nursing and allied health program application

The Dental Hygiene program is an Associate's Degree program that is five semesters in length and is comprised of didactic, clinical, and laboratory courses offered at the Health Science Campus. Students will experience real-life patient interactions through clinical courses and will have the opportunity to work with a variety of patients of diverse backgrounds. Students will also have the opportunity to hone their clinical skills in an on-site, fully-functioning, dental hygiene clinic. Dental hygiene students will be able to study and practice all procedures they will be licensed to perform, including scaling (cleaning) teeth above and below the gum-line, polishing structures above the gum-line, performing infiltration anesthetic procedures, teaching oral hygiene instruction, nutritional counseling, and performing all duties of an Expanded-Duty Dental Assistant.

The Expanded Duty Dental Assisting program is a Diploma program that is three semesters in length and is comprised of didactic, clinical, and laboratory courses offered at the Health Science Campus. In addition to on-site clinical experiences, dental assisting students will have the opportunity to gain meaningful experiences through off-site clinical rotations. Dental assisting students will be able to study and practice all expanded duties that they will be certified to perform, including assisting the dentist with restorative procedures, teaching oral hygiene instruction, taking impressions of teeth, polishing structures above the gum-line, taking radiographs (x-rays), placing preventive sealants to the pits and grooves of teeth, and monitoring of nitrous oxide.

The Medical Assisting Program is a three-semester diploma program. The first two semesters are sequential and are composed general education and medical assisting specific courses containing lecture and student laboratory experiences. The third and final semester provides a clinical experience in physician offices. Students participate in a Capstone review to prepare for their certification exam.

Medical Laboratory Technology (MLT) is an accelerated four-semester program that always has a fall start. The emphasis of first semester is foundational laboratory knowledge and skills. The second through the third semester students concentrate on specialties in laboratory medicine. Topics for course work include: Hematology, Clinical Chemistry, Medical Microbiology, Parasitology, Urinalysis, Body Fluids, Immunology, and Immunohematology. The fourth and final semester students are on campus once a week for certification review and microbiology simulation. Students are required to complete 30 hours per week in a hospital laboratory during the final semester. Graduates are expected to pass a National Certification Exam for MLT.

The FDTC Associate Degree Nursing program prepares students for this performance profession requiring intellectual, interpersonal and psychomotor skills that are based upon biological, behavioral and humanistic principles. Graduates of the Associate Degree Nursing program are prepared to work in a variety of settings including hospitals, clinics and outpatient centers. Upon completion of the program, the student is eligible for an Associate Degree in Applied Science and may apply to take the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nursing Practice (NCLEX-RN).

The LPN to ADN Transition program prepares LPNs, with a current unrestricted license in the state of South Carolina, the opportunity to pursue an associate degree in nursing. The LPN to ADN transition program is academically challenging. The program is open to men and women who provide evidence of interest, motivation, and aptitude in the area of health care. Students are awarded an associate of applied science degree in nursing, and eligible to take the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN). Nurses are employed in health care facilities, physician's offices, home care agencies, industries, and long-term care facilities. There are numerous additional opportunities for nurse employment. Upon completion of the program, the student is eligible for an Associate Degree in Applied Science and may apply to take the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nursing Practice (NCLEX-RN). According to the US Department of Labor (Bureau of Labor Statistics) website, the mean annual salary for a Registered Nurse in South Carolina is estimated to be $77,610 (May 2021).

The Phlebotomy Technician Program is a two-semester program that begins annually in the fall. The first semester students take a PBT prefix course where basic laboratory concepts, safety and venipuncture techniques are introduced and practiced. The second semester (spring) is the clinical experience for the phlebotomy portion of the program. Students complete 135 clinical hours and 100 successful venipunctures, which will make them eligible to challenge the America Society of Clinical Pathology (ASCP) certification exam for phlebotomy technician. The remaining coursework are general education courses.

The Practical Nursing program prepares students for a vocation requiring intellectual, interpersonal, and psychomotor skills that are based upon biological, behavioral, and humanistic principles. Graduates of the Practical Nursing program are prepared to work in a variety of settings and upon completion of the program, the student is eligible to apply to take the licensure boards for Licensed Practical Nursing Practice (NCLEX-PN) There are three semesters and 48 credits in the PN program.

Radiology students will learn to use radiation equipment to produce images of the tissue, organs, bones, and vessels of the body, as prescribed by physicians, to assist in the diagnosis of disease or injury. Radiology students will learn to use problem-solving and critical thinking skills to perform medical imaging procedures. They must be able to communicate effectively with patients, other health professionals and the public. The radiology student will learn to be competent and compassionate in meeting the special needs of the patient. Radiology students will also learn the importance of evaluating radiologic equipment, providing patient education, and managing a medical imaging department.

The Respiratory Care program gives students a solid foundation of theory and clinical experiences. Students will learn about medical gas administration, airway care, aerosol therapy, lung inflation techniques, mucus clearance techniques, arterial blood gas analysis, managing patients on life support, diagnostic lung studies, pediatric/neonatal respiratory care, CPR and hemodynamic monitoring. Clinical rotations give the student opportunities to apply theory into practice for optimal patient care and performance of respiratory care procedures.

The Surgical Technology Program is a five-semester associate degree program and is composed of classroom study, laboratory skills, and clinical experience. Students will learn aseptic technique, surgical instrumentation, surgical suite equipment, operative procedures, anatomy, medical terminology, pharmacology, and microbiology. Three semesters of clinical rotations give the student opportunities to apply theory into practice to enable students to gain essential surgical skills. Upon graduation, students will take the national certification exam administered through the National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting (NBSTSA) to become Certified Surgical Technologist.