RNBSN General Information

Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program (RN to BSN Degree Completion)

The online RN to BSN Degree Completion program is designed for RNs to earn a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing. The curriculum prepares students for advanced education in nursing designed to meet the needs of the patients and the future healthcare needs of society. It also provides a foundation for management and leadership positions to apply well-developed problem-solving skills in healthcare settings. The RN student will grow from practicing bedside nursing into a professional educated nurse promoting health and wellness, preventing illness, and better assisting and educating patients in culturally diverse communities.

Applicants must have an Associate of Science Nursing degree from an accredited program, current RN license, successful background check, and a cumulative GPA of 2.5 to meet the program requirements.

Course lengths are 5 to 6-weeks and are designed especially for RNs to continue working while taking online classes. This program will prepare RNs for entry into a graduate nursing program.

Program Learning Outcomes

PLO1. Analyze the concepts of risk management and HIPAA in relation to critical thinking, decision-making, and problem solving.

PLO2. Describe the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration and communication in leadership roles.

PLO3. Describe how communication can influence healthcare policy and shape perceptions related to health issues.

PLO4. Analyze the importance of health promotion and its impact on patients, families and the community.

PLO5. Analyze the issues surrounding provision of care, treatment, and services requiring decision-making skills using evidence-based practice.

PLO6. Identify and discuss the application of ethical principles as they relate to the professional practice of nursing.

PLO7. Identify key elements of successful diversity management, and culturally and linguistically appropriate care, based on research and evidence-based practice.

PLO8. Identify and describe the need for health promotion, health informatics, effective communication and cultural awareness in patient care.

The purpose of the Bachelor of Science (Degree Completion) program is to present theoretical and evidence-based education that incorporates knowledge from nursing and related disciplines. These experiences will be facilitated by the acquisition of knowledge and expertise in every nursing course. The goal of the program is to prepare graduates for positions where they will provide quality health care services in diverse settings and function as professional providers of care, managers of care, and members within the discipline. Graduates will earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree upon satisfactory completion of the program. Graduates will be prepared for positions where they will care for patients and families in a variety of settings.

The following essentials of Baccalaureate Education for Professional Nursing Practice are fundamental to the practice of nursing and support the mission and goals of the nursing program while assisting in the development of the professional nurse. These elements are singularly important and collectively essential as the fundamental foundation for nursing practice and are adopted from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.

• Liberal Education for Baccalaureate Generalist Nursing Practice
• Basic Organizational and Systems Leadership for Quality Care and Patient Safety
• Scholarship for Evidence­-Based Practice
• Information Management and Application of Patient Care Technology Healthcare Policy, Finance, and Regulatory Environments
• Interprofessional Communication and Collaboration for Improving Patient Health Outcomes
• Clinical Prevention and Population Health
• Professionalism and Professional Values
• Baccalaureate Generalist Nursing Practice

This framework forms the basis for the curricular structure and selection of content. It shapes the way the student will learn, develop, and practice professionally. Included in the philosophy are the following concepts:

The nursing program supports the concept that each person is a unique individual endowed with dignity and self-worth and worthy of reverence, protection, and preservation throughout the span of his or her life. The person or client possesses physiological, psychological, socio-cultural, developmental, and spiritual needs which are met in varying degrees through interactions with others. Clients are individuals, families, aggregates, or communities. Human relationships and interactions take place in diverse ways depending on the context and environment. During an individual’s life span, each person develops a personal system of values, which give meaning and purpose to life.

The environment is composed of all factors that are ever-changing, whether internal or external to the person, and that influence their development and functioning. The environment can be altered to positively or negatively affect the client’s health by modifying stressors and enhancing resources. The person is influenced by and responsive to the environment and can choose to alter his or her internal and external environments to impact health and quality of life.

Health is viewed as a dynamic state of being with adaptation to developmental and environmental changes over the life span that allows individuals to maximize potential. Health is evidenced in effective functioning within one’s environment influenced by physical, psychological, social, or spiritual variables. Wellness is defined as functioning at one’s best, given any limitations of one’s abilities. Health care by an interdisciplinary team is based on needs and promotes, maintains, and restores the person to an optimal level of wellness on the health-illness continuum or to a dignified death. Each person has a right to quality health care, delivered with respect for the individual and respect for differences among individuals.

Nursing is a dynamic, evolving discipline and has been shaped by its history. Nursing may be viewed as a personal calling to provide compassionate service to others and as a science that encompasses a specialized body of knowledge built upon science and the liberal arts and with specified outcomes related to health and holism. It is based on understanding human conditions and relationships across the life span. Nursing practice provides an essential service to clients and is directed to the promotion, maintenance, and restoration of health or creation of an environment supportive of a dignified death. Nurses function in a variety of health care settings as professional providers of care, members of the discipline, and managers of care within the scope of nursing practice. Through nurse-client collaboration, the health needs of individuals with diverse cultural backgrounds and lifestyles are addressed in order to promote optimal levels of functioning.

In an ever-changing health care delivery system, nurses must make complex decisions, adapt to new situations, and continually update knowledge and skills by using critical thinking. Critical thinking is a cognitive process that involves unbiased, reflective reasoning in order to arrive at purposeful conclusions based on fact and principles. The nurse uses critical thinking in applying evidence and theory when providing and managing care. The nurse is accountable for abiding by all laws and regulations related to nursing practice.

Teaching-Learning Practices

This program’s teaching and learning beliefs assert that an education in the arts and sciences provides a foundation for the development of critical thinking. Learning is a continuous, life-long process and results in the acquisition of new insights and behavioral changes. Students are encouraged to use critical thinking when applying program content to situations they encounter in their clinical practice.

Learning, teaching, and evaluation are shared processes that support personal development and stimulate inquiry. The amount of learning achieved is influenced by the learner’s value system, experiences, knowledge, and active participation. The faculty considers all these factors in the presentation of the curriculum.

Learning is enhanced in a humanistic environment that fosters growth of ideas and appreciates human diversity in an open forum where students freely and critically evaluate information, raise questions, and formulate responses. Ethnic and cultural differences as well as individual learning styles must be considered when developing an active leaving environment.

Online Courses

The RN to BSN program is delivered online with an on-ground clinical component.

Lab Requirements

There are no onsite lab requirements.

NUR 4033 includes a virtual clinical component, which is not included in the cost of the program.

Clinical Fieldwork

NUR 4043 includes a clinical component of 75 hours.