Nursing (B.S.N.)

A degree in nursing allows approved graduates to sit for the NCLEX-RN examination. The Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) is a generalist degree and those who pass the licensing examination (NCLEX-RN) are able to work in many areas of a hospital including medical-surgical, critical care, operating room, pediatrics, telehealth, and oncology. Nurses are not limited to hospitals and can also work in areas such as home health, long term care, case management, and community health. Increasingly, additional employment opportunities can be found in non-traditional areas such as insurance companies, flight nurse, and parish nurse.

A BSN is also a stepping stone to other careers including nurse executive, nurse educator, nurse practitioner, nurse midwife, nurse anesthetist, clinical nurse leader, clinical nurse specialist, and nurse scientist. These options require additional study at the graduate level. Nursing faculty work with students to help them choose professional goals that are most appropriate for their interests and talents.

A minimum grade point average of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale is required to enter into the pre-nursing program.
To be fully admitted to the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program after your first year of study, students are required to have a 3.0 grade point average on a scale of 4.0.
All students fully admitted to the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program must maintain a 2.5 cumulative grade point average to remain in the program.
Students who maintain a 3.0 GPA and have completed A&P I, A&P II are eligible to participate in the accelerated BSN program (courses run over the summer).

BSN Program Outcomes

BSN program outcomes are tied to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing’s The Essentials: Core Competencies for Professional Nursing Education which delineate expectations for professional nurses. Level 1 outcomes are the beginning skills (knowledge and comprehension) required in the first half of the program. Level 2 outcomes (analysis) are the expectations of the student who is ready to graduate and thus, are also the program outcomes:

1. Knowledge for Nursing Practice	Synthesize knowledge, skills, and technology from the established and evolving art and science of nursing, as well as the biological, social and behavioral sciences, to apply critical thinking and the nursing process in the delivery of care.
2. Person-Centered Care	Provide evidence-based, holistic, compassionate, and person-centered care respectful of the preferences, values, needs, resources, and determinants of health unique to and in partnership with the client, identified support persons and the health-care team.
3. Population Health	Promote health equity through advocacy, health promotion, community resource partnerships, and disease prevention strategies at the individual, family, community, and population levels with consideration of social determinants of health.
4. Scholarship for the Nursing Discipline	Demonstrate the ability to synthesize, translate, apply, and disseminate nursing knowledge to improve health outcomes.
5. Quality and Safety	Integrate principles of safety and quality improvement into the delivery of high-quality care to individuals, families, communities, and populations
6. Interprofessional Partnerships	Demonstrate collaborative interprofessional communication and practice to optimize the patient experience, safety, improve outcomes and reduce costs.
7. Systems-Based Practice	Responds to and leads within complex systems of health care through effective and proactive coordination of resources to provide safe, quality, and equitable care to diverse populations.
8. Informatics and Technology	Function as effective users of information and communication technologies to deliver evidence-based care in accordance with regulatory and institutional policies.
9. Professionalism and professional identity formation	Apply principles of professional nursing ethics, accountability, and respect in the care of diverse populations.
10. Personal, professional and leadership development	Create a personal and professional plan for long-term resilience, self-care, lifelong learning, and ethical leadership and decision making in the provision and oversight of nursing practice in a variety of settings.

All students registering for the BSN program will pay a nursing fee per semester of enrollment in nursing courses as detailed in the Tuition and Fees section of this catalog.

Academic Progression

Students must earn a grade of at least C in all required courses. Any grade lower than C will be considered a course failure and both the didactic and clinical courses must be repeated.
Nursing courses may be repeated one time.
Students who repeat a nursing course must participate in the mandatory remediation process with the SHINE Coordinator. Failure to participate in the remediation process will prevent the student from repeating the course.
Two course failures will result in an overall program failure and the student will not be permitted to progress in the program.