practical nursing students at MSUB

Certificate of Applied Science (CAS) 

A career as a practical nurse can be a rewarding opportunity to provide caring medical support to individuals and families across the lifespan. In this program, you’ll learn how to provide patient care, monitor patients’ health, collect medical data, communicate patients’ status and concerns to registered nurses and doctors, and gain hands-on clinical experience. The program is designed in a convenient distance learning format, which allows you to complete the majority of your coursework online, with a few visits to campus, and your clinical hours completed at an approved site where you live. The PN program is fully approved by the Montana State Board of Nursing. Upon successful completion of the program, you are eligible to sit for the National Council of State Boards Licensure Examination (NCLEX-PN) to become a Licensed Practical Nurse.

Prior to applying for the PN program, students must be admitted to City College, and have completed the necessary prerequisites.

 

TERM DEADLINE STATUS
Spring 2025 November 4, 2024 at 12:00pm (all pre-requisite courses must be complete by deadline)  

 

KEY
   Accepting applications for this semester
   Not yet accepting applications for this semester
   Application closed for this semester

Licensed Practical  Nurse

Median Wage (MT)* $42,950 yearly
  $20.65 per hour
Median Wage (US)* $45,030 yearly
 

$21.65 per hour
 
City College entry-level wages of graduates:
 $46,031 (2014-2017)
Expected growth (MT)* 12%
Expected growth (US)* 12%
   

*Bureau of Labor Statistics, Office of Employment Projections; MT Dept. of Labor and Industry, Research and Analysis Bureau; (projections through 2024) 

»»  Graduate Placement Data 

As a licensed practical nurse, you will find employment in a variety of settings, such as:

  • Clinics
  • Doctors' offices
  • Community sites
  • Long term care facilities

 Examples of where recent City College graduates are working:

  • St. John’s Lutheran Ministries, Billings, MT
  • Riverstone Health, Billings, MT
  • Welcov, Bozeman, MT
  • Billings Clinic, Billings, MT
  • Scottsdale Village Square, Scottsdale, AZ
  • Northwest Home Care, Billings, MT
  • Benefits Medical Group, Great Falls, MT
  • Parkview Healthcare, Billings, MT
  • Laurel Health and Rehab, Laurel, MT
  • Ponderosa, Yakima, WA
  • Big Horn Hospital Association, Hardin, MT
  • Rimrock Foundation, Billings, MT
  • Nightingale Nursing, Helena, MT
  • North West Home Care, Billings, MT

The PN program is offered in an online distance format for Montana students. At this time, the program is only able to coordinate clinical sites within the state of Montana. The prerequisite courses can be completed fully online. Once accepted into the core nursing semesters, the clinical and lab courses will be partly online, partly on campus at City College, and partly in the Montana town where the student lives. Students will be required to spend a limited number of days on campus- see the Admission Requirements section for specific days.   

ADMISSION TO CITY COLLEGE

  • First-time college students must have high school diplomas from an accredited high school, a GED/HiSET, or passed the MSUB Readiness Exam offered through our university.
  • Transfer students will need to submit records from all regionally accredited institutions.

ADMISSION TO PRACTICAL NURSING PROGRAM 

After applying to the City College and completing the necessary prerequisite courses, students may apply to the Practical Nursing program. The nursing curriculum is a competitive entrance program based on a selective points system. 

Spring of 2025 Application due date will be November 4, 2024.

The City College PN program is fully approved by the Montana State Board of Nursing. Upon successful completion of the program, you are eligible to sit for the National Council of State Boards Licensure Examination (NCLEX-PN) to become a Licensed Practical Nurse. 

Montana State University Billings is accredited by the Northwest Commission of Colleges and Universities (NWCCU).

CERTIFICATE OF APPLIED SCIENCE (CAS)
Practical Nurse  » »
ASSOCIATE OF SCIENCE (ASN)
Registered Nurse

Practical Nursing graduates can obtain their ASN degree at City College. PNs will need to have all of the required ASN prerequisites completed before applying to the competitive entrance ASN program. Depending on previous coursework and experience, PNs may have completed the prerequisite courses and the first semester of the core ASN classes. Please see an Academic Advisor for more information.

 

ASSOCIATE OF SCIENCE (ASN)
Registered Nurse  » »
  BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN NURSING (BSN)
Registered Nurse

MSU Billings has an RN to BSN program, giving ASN graduates another option to bridge to a bachelor’s degree.  

What’s the difference between an ASN and a BSN?

The work environments and entry wage for RN’s with BSN degrees may be identical to that of RN’s with an ASN degree. Those who completed BSN programs have additional education in management, leadership, health policy, and research. Hospitals may have a preference for a BSN in specialty areas, such as ICU, labor and delivery, and pediatrics.

 

CERTIFIED NURSING ASSISTANT (CNA) - Optional Preparation

City College occasionally offers CNA training designed to prepare students to sit for the nursing assistant certification. This is an optional training that is not required for the practical or registered nursing programs. The training usually runs during the summer months. Please contact our Director of Nursing, Susan Floyd (406.247.3073), for more information. 

There are multiple other sites in the state that also offer CNA training, including the MT Dept. of Public Health & Human Services Facility Directory. 

Print Program Overview

Print Program Overview