accepted into the program.
A copy of your results should be transferred to CCD’s Human Resources department. Please obtain a copy of your results for your personal records in the event records are not transferred.
To register for the practical nursing program, you must be a current CCD student. If you have not done so yet, please complete the free CCD application. When completing the application, enter either Associate of Science or Associate of General Studies as the program option (you may not self-select the practical nursing program as an option). You will be issued a student S number and student CCD email address, which will be required for your Practical Nursing application.
Please note that enrolling in CCD does not enroll you in the Practical Nursing program, as this is a separate application process.
Students must complete or currently be enrolled in the prerequisite courses below before applying to the Practical Nursing program.
Prerequisite courses must be completed with a grade of "C" or higher by the end of the Spring semester for the August start and by the end of the Fall semester for the January start.
If you have taken these classes at other colleges, you must submit official transcripts to CCD's Office of Registration and Records to ensure prior coursework will be transferable and credited before applying to the Practical Nursing program.
The BIO 1006 (or BIO 2101 and 2102) courses cannot be more than ten years old at the time of application and will need to be retaken if they are older than ten years. For example, if applying in Spring 2024, a course that was taken in fall 2014 or earlier would be too old and would need to be retaken.
Required Prerequisite Courses
- ENG 1021 English Composition 1
- HPR 1039 Medical Terminology for two credits or HPR 178 Medical Terminology for two credits. Any one-credit Medical Terminology class will not be accepted.
- BIO 1006 Basic Anatomy and Physiology*
* BIO 2101 (Anatomy and Physiology 1) and BIO 2102 (Anatomy and Physiology 2) may be substituted for BIO 1006.
No other substitutions can be made for these courses.
What is the TEAS test? The ATI TEAS® measures essential skills in the academic content areas of reading, mathematics, science, and English and language usage. The test is intended primarily for adult nursing and allied health applicant populations. The objectives assessed on ATI TEAS are those that nurse educators deemed most appropriate and relevant to measure entry-level academic readiness of nursing and allied health program applicants.
The total adjusted national mean for LPN programs will be the benchmark for applying to the CCD nursing program. TEAS score must be 58% in each individual subject area for consideration into the PN program. Students who do not satisfy this minimum score will not have their applications considered.
ALL TEAS exams must have been taken within one year of the application. Applicants may take the exam a maximum of three times in the 12 months before application. An applicant must wait at least 30 days between retakes. Please plan sufficient time for a second test attempt. If you do not meet the minimum score and need to retake the exam, you must do so in time to meet the application deadline.
A study guide and additional information are available at http://wwwatitesting.com/teas.
To register for the TEAS test, please follow the steps below: (Please note students are not required to take the TEAS exam at CCD's testing site.)
Go to ATI Testing
- Click on "Create Account" in the upper-right corner
- When entering the institution, enter "CC of Denver PN."
- You can take the ATI/TEAS exam 1 of 3 ways:
- CCD Testing Center on the Auraria campus. You must pay the proctoring fee of 35.00 and pay for the exam. The exam ticket is 65.00. There is a separate charge for individual subject testing.
- Make sure that you register for the exam at Testing Center - CCD Course Placement Tests | Community College of Denver
- Online with remote proctoring through ATI. You will need to select this option and pay online. (There are no refunds available)
- In person at the PSI Testing Center, you must schedule the location and time for testing.
Please note that the test needs to be scheduled 72 hours in advance. Documented need for testing accommodations can be provided; however, a request to ATI must be submitted at least 30 days before the date you wish to test.
Please upload the comprehensive list of TEAS scores for every subject test to the application.
Students are required to be compliant with State and/or College immunization requirements. Students will need to complete the required medical forms for the Auraria Health Center, including documentation of MMR, TDAP, HepB, Tuberculosis, and Varicella vaccinations and a negative TB screen.
To be eligible to work in the healthcare environment as a student, the Practical Nursing program requires many additional health requirements.
Please view the Immunization Requirements and ensure you have completed these. Students will be required to have these completed before the start of classes. You can obtain records and immunizations from your provider's office or get this test done at the Auraria Health Center on the Auraria campus, located in the Plaza building, office 149. While completing our online application, you will have the ability to upload these medical records.
If you have submitted your immunization record to the health center and did not keep a copy for yourself to upload to the application, you can go to the Plaza Building, office 149, to request a copy of your records. Students should always keep a copy of their personal medical records, as these will be requested throughout the program.
Interview Process
After the admissions committee has reviewed your online application, if you meet the minimum requirements, you will be selected for an interview shortly after the application window closes. Applicants will be expected to confirm an appointment for their interview and be available the week of interviews for full consideration. During the interview, you will be asked to complete a written essay. Instructions for the essay will be provided at the time of the interview.
Final selections will be made shortly after the interview week. You will receive a notification by email and a written letter sent through the mail if you are selected for entry into the program.
Student Orientation
Practical Nursing students are required to attend a mandatory orientation for the program, which will be held the week before the first day of classes.
In addition, you are also required to attend a PN Student Success Bootcamp (times and dates are currently TBD). Times for these events will be sent out with your acceptance letter. Failure to attend the orientation and the boot camp will result in removal from the program. Please understand that this is an intensive certificate program. Attendance at all class, lab, and clinical sessions is mandatory.
Further details about class schedules will be given out at the orientation.
Those accepted into the program will also receive instructions on your next steps, including:
- Class schedules and registration dates for the classes depend on the start of the program.
- Orientation expectations
- How to obtain required textbooks
You may not start this application and return to it later. Please allow 30 minutes to complete the entire application. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please be sure your application contains all of the uploaded documents that are required. Your CCD student email address is the official means of communication. Check your email for notifications about the program.
You will receive notification of your acceptance by email and a written letter sent through the mail. Please check the email address that you listed on the application.
