PROGRAM CHANGES
WEBER STATE UNIVERSITY
Submission Date:
College: Health Professions
Department: Nursing
Program Title: Bachelor of Science Degree
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:
Baccalaureate Nursing for Registered Nurses
- Ogden Campus
RN to BSN Program
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE DEGREE (BS)
RN to BSN Director: Valerie Gooder,
PhD, MS, RN
» Admission Requirements: Completion of AS
Degree;
Graduate of an NLNAC Accredited Associate Nursing Program or equivalent program. A challenge examination may be required for those graduating from an equivalent program.
Current licensure as a registered nurse in the State of
Utah without restrictions. Acceptance into the BSN program (see the
Application Requirements below).
» Minor: Not required.
» Grade Requirements: A minimum grade of “B-“ or better is required in all upper division nursing courses, and a grade of “C” or better is required for all support courses.
» Credit Hour Requirements: A total of 120
credit hours is required for a Bachelor of Science Degree. Of the 120 hours,
40 must be upper division level (UD.
(courses numbered 3000 or higher). The BSN nursing curriculum
provides 37 25UD
upper division hours.
Leaving 3 credits open for an UD elective. Students entering the
BSN program with an Associate’s Degree usually have enough General Education
credits for graduation.
Advisement
Contact the DCHP Admission Office at (801) 626-6136 for admission advisement.
Course Delivery
Format
Most campus courses are delivered via a Hybrid
format which is a combination of face-to-face instruction and online. For
further information contact the BSN program.
Admission Requirements
DCHP Admission Office (801) 626-6136
Admission is competitive; therefore, the listed
criteria listed on the application form
for admission should be considered as minimum standards.
Applicants must first apply for admission to, or
be a current matriculated student of, Weber State University. Applicants
must also apply for admission to the
Baccalaureate Bachelor
of Science Degree Nursing option
program. Admissions take place
two times per year for Ogden campus (this includes hybrid and online
programs). Applications are available for each cycle and may be
obtained from the School of Nursing Admission Counselor in Room MH108B,
Dr. Ezekiel R. Dumke College of Health Professions.
Admissions Advisement Office in the
Marriott Allied Health Building (MAH )
or complete application information and
forms are available on the School of Nursing website at
http://weber.edu/nursing. Applications must be completed and on
file by March 10th for fall admission and
October 10th for spring admission for Ogden campus
(this includes hybrid and online programs).
Applications must be completed and on file
by the admission cycle application deadline. A $25
An application fee must be paid at
the time the application is submitted. Admission applications are reviewed
and evaluated by the School of
Nursing Program Admissions and Advancement Committee. Applicants are
notified of committee decision by mail. Admission
requirements are outlined on the admission
application available at http://www.weber.edu/nursing.
requirements include the following:
General Education
Refer to
General Requirements for Bachelor of Science requirements.
Prerequisites
Students must have completed the
following classes or their equivalent.
Chemistry 1110 or Chem 1050 5 cr
*Human Anatomy and Human Physiology 8 cr OR HTHS LS1110 and HTHS 1111 8cr
Nutrition 1020 3 cr
Microbiology 1113 3 cr
Pathophysiology 3 cr
Intro to Psychology 3 cr
English 2010 3 cr
WSU Quantitative Literacy Requirements (Math 1030, 1040, 1050, 1080)
* Health Science LS1110 and 1111 (or previous 111, 112, and 113 is an
acceptable equivalent)
Major Course
Requirements for BS Degree RN to BSN
Program
Nursing Courses
Required (37 25 credit hours)
Complete the following classes:
NRSG 4100 Complex
Patient Centered Care 2 (3)
NRSG 4200 Scholarship for Evidence-Based Practice (3)
NRSG 4300 Healthcare Policy and Decision Making (3)
NRSG 4400 Population Health (4)
NRSG 4500 Nursing Management and Leadership (3)
NRSG 4600 Communication, Collaboration, and Information Management in
Healthcare (3)
Select six (6) credit hours from the following courses:
Select two (2) of the following courses, with its
companion course, from the following four courses.
·
NRSG 3030* Nursing Assessment Across the Lifespan (3)NRSG 4050 Nursing Assessment Across the
Lifespan (3)
·
NRSG 3050* Nursing: High Risk Family (3)
NRSG 4090 Nursing: High Risk Family (3)
& NRSG 3051* Nursing: High Risk Family Laboratory (1)
·
NRSG 3060* Nursing: High Risk Adult (3)
NRSG 4080 Nursing: High Risk Adult (3)
& NRSG 3061* Nursing: High Risk Adult Laboratory (1)
·
NRSG 3070 Threats and Crises: Nursing Response (3)
NRSG 4070 Threats and Crises: Nursing
Response (3)
& NRSG 3071 Threats and Crises: Nursing Response Laboratory (1)
·
NRSG 4060 Oncology Nursing (3)
& NRSG 4061 Oncology Nursing Laboratory (1)
*Credit for NRSG 3030,3031, 3040, 3050, 3051,
3060, 3061, 4040 and 4041 may be earned through a challenge exam.
Upper Division Elective (3 credit hours)
Check all that apply:
__X__New course(s) required for major, minor, emphasis, or concentration.
__ __Modified course(s) required for major, minor, emphasis, or concentration.
__X__Credit hour change(s) required for major, minor, emphasis, or concentration.
____Credit hour change(s) for a course which is required for the major, minor, emphasis, or concentration.
____Attribute change(s) for any course.
____Program name change.
__X__Deletion of required course(s).
____Other changes (specify) _________________________________________________________________
If multiple changes are being proposed,
please provide a summary. Use
strikeout (strikeout) when deleting items in the program and
highlight (highlight) when adding
items.
Submit the original to the Faculty Senate Office, MC 1033, and an electronic copy to kbrown4 @weber.edu
JUSTIFICATION:
Justification for Change to the School of Nursing Institutional Certificate, Associate of Science, Associate of Applied Science and Baccalaureate Degree Programs
Weber State University-School of Nursing (WSU-SON) must employ a concentrated effort to continue to promote and provide educational development that will address the needs of our community and our changing health care system through curriculum revision and implementation. The goal for WSU-SON has always been to promote excellent education to the nursing student and provide quality health care to the local community and rural populations of Utah. The old model of nursing education, in general, is outdated and is fast becoming obsolete in preparing nursing graduates for the future of healthcare.
There is a pressing need to revise and improve nursing education to “ensure the delivery of safe, patient-centered care across settings” (Institute of Medicine (IOM): The Brief Report, 2010, p. 2). The National League for Nursing (NLN) (2009) has also stressed the importance of maintaining a high level of quality and outcome of student achievement in the classroom and clinical setting while the future of nursing is advancing and changing. This is also a significant need addressed in Standard 6 of the National League of Nursing Accreditation Committee (NLNAC) (2009) and repeated in the mission statement of the Weber State University School of Nursing (WSU SON). This standard specifically discusses the student learning outcomes and competencies and the need to insure those outcomes are being achieved. This revised curriculum will rely heavily on the suggestions made by the IOM, the NLN, and the NLNAC.
The following are a few of the recommendations from the IOM report, the Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health (2010). These are only a few of the suggestions relevant to this curriculum revision but these few suggestions identify key reasons to revise WSU SON education curricula and capacity to meet consumer needs:
· Major changes in the US health care system and practice will require equally profound changes in the education of the nurses both before and after they receive their licenses.
· Nursing education needs to be transformed in a number of ways to prepare nursing graduates to work collaboratively and effectively with other health professionals in a complex and evolving health care system across settings. Moreover, nurses must achieve higher levels of education and training to respond to these increasing demands.
· Education should include opportunities for seamless transition into higher degree programs. Entry-level nurses, for example, need to be able to transition smoothly from their academic preparation to a range of practice environments, with an increased emphasis on community and public health settings.
· To improve the quality of patient care, a greater emphasis must be placed on making the nursing workforce more diverse, particularly in the areas of gender and race/ethnicity.
With these relevant recommendations the WSU SON is proposing revisions to the Institutional Certificate, Associate Degree, Associate of Applied Science, and Baccalaureate Degree nursing curriculum.
These changes include:
· Increasing the opportunity for seamless transition from the Associate of Science Degree in Nursing (ADN) to the Baccalaureate Degree in Nursing.
As part of this process, the nursing faculty reviewed the credit hours that students are currently required to take in all three programs and compared that to other programs on both a national and state level (see attachment). It was determined that WSU SON on average, requires more credit hours for a baccalaureate degree in nursing than other nursing programs. The NLNAC has also identified, in their 2011 visit to WSU SON campus, that the length of the ADN program is not consistent with the policies of the governing organization of national guidelines and best practices.
The proposed curriculum offers four (4) nursing courses totaling twelve (12) credit hours as upper division nursing courses at the associate degree level. By adding these hours at the ADN level, students continuing to the baccalaureate BSN degree will only be required to take twenty-five (25) nursing credit hours. This decrease in the total number of nursing credit hours at the BSN level will allow the SON to increase the total enrollment in the BSN program and allow for a greater number of nurses to reach a higher educational level through a seamless progression.
Including 3000 level courses in the associate degree program is a significant change.
We have looked at nursing programs in the state of Utah who prepare students to take the NCLEX-RN. They require 36-57 credit hours of nursing courses to prepare students for this exam. To accomplish our mission for associate degree nursing education and provide our students with a timely and competitive option for baccalaureate education, placing 3000 level course work in the associate degree was necessary.
This change is comparable to UVU’s BS completion option. At UVU, students take 16 nursing credit hours of 3000 level courses at the associate level and then take an additional 25 nursing credit hours of 4000 level courses to complete the BSN option. UVU’s ASN program is 70 credits but the BSN transition program which is equivalent to our proposed AS degree is 88 total hours.
The WSU SON revised associate degree curriculum is 74 total hours, 36 hours in 2000 and 3000 level nursing courses, minimum 35 hours general education and 3 hours for Pathophysiology. No additional coursework is required to transition to the BSN program.
· The revised curriculum plan maintains the pre-requisite and support courses already in place.
· Deleting the Institutional Certificate program.
· The present nursing curriculum is inconsistent in credit hours and requires the student to take a varying number of credits each semester. This inconsistency causes confusion and difficulty for the students who are required to take full time credit hours to maintain scholarships and financial aid. The revised curriculum will create a consistent and equal credit load for the students each semester.
· In the present curriculum, the students are required to take seven (7) or eight (8) semesters of nursing course work (four semesters in the ADN program and three or four semesters in the BSN program). The revised curriculum will maintain a consistent six (6) semesters; four (4) in the ADN program and two (2) in the BSN program.
· The present curriculum is a content driven curriculum. The revised curriculum will incorporate concepts, competencies, and outcomes, as suggested by the IOM (2010), the NLN (2009), and the NLNAC (2009).
· To reflect the current healthcare environment the following six competencies suggested by the Quality and Safety for Nurses (QSEN) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2011 have been identified as the organizing framework for each of the revised courses. These include:
o Patient-Centered Care
o Teamwork & Collaboration
o Evidence Based Practice
o Quality Improvement
o Safety
o Informatics
References
Benner, P., Sutphen, M., Leonard, V., & Day, L. (2010). Educating nurses: A call for radical transformation. San Francisco, CA: Josey-Bass.
Institute of Medicine of the Academies: The Future of Nursing (2010). http://www.iom.edu/reports/2010/the -future-of-nursing-leading-change-advancing- health.aspx
National League for Nursing (2009) – http://www.nln.org/excellence/model/index.htm
National League for Nursing Accrediting Committee (2009) – http://www.nlnac.org/manuals/NLNACManual2008.pdf
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (2011). Quality and safety education for nurses. http://www.qsen.org.
INFORMATION PAGE
Attach a copy of the present program from the current catalog and a revised version (exactly as you wish it to appear in the catalog).
Did this program change receive unanimous approval within the Department? Yes If not, what are the major concerns raised by the opponents?
Explain any effects this program change will have on program requirements or enrollments in other departments including the Bachelor of Integrated Studies Program. In the case of similar offerings or affected programs, you should include letters from the departments in question stating their support or opposition to the proposed program.
Indicate the number of credit hours for course work within the program. (Do not include credit hours for General Education, SI, Diversity, or other courses unless those courses fulfill requirements within the proposed program.)
Indicate the number of credit hours for course work within the current program. (Do not include credit hours for General Education, SI, Diversity, or other courses unless those courses fulfill requirements within the current program.) __25__