R.N. to B.S.N. Program (for Registered Nurses)

Overview
Maryland R.N.-B.S.N. Articulation Model
Accelerated Format
International/Study Abroad Opportunities
Cohorts
Admissions Requirements
Non-Academic Clinical Requirements
Policies
Course descriptions  

Jane Balkam, Ph.D., A.P.R.N., C.P.N.P., I.B.C.L.C.
Janice Brennan, M.S., R.N.-B.C., C.N.E.
Erica Brinkley, D.N.P., R.N.
Virginia Byer, M.S.N, R.N.
Jenna Hoffman, M.S., Retention and Success Specialist
Zane Hunter, A.A., Simulation and Technology Specialist
Fairuz Lutz, M.S.N., R.N.
Roxanne Moran, Ph.D., R.N., C.N.E.
Hannah Murphy Buc, M.S.N., R.N.
Deborah Naccarini, D.N.P., R.N., C.N.E.
Mary O'Connor, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.C.H.E.
Mary Packard, Ph.D., R.N. Chair, Undergraduate Studies
Sabita Persaud, Ph.D., R.N., A.P.H.N.-B.C.
Amy Rohrs, B.S., Administrative Assistant
Brittany Sherrod-Howard, A.A., Administrative Assistant
Ronna Schrum, D.N.P., R.N., C.R.N.P.
Marleen Thornton, Ph.D, R.N.
Mark Walker, M.S., R.N., C.N.L., C.C.R.N
Kathleen Wisser, Ph.D., R.N., C.N.E., C.P.H.Q., Dean, School of Nursing

The School of Nursing offers a R.N. to B.S.N. (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) program to students admitted through the College of Adult Undergraduate Studies (CAUS). Designed for practicing registered nurses, the program challenges women and men to strive for intellectual and professional excellence, to build inclusive communities, to engage in service to others and to promote social responsibility.

The philosophy of the School guides the practice and teaching of nursing as a journey through deep caring connections with patients, students, colleagues and the discipline of nursing. Nursing is imagined and known through caring authentic presence with others and multiple ways of knowing. Nursing is a presence to life lived with those entrusted to our care, a beacon, attentive to the extraordinary in the mundane and boldly entering questions of meaning. All stories of individuals and of the discipline are valued as necessary to the growth and advancement of the profession. Healing practice is possible in partnership relationships; nursing creates safe welcoming places, encouraging growth, seeking to understand and knowing each other's hearts.

Nurses are called to care through advocacy, action, 'power-with' and trusting relationships with persons and groups in diverse settings. Nursing embraces diversity and commitment to social justice. With perseverance and fortitude, caring and compassion are preserved as the ethical foundation of nursing practice and scholarship.

A nursing way of being requires reflective practice, a listening, that allows for meaning-making in all dimensions of academic and practice endeavors. Nursing practice is characterized by thoughtfulness and necessarily lived out with intention. This way of being a School of Nursing in all aspects allows for possibilities for our mission to be realized—educating nurses to transform the world.

The nursing program builds on registered nurses' prior education and clinical experiences and prepares them for the challenges and opportunities of the contemporary health care environment. Through Notre Dame's innovative curriculum, R.N. professional opportunities are expanded in as few as two and a half years of part-time study.

The nursing program is approved by the Maryland Board of Nursing and is accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (3343 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 500, Atlanta, Georgia, 30326; Phone: 404-975-5000).

Notre Dame’s RN to BSN program is offered through an accelerated format. Students begin their program of study with an upper-level nursing course designed to assist students with the transition to baccalaureate nursing education. Nursing courses are embraced by a liberal arts curriculum. Students who major in nursing must complete a minimum of 120 credits and all university and major requirements to earn the Bachelor of Science degree. The curriculum requires: 24 general education credits, six elective credits, 29 departmental requirements, 31 upper-level nursing credits per the Maryland R.N.-B.S.N. Articulation Model, and 29 upper-level nursing credits earned at Notre Dame.

All nursing courses meet in four-hour sessions on the same day of the week and at the same four-hour time frame during the entire program. In all upper-level nursing courses, the theory portion of the course has a one-credit-hour-to-eight-clock-hour ratio per course. Students and faculty meet for 24 hours for each 3-credit nursing course offering, including the theory portion of the health assessment and clinical courses. The one-credit health assessment lab has a one-credit-hour-to-14-clock-hours ratio per course, i.e. 14 lab hours over the eight-week course, which are included in the four-hour class period. The 5-credit clinical course has a one-credit-hour-to-16-clock-hours ratio, or 32 hours of clinical experience. One hour per week is designated as clinical conference time and occurs during the scheduled class time; the remaining 24 hours and 8 hours respectively, are completed through mentored clinical experience.

Faculty members incorporate service-learning opportunities in courses whenever possible. All NUR-431 Community Health Nursing Course sections include 2 credits of clinical-service learning.

A grade of C (2.0) or higher is required for English Composition, Values/Ethics, Basic Statistics, all 31 credits of department requirements, and all 29 credits of upper-level nursing courses, whether they are taken at Notre Dame, accepted as transfer credit, or challenged. If a student does not achieve a "C" or better in a nursing course, he or she is put on probation until that course is retaken for a passing (C or better) grade. Only one course may be repeated for a passing grade. Upon receiving a second D or F (in the same or another nursing course), the student will be dismissed from the program.

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Maryland R.N.-B.S.N. Articulation Model

Notre Dame is a participant in the Maryland R.N.-B.S.N. Articulation Model.

All registered nurses admitted to CAUS will enter under the terms of this model, as they apply to Notre Dame's nursing program:

• Up to 60 college credits will be accepted in transfer
• No community college nursing credits will be transferred
• All R.N.s with an active license in Maryland or a compact state will be granted 30 upper-level nursing credits per the Articulation Model
• R.N.s will complete the remaining 31 upper-level nursing credits and any additional program requirements through Notre Dame

A minimum of 30 earned credits from Notre Dame is required for graduation. The final 30 credits for the degree must be earned at Notre Dame.

Specific course requirements for the accelerated Bachelor of Science degree with a major in nursing include:

General Education requirements (24 Credits)*

200-level Philosophy (3)
200-level Religious Studies (3)
300/400-level Religious Studies (3)
English Composition (3)
Literature (3)
History (3)
Values (Ethics or Moral Issues) (3)
Math (Basic Statistics) (3)
Biology (3)

*The general education requirements for natural and social sciences are part of the department requirements.

Please Note: As part of the degree program (120 credits) at least one course must be focused on gender studies and one on cross-cultural studies. Students who take the upper-level religious studies course as part of the accelerated sequence will fulfill the gender studies requirement through that course. The cross-cultural studies requirement will be fulfilled through the upper-level nursing course NUR-431 Community Health Nursing. Students who have earned an associate degree prior to admission to the University are exempt from the gender and cross-cultural requirement. However, most students will need to complete the upper-level religious studies course at Notre Dame in order to fulfill general education requirements; Community Health Nursing is a required course for the nursing major.

Electives (6 credits)

Department Requirements for the Nursing Major (31 credits)
Human Anatomy & Physiology (6)*
Nutrition (3)
Microbiology (3)*
Survey of General, Organic and Biochemistry (4)*
Introduction to Psychology a (3)
Human Growth & Development a (3)
Introduction to Microcomputer Applications a, b (3)
Introduction to Sociology (3)
Genetics and Genomics for Clinical Practice (3)

*Lab Required
a Challenge Exam Available
b For an equivalent course to be accepted in transfer, the course must have been taken within five years prior to admission with a grade of C or higher.

Upper-level nursing credits from ADN or diploma program granted through Maryland R.N.-B.S.N. Articulation Model (30 credits)

Upper-level nursing courses at Notre Dame (29 credits)
NUR-301 Holistic Health Assessment (4)
NUR-303 Nursing Informatics (2)
NUR-304 Healthy Aging (3)**
NUR-402 Transition to Professional Nursing Practice (3)
NUR-406 Contemporary Nursing Trends and Theory (3)**
NUR-407 Nursing Research (3)**
NUR-430 Family Nursing Assessment and Intervention (3)***
NUR-431 Community Health Nursing (fulfills cross-cultural requirement) (5)**
NUR-432 Caring Nursing Leadership (3)**

** Must be earned within five years of graduation.

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Accelerated Format

RNs with Associate Degrees in Nursing can complete all remaining requirements for the bachelor's degree in two and a half years. 57 of the 120 credits may be completed in an accelerated format. Most of the other 63 credits must be completed prior to starting the accelerated sequence. In the accelerated format, R.N.s study with a group of peers, called a cohort, which meets weekly on the same day, at the same four-hour period, throughout the program. This consistency allows R.N.s to integrate their work schedules and personal/family lives with their academic commitment. R.N.s who graduated from diploma programs may also study in the accelerated format once all pre-requisite courses are completed.

With the accelerated program, students complete several courses over the time frame of an academic semester, usually enrolled in one course at a time. Courses in the accelerated format range from five weeks to 10 weeks in length with class meetings at times convenient for working students. Cohort meeting times may be scheduled mornings, afternoons, or evenings on weekdays. Courses in the accelerated format are sequenced in an academically sound order that is designed to foster student success in the program.

The 57 credits of accelerated courses include the following:
NUR-402 Transition to Professional Nursing Practice (3)
CST-130 Introduction to Microcomputers (3)
NUR-303 Nursing Informatics (2) (online)
ENG-205 Literature (3)
PHL 200-level Philosophy (3) (online)
PHL Values/Ethics (3)
CHM-108 Survey of General, Organic, and Biochemistry (4)
BIO-260 Genetics and Genomics for Clinical Practice (3)
NUR-301 Holistic Health Assessment (4)
NUR-250 Nutrition for Nurses
NUR-406 Contemporary Trends and Theory (3)
MAT-215 Basic Statistics (3)
NUR-407 Nursing Research (3)
RST-201 Introduction to Biblical Studies (3) (online)
NUR-304 Healthy Aging (3)
NUR-430 Family Nursing Assessment and Intervention (4)
NUR-431 Community Health Nursing (5)
RST-390 300/400 Religious Studies (3)
NUR-432 Caring Nursing Leadership (3)

Students who have transfer credit for any of the courses in the accelerated sequence "sit out" while that course is being offered and rejoin the cohort when the next course begins.

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International/Study Abroad Opportunities

Special Topics in Nursing may be taken in partial fulfillment of select nursing courses. Contact the School of Nursing at 410-532-5526 for more information.

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Cohorts

Students may join cohorts that meet at the Notre Dame campus, the University Center Northeastern Maryland in Harford County, oror Anne Arundel Medical Center. Students who work in one of our 16 partner hospitals may join cohorts at that respective location.

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Admission Requirements

In addition to matriculation requirements for all students in CAUS, all nursing majors must have an active R.N. license in Maryland or a compact state prior to matriculation.

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Non-Academic Clinical Requirements

All students are responsible for their own transportation to and from clinical experiences. Students must complete the following requirements, at their own expense, prior to starting Community Health Nursing: active R.N. license in Maryland or a compact state; CPR certification; negative TB screening status; polio and tetanus vaccination; Hepatitis B vaccination or declination; evidence of immunity to measles, mumps, rubella, varicella (titers or vaccination), and seasonal flu vaccination. Students must also sign statements that certify indemnity, confidentiality and Standard Precautions training. Students may also be required to complete a background check 10 days before clinical placement if stipulated in agency contracts. Students will not be allowed to start Community Health Nursing until all required documentation is completed.

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Policies

In addition to the policies and procedures in this catalog and the CAUS Handbook, all nursing majors are responsible for the policies and procedures in the current School of Nursing Accelerated R.N. to B.S.N. Student Handbook. Copies of the current version of both handbooks are on each cohort's Joule site under the "Information" section.

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