Nursing Specialty Advanced

Certificate(s) Program Coordinator and Advisor: Dr. Vivian Wong.

The Valley Foundation School of Nursing  offers a nursing specialty advanced certificate program for registered nurses graduated with at least a baccalaureate degree. The program allows students to choose from one or more of the following courses: wound, ostomy, and foot and nail. If students are taking only one course, they will be eligible to receive academic credits. However, if they are taking at least two courses, they will be eligible to receive an advanced academic certificate.

Each course in the Nursing Specialty Advanced Certificate consists of both didactic and practicum components, incorporating interactive lectures, discussions, and skills practice in the instructional design. The didactic portion of each course is five weeks in duration and consists of approximately 40 hours of online instruction and 20 hours of onsite instruction. Interactive classes in 3-hour blocks are conducted online via Zoom throughout each of the five-week courses. Canvas is the learning platform for instructional materials and exams. The two onsite days for each specialty are designed for skills demonstration and practice, guest lectures, and vendor exhibition. Each onsite day is an immersive 10-hour learning experience. The total didactic hours include: orientation (2 hour online class), 13 3-hour online classes, or 10 4-hour online classes, and 20 hours of onsite classes (two 10-hour days). The didactic component is equivalent to a 4-unit lecture course.

Students will be assigned to designated preceptors if they take the practicum in the Bay Area or in limited regions outside the Bay Area. Students who wish to take the practicum outside of our contracted agencies will have to locate their own preceptors. Preceptors must meet the criteria set by the WOCN accreditation committee, and the respective agencies will be required to establish a contract agreement with our school before the practicum can begin. Students should complete a minimum of 45 hours in practicum (five hours of orientation/preceptor conference and 40 hours in preceptorship). The practicum component is equivalent to a one unit off-campus course. The total number of instructional hours (online didactic, onsite didactic, and practicum) is 100 hours, which is equivalent to a 5-unit course (4-unit didactic and 1-unit practicum). Students are required to achieve a final score of at least 80% on the didactic component and a passing credit in practicum to complete each course.

Students will be receiving five units of academic credits for each course. There will be no continuing education contact hours offered. With the certificate of completion or transcript of the academic credits, registered nurses can take the WOCN-Certification Board exams in wound care, ostomy care, and/or foot and nail care. For master's prepared nurses, they may take the Advanced Practice (AP) certification in the selected specialty.

University Advanced Certificate Requirements

Advanced certificate programs offer post-baccalaureate students coursework leading to a specific, applied, focused goal. In order to be eligible for admission to an advanced certificate, students complete an intake form or apply through CalState Apply and submit an official transcript(s) (noting the completion of a U.S. bachelor's degree from an accredited institution or the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor's degree from an accredited and/or recognized institution from a foreign country). To be admitted, students must have a minimum of 2.5 undergraduate GPA.

Students must maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0 in all advanced certificate coursework, and no course with a grade less than "C" may be counted toward the certificate. A maximum of 4 units of coursework with a grade of "C" can count toward an advanced certificate. A maximum of 4 units of coursework may be repeated. Undergraduate lower division courses are not applicable to advanced certificates.

Generally, a maximum of 33% of advanced certificate units (e.g., 3 units for a 9-unit certificate) can be completed in non-matriculated status at SJSU with approval from the department or school. In some cases, an advanced certificate may be completed entirely in non-matriculated status if the student has received approval from the department or school and the Associate Dean of Graduate Programs in the College of Graduate Studies.

A maximum of 30% of any graduate degree program units (e.g., 9 units for a 30-unit Master's degree) can be completed from another institution and/or units from Open University (including advanced certificate courses) at SJSU with approval from the department or school.

The choice of grading requirements may have implications for transferability to degree programs (University Policy S16-17). 

The advisor/director of the program is responsible for verifying a student's satisfactory completion of the academic requirements established for the program and for forwarding a copy of the certificate audit completion form to the Office of Graduate Admissions and Program Evaluations. The Office of the Registrar records the completion of the program on the student's transcript.