nursing curriculum examples

Undergraduate Catalog 2024-2025

Nursing - traditional (option).

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Sample Curriculum for the Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing, Traditional Option

Year 1 (fall semester).

(3)  ENG 101   English Composition I  (3)  ACS 101   Public Speaking  or ACS 103 Interpersonal Communication Skills (EREG) (3)  CHEM 120A  Gen, Org, & Biol Chem I (BPS) (1)  CHEM 124A  Gen, Org, & Biol Chem Lab (EL)  (3)  BIOL 140   Human Biology (BLS)  (3)  PSYC 111   Foundations of Psychology (BSS)  (1) FST 101 Succeeding & Engaging at SIUE 17 - Total Credits

Year 1 (Spring Semester)

(3)  ENG 102   English Composition II (4)  BIOL 250   Bacteriology (LS)  (4)  BIOL 240A   Anatomy & Physiology I (BLS, EL)  (3)  CHEM 120B  Gen, Org, & Biol Chem II (BPS)  (1)  CHEM 124B  Gen, Org, & Biol Chem II Lab (EL)  15 - Total Credits

Year 2 (Fall Semester)

(4)  NURS 231  Examination of Role of Profess Nurse (3)  NURS 234   Human Development-Life Span  (4)  BIOL 240B   Anatomy & Physiology II (BLS, EL)  (3)   RA 101   Reasoning & Argumentation (FRA) or  PHIL 212 (3)  QR 101   Quantitative Reasoning or MATH 150 Calculus I (FQR) 17 - Total Credits

Year 2 (Spring Semester)

(4)  NURS 240   Pathophysiology (LS) (4) NURS 241 Clinical Pharmacology and Nutrition for Nurses (6)  NURS 246  Foundation & Assmnt in Nsg Practice  (3) Breadth Fine & Performing Arts (BFPA)  17 - Total Credits

Year 3 (Fall Semester)

(5)  NURS 342  Adult Health I  (5)  NURS 343  Adult Health II (3) STAT 107 Concepts of Statistics or STAT 244 Statistics (BICS) (3) Interdisciplinary Course (IS)/Experience Global Cultures, Race, and Equity Education (EREG) 16 - Total Credits

Year 3 (Spring Semester)

(5)  NURS 354   Care of Women & Childbearing Families  (5)  NURS 355   Care of Children & Adolescents  (3)  PHIL 225  Contemp Moral Issues, PHIL 320  Ethics, or  PHIL 321  Ethics in the Medical Community (BHUM)  13 - Total Credits

Year 4 (Fall Semester)

(3)  NURS 472   Nursing Research or (3) NURS 604 Evaluating Evidence for Improving Practice (Accel UG-Grad Option Only) (5)  NURS 474   Care of Person with Mental Health Needs  (4)  NURS 475  Care of Populations (ERGU, EH)  12 - Total Credits

Year 4 (Spring Semester)

(3)  NURS 481   Nursing Leadership & Management or (3) NURS 606 Leadership and Health Policy with (1) NURS 490 SRA (Accel UG-Grad Option Only*) (4)  NURS 482   Transition to Professional Practice Role  (5)  NURS 476   Care of Person with Complex Health Needs  (3)  NURS 483 Capstone Review 15 or 16 - Total Credits

Total Hours 122 (or *123 for the Accelerated UG-Grad Option)

Transfer Students: To maximize your transfer experience, complete the  bold course requirements pre-transfer and satisfy either the Illinois Articulation Initiative (IAI) General Ed Core or receive an AA, AS or AAT (early childhood, special ed or math) degree from an IAI community college.  Visit the  transfer credit website  to find course equivalency guides.

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is authorized to operate as a postsecondary educational institution by the  Illinois Board of Higher Education .

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Undergraduate & Graduate Nursing Curriculum

Program details & sample plans of study, bachelor’s degrees, road maps for pre-nursing students | lower division.

• Lower Division Suggested Curriculum for UCF Nurse Pending and Transfer Students
• Calculating an Overall GPA for the BSN Application

Non-Nursing Elective Options

• Approved list

BSN Plans of Study | Upper Division

• Traditional BSN = 5 semesters
• Second Degree BSN = 4 semesters
• Valencia/UCF Concurrent ASN to BSN = 6 semesters
• Seminole/UCF Concurrent ASN to BSN = 6 semesters
• Online Florida College System Concurrent ASN to BSN
• Online RN to BSN

Master’s Degrees

Online msn | no gre.

Leadership & Management MSN

• accelerated = 5 semesters (fall start)
• accelerated = 5 semesters (spring start)
• part-time = 7 semesters (fall start)
• part-time = 7 semesters (spring start)

Nurse Educator MSN

• full-time = 5 semesters (fall start)
• full-time = 5 semesters (spring start)

Healthcare Simulation MSN

• full-time = 4 semesters (fall start)
• full-time = 4 semesters (spring start)
• part-time = 5 semesters (fall start)
• part-time = 5 semesters (spring start)

Doctoral Degrees

Hybrid bsn to dnp | become a nurse practitioner | no gre.

Adult/Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner DNP

• full-time = 9 semesters (fall start)
• part-time = 12 semesters (fall start)

Adult/Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner DNP

Family Nurse Practitioner DNP

Online MSN to DNP | No GRE

Advanced Practice DNP for APRNs

Nurse Executive DNP

• part-time = 9 semesters (fall start)
• part-time = 9 semesters (spring start)

Online PhD in Nursing | No GRE

• accelerated = 12 semesters (fall start)
• part-time = 16 semesters (fall start)
• accelerated = 11 semesters (fall start)
• part-time = 15 semesters (fall start)

Post-Graduate Certificates

Online | no gre.

Nurse Educator Certificate

• part-time = 3 semesters (fall start)
• part-time = 3 semesters (spring start)

Healthcare Simulation Certificate | interdisciplinary program

Hispanic Serving Healthcare Professionals Certificate | interdisciplinary program

Hybrid | No GRE | For APRNs Only

Adult/Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Certificate for APRNs

• part-time = 4 semesters (spring start)

Adult/Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Certificate for APRNs

Family Nurse Practitioner Certificate for APRNs

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Undergraduate Curriculum

• Bachelor of Science in Nursing
• Accelerated BSN
• BSN Military Pathway
• Hillman Scholars Program
• Prerequisites & Eligibility
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• Cost to Attend
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• BSN Course Descriptions

Ways to Study

Carolina Nursing’s BSN program offers three available options of study:

• The traditional  BSN for students who have not yet received an undergraduate degree.
• The  Accelerated BSN or ABSN , which is available to students who already hold a bachelor’s degree.
• Course Plans for the  Military Pathway  will be individualized for each student based on prior experience.

Clinical instruction for all tracks will begin in the first semester and will feature an intensive capstone in the final year.

Courses & Curriculum

Credit Key: (#total credits : #lecture credits : #clinical credits)

BSN Plan of Study PDF

Nurs 301: Foundations of Relationship-Centered Care and Diversity and Inclusion | Carolina Core I (3:3:0 credits)

Nurs 310: Clinical Nursing Skills and Health Assessment I | On Campus Clinical I  (2:0:2 credits)

Nurs 330: Nursing Care of Adults 1 (4:3:1 credits)

Nurs 351: Pathophysiology/Pharmacology Across the Lifespan I (3:3:0 credits)

Nurs 384: Family Focused Genomic Health Care (1:1:0 credit)

(13 total credits)

Nurs 311: Clinical Nursing Skills and Health Assessment II | On Campus Clinical II   (1:0:1 credits)

Nurs 352: Pathophysiology/Pharmacology Across the Lifespan II (3:3:0 credits)

Nurs 481: Mental Health Promotion and Psychiatric Care Across Populations and Settings (5:3:2 credits)

Nurs 482: Reproductive Health and Nursing Care of the Childbearing Family (5:3:2 credits)

Nurs 302: Foundations of Research, Ethics and Health Innovation | Carolina Core II (3:3:0 credits)

Nurs 430: Nursing Care of Adults II (5:3:2 credits )

(8 total credits)

Nurs 401: Integrating Principles of Leadership, Quality and Safety, and Informatics into Nursing Practice | Carolina Core III (3:3:0 credits)

Nurs 410: Clinical Nursing Skills and Health Assessment III | On Campus Clinical III (1:0:1 credits)

Nurs 483: Family-Centered Nursing Care from Birth through Adolescence (5:3:2 credits)

Nurs 484: Public Health Nursing in Community Settings (4:2:2 credits)

Nurs 402: Foundations of Population Health and Global Health | Carolina Core IV   (2:2:0 credits)

Nurs 411: Clinical Nursing Skills and Health Assessment IV | On Campus Clinical IV (1:0:1 credits)

Nurs 697: Capstone: Transitions in Care & Practice (6:2:4 credits)

Nursing Elective* (3 credits)

60 Total Credits

*Students must take at least 3 credits of nursing elective(s). This may be satisfied by multiple courses that are each less than 3 credits. The elective(s) may occur in any semester; however, students should be mindful that full time study in fall and spring is defined as at least 12 credits.

ABSN Plan of Study PDF

Nurs 330: Nursing Care of Adults 1 (4:3:1credits)

(17 total credits)

(18 total credits)

(12 total credits)

Carolina Core

The purpose of the Carolina Core is to provide a curricular framework for students to achieve the knowledge, skills, and attitudes essential in a graduate of the UNC School of Nursing. Consisting of 11 tenets, the Carolina Core was developed following rigorous review of national recommendations, analysis of the best available evidence, and consultation with education experts. Each Carolina Core tenet includes a title, a definition, and a narrative designed to apply the definition to the Carolina Nursing graduate.

• Carolina Core Tenets

Michigan State University

College of Nursing

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All your courses, listed in one place

The Traditional Bachelor of Science in Nursing program is a full-time, six semester option combining classroom and clinical learning. Students begin clinical courses in the second semester.

The traditional BSN program's curriculum is designed for students who have completed a minimum of 28 credits and prerequisite coursework. It is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) and approved by the Michigan Board of Nursing. Graduates qualify to take the NCLEX-RN, the licensure examination for eligibility to become a registered nurse.

Course requirements:

PSY 101:     Introductory Psychology HNF 150:    Introduction to Human Nutrition HDFS 225:  Lifespan Human Development in the Family (or PSY 238: Developmental Psychology) PSL 250:    Introductory Physiology CEM 161:     Chemistry Lab 1 MMG 201:   Fundamentals of Microbiology MMG 302:   Introductory Lab for General and Allied Health Microbiology PHM 350:    Human Introductory Pharmacology STT 200:    Statistical Methods NUR 205*:   Introduction to Professional Nursing NUR 301:     Clinical Pathophysiology NUR 323*:   Nursing Care of Acute and Chronically Ill Patients I NUR 333*:   Health Promotion NUR 337*:   Nursing Care of Acute and Chronically Ill Patients II NUR 342:    Research, Ethics, and Evidence-Based Practice NUR 371*:    Behavioral Health Nursing NUR 434*:   Complex Care of Acute and Chronically Ill Patients NUR 438*:   Nursing Care of Children and Their Families NUR 439*:   Nursing Care of the Childbearing Family NUR 442:    Senior Scholarly Capstone Project NUR 460*:   Leadership in Clinical Practice NUR 471*:    Public Health Nursing * Clinical Courses

School of Nursing Curriculum Framework and Guiding Document

Belief statements.

The curriculum is organized to facilitate student learning. The beginning courses provide a foundation for the nursing major. Course content and learning experiences progress from the individual to the family and community, from simple to complex, from faculty-facilitated to student-directed learning, and from theory to application. Teaching and learning are highly interactive and multidimensional processes. Our faculty design and facilitate experiences to guide students to integrate theoretical concepts into practice, foster a spirit of inquiry, and expand critical and reflective thinking in nursing. This design enables students to acquire attitudes, cognition, and the essential skills needed to develop the knowledge and behaviors that comprise the professional nursing role.

The curriculum framework provides direction for the selection and organization of learning experiences to achieve program outcomes and competencies. The curriculum is centered on the philosophy that guides the curriculum design by ensuring that the common threads necessary for nursing practice are addressed and developed progressively across the course of study.

The five integral threads interwoven across the nursing curriculum are: Clinical Judgment, Communication, Experiential Learning, Person-Centered Nursing Care, and Professional Identity and Leadership. They are defined as follows:

Integral Threads

Clinical judgment.

Professional nurses are expected to deliver patient-centered, safe, quality care while working as members of collaborative interprofessional teams and change agents. To deliver truly transformative care, nurses must be able to recognize health risks of vulnerable patient populations, make sound clinical judgments in ever-changing practice environments, and advocate for access and equality in care. Clinical judgment is “the process by which nurses make decisions based on nursing knowledge (evidence, theories, ways/patterns of knowing), other disciplinary knowledge, critical thinking, and clinical reasoning” (Matetti, 2019, as cited in AACN, 2021, p. 12). One essential component of clinical judgment is clinical decision-making. Students must develop the competence to assess community, systems, organizational, environmental and individual variables to make informed clinical decisions that lead to improved patient outcomes (Muntean, 2012).

Learning to think and act as professional nurses involves using clinical and reflective judgment resulting in a reasoned, analytic, cyclical process which incorporates scientific evidence, objective thought, contextual elements, values, and ever-changing conditions. Boise State University’s School of Nursing curriculum incorporates many methods of discovery in student learning experiences but emphasizes clinical judgment as a cornerstone of safe, equitable, evidence-based nursing practice.

​​American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). (2021). The essentials: Core competencies for professional nursing education.

Muntean, W. J. (2012) Nursing clinical decision-making: A literature review. NCSBN Research Library.

Communication

Nursing communication is the exchange of information, via a variety of modalities from touch to technology, between the nurse and another individual or group, including patients, patients’ families, other members of the health care team, community members and stakeholders. Communication incorporates both verbal and nonverbal aspects, active listening, and collaborative determination of meaning and understanding.

The International Council of Nurses’ Code of Ethics (2021) posits that clinical communication becomes patient-centered when nurses value patients’ beliefs, respect patients’ cultural backgrounds, and provide care according to patients’ needs, preferences, and unique conditions. Effective communication is a key component of safe nursing practice and is a requirement for the delivery of high quality, client-tailored nursing care (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2022). Boise State University School of Nursing incorporates the development of communication skills throughout their programs to prepare nurses to effectively communicate with people from diverse backgrounds, including health care team members, patients, and patients’ families.

AACN, 2022. The Essentials: Core competencies for professional nursing education. https://www.aacnnursing.org/Portals/0/PDFs/Publications/Essentials-2021.pdf

International Council of Nurses (2021). ICN Code of Ethics for Nurses, Revised 2021. http://www.icn.ch/system/files/2021-10/ICN_Code-of-Ethics_EN_Web_0.pdf

Experiential Learning

Experiential Learning is an educational process of engaging learners through a variety of learning methodologies to increase knowledge, develop skills, and clarify and foster values essential to nursing. Competency-based education facilitates experiential learning through purposeful connection between students and faculty, actively involving students in their learning about nursing and their work with people, the interprofessional healthcare team, and the community through clearly defined competencies. Active engagement through competency-based education assists students in connecting theoretical learning with practice experiences and in developing professional identity (America Association of Colleges of Nursing [AACN], 2021).

Experiential learning theory serves as an underpinning to this process and is the process of learning from experience. Per Kolb and Kolb (2017), this is a “dynamic view of learning is based on a learning cycle driven by the resolution of the dual dialectics of action/reflection and experience/ abstraction” (p. 11). Settings for Experiential Learning may include, but are not limited to:

• Authentic experiences through simulation and agency partnerships (acute, ambulatory, and long-term care; mental, public, and community health settings).
• Experiences with private and public agencies involved in advocacy and policy development.
• Experiences with private and public agencies involved in research, and evidence-based practice, to prepare, implement, and disseminate scholarly projects.

Designed in this fashion, Competency Based Experiential learning “produces learning and behavior that endures, since it encourages conscious connections between knowledge and action. Learners who put knowledge into action grasp the interrelatedness of their learning with both theoretical perspectives and the world of their professional work. Achieving a specific competency gives meaning to the theoretical and assists in understanding and taking on a professional identity” (AACN, 2021, p. 4). Boise State University’s School of Nursing is committed to experiential learning methodologies to foster active student learning. The evaluation of student learning outcomes is used to continually improve the experiential learning process.  

American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2021). The essentials: Core competencies for professional nursing education. https://www.aacnnursing.org/Portals/0/PDFs/Publications/Essentials-2021.pdf

Kolb, A.Y. & Kolb, D.A. (2017). Experiential learning theory as a guide for experiential educators in higher education. ELTHE: A Journal for Engaged Educators, 1, (1) 7–44.

Person-Centered Nursing Care

According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), “Person-centered care is holistic, individualized, just, respectful, compassionate, coordinated, evidence-based, and developmentally appropriate” (2021, p. 10). Nurses are bound to provide care that displays “respect for the inherent dignity, worth, unique attributes, and human rights of all individuals” (ANA, 2015, p.1). The National League for Nurses (NLN, 2016) concurs, encouraging, “self-awareness and respect for all persons, embracing and celebrating the richness of each individual” (p. 2), The NLN believes that providing and receiving quality health care involves acknowledging “race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and gender identity, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs, or other attributes” (NLN, 2016, p. 2). Viewpoint and experiential diversity in health education ensures that “biases are examined, assumptions are challenged, critical conversations are engaged, perspectives are broadened, civil readiness and engagement are enhanced, and socialization occurs” (2021, p. 6).

Boise State University School of Nursing follows the recommendations of nursing’s professional organizations, as well as the university learning outcome number 5. Boise State University nursing provides education to prepare nurses to practice and lead health systems that strive to reduce barriers, promote health access, and improve outcomes for all.

American Association of Colleges of Nursing (2021).  The essentials: Core competencies for professional nursing education. https://www.aacnnursing.org/Portals/0/PDFs/Publications/Essentials-2021.pdf

American Nurses Association. (2015).  Code of ethics for nurses with interpretive statements . ANA American Nurses Association.

National League for Nursing (2015).  Achieving diversity and meaningful inclusion in nursing education .  https://www.nln.org/docs/default-source/uploadedfiles/about/vision-statement-achieving-diversity.pdf

Professional Identity and Leadership

The concept of ‘professionalism in nursing’ has evolved over the past several years to mirror conceptual work done in other healthcare disciplines, such as physical and occupational therapy, medicine, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, and in the STEM fields (Godfrey, 2022). Professional identity in nursing has been identified within four professional nursing domains: (a) value and ethics, (b) knowledge, (c) nurse leadership, and (d) professional comportment (Godfrey, 2022).     

   The concept of leadership in nursing has transitioned in the literature to defining what it is to be a ‘nurse leader’. In 2021, the Texas Organization of Nursing Leadership (TONL), began the strategic process of revising the definition of “nurse leader” to “offer a simple strategy for nurses to describe their essential role in diverse practice settings… and as an avenue to inspire nurse leaders in the future” (Cline et al., 2022, p. 381). Based on “the foundational consensus that all nurses are leaders” (Cline et al., 2022, p. 382), the definition of ‘nurse leader’ should be relevant for all nurses across the range of academic programs, attained nursing degrees, areas of nursing specialty, professional organization affiliation, practice experience and nursing expertise. Common terminology for the definition of nurse leader was identified both from literature and professional nursing organizations, such as The Essentials (American Association of Colleges of Nursing [AACN], 2021) and nurse leader competencies (American Organization of Nursing Leadership [AONL], 2015). 

The TONL final definition of “nurse leader” was approved in February 2021:

“When you say ‘nurse,’ leader is clearly implied. As the face of health care, nurses are trusted professionals who provide impassioned care in diverse practice settings. Nurses lead with integrity, compassion, and humility. They are grounded in empathetic action and a commitment to human dignity. Using evidence and critical thinking, they inspire and create innovations that improve the health of patients and communities. As full health care partners, working with and through others, they advocate for a global culture of wellness. Nurses are courageous leaders—not because they’re fearless—but because they rise to every health care challenge” (Cline et al., 2022, p. 383).

  This inclusive, global definition of “nurse leader” represents the vision of the Boise State University School of Nursing, where faculty in all our programs strive to be leaders in professional mentorship, practice expertise, and sound pedagogy. Our students are educated to be the nurse leaders of the future. Those in BSU nursing programs, already representing all levels of nurse leadership, are given the knowledge, skills, and experiences to take the next steps in their nurse leader trajectory, to “innovate, transform, and achieve quality outcomes for patients, health care professionals, organizations, and communities” (Cline et al., 2022, p. 383).

American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2021). AACN Essentials: Core Competencies for Professional Nursing Education . 

American Organization of Nursing Leadership. (2015). AONL Nurse Manager Competencies . https://www.aonl.org/system/files/media/file/2019/06/nurse-manager-competencies.pdf

Cline, D., Crenshaw, J., Woods, S. (2022). Nurse leader: A definition for the 21st Century. Nurse Leader, 20 (4), 381-384.

Godfrey, N. (2022). New language for the journey: Embracing a professional identity of nursing. Journal of Radiology Nursing, 41 (1), 15-17.

School of Nursing

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Bachelor of Science in Nursing

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Through concept-based curriculum and teaching, our students develop high level thinking skills and learn to apply concepts in a variety of health care settings.

The baccalaureate nursing program is organized around 60 key concepts. These concepts are categorized in five domains:

• Nursing across the lifespan
• Population health
• Evidence-based practice/quality improvement
• Professional identity/communication

Each concept is composed of attributes. A few examples of concepts include immunity, sexuality, health promotion and caring. The concepts are taught through the use of exemplars, which are sample cases of the concept that the nurse may experience in their practice.

A single concept, such as immunity, may be taught as a primary or as an interrelated concept several times throughout the curriculum using a variety of exemplars such as vaccination in children, rheumatoid arthritis in middle or elder years, allergic reactions to food or medicine or in a deficient state as may be related to cancer treatment.

Concepts are taught using instructional activities that are student-centered, active and focused on the application of information.

The professional portion of the program consists of 62 semester credits and is designed to be completed in two academic years of full-time study. These courses are offered on the KU Medical Center campus. For a full description of these courses, view the academic catalog .

• Objective 1: Effectively communicate with all members of the health care team, including patients and their support system.
• Objective 2: Use clinical judgment to design quality, safe, evidence-based patient care.
• Objective 3: Deliver safe, compassionate, culturally competent, patient-centered nursing care across the lifespan.
• Objective 4: Use healthcare resources to effectively deliver high quality, cost-effective patient care.
• Objective 5: Demonstrate leadership in the evaluation of outcomes, improvement of care, and advancement of nursing practice.
• Objective 6: Provide health promotion, disease prevention, end-of-life care, and/or palliative care to individuals and populations in a variety of settings.
• Objective 7: Examine the micro- and macro-systems that influence health care delivery to achieve quality patient care within economic boundaries.
• Objective 8: Contribute the unique nursing perspective with the interdisciplinary health care team to achieve optimal health care outcomes.
• Objective 9: Demonstrate professionalism in attitudes and behaviors.

KU School of Nursing 3901 Rainbow Boulevard Mail Stop 2029 Kansas City, KS 66160 913-588-1619 | TTY 711 [email protected]

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15 Common Courses In RN Programs

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• Nursing Fundamentals
• Introduction to Psychology
• Microbiology
• Gerontology
• Psychology Mental Health
• Pharmacology
• Women and Infant Health
• Leadership Management
• Community and Environmental Nursing
• Care Transitions
• Population Health
• Clinical Theory
• Clinical Study

The class requirements for RN qualifying degrees will differ slightly depending on the level of education you plan to pursue. Most nursing programs will cover a wide array of material from math and chemistry to psychology and physiology. Some nursing students will choose electives based on their desired specialty, such as pediatrics , oncology , or geriatrics .

For a glance into 15 of the assorted common courses that an RN will see throughout their academic career, read on below.

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1 | Nursing Fundamentals

This is one of the first classes you can expect to take in a nursing program, often required during your first semester. Nursing fundamentals courses give you an overview of what it means to be a nurse, how healthcare works, and potential careers and roles for nurses. The focus is on the basics of patient care and fundamental nursing skills. Your nursing fundamentals course also prepares you for more advanced topics in particular areas. This course may have different names at different schools, such as “Nursing 101” or “Introduction to Nursing,” but it will cover the same topics.

This is one of the most important RN courses because it sets the foundation for all other nursing school classes and clinicals. It also provides you with a clearer understanding of nursing and different nursing roles, which helps you confirm whether nursing is the right career for you.

2 | Physiology

Physiology is the study of the human body and how it functions. You’ll learn about the names and functions of different parts of the body and how they all function together, both in a healthy person and throughout different types of illnesses and injuries. This is usually one of the earlier required classes, since many subsequent courses rely on your understanding how the body works.

Physiology also includes topics that are important for your own health and safety, such as how to safely lift and move patients. Physiology also ensures that you and other healthcare professionals are using the same terminology to describe the body and how it functions, so mastering this helps ensure effective communication and medical notes. This makes it a vital part of patient safety and positive health outcomes.

3 | Introduction to Psychology

Introductory psychology is typically a prerequisite course needed to enter nursing programs. It covers principles and practices of psychology and helps nurses understand both psychology as a medical discipline, and how to use applied psychology as a nurse and communicator. Topics include cognition (how people think and make decisions), personality and behavior, organizational psychology, and the psychology of illness.

Studying psychology can help you communicate better , understand your own personality and those of others, and make better decisions individually and as part of a group.

4 | Microbiology

Microbiology is the study of microorganisms, any organism too small to see without a microscope, including viruses, bacteria, and certain types of fungi. This is also a prerequisite course often taken before entering nursing school, because understanding the role that microorganisms play in human health is necessary to understand many other aspects of healthcare. Topics include microorganisms that cause and help prevent disease, including the emerging field of the human biome, and the microorganisms that are part of the human body. This course generally includes lab work as well as classroom work.

This is one of the most important nursing prerequisite classes because of how important microorganisms are to human health. It sets the groundwork for infection control, population health, clinical theory, and nursing practices.

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Learn about start dates, transferring credits, availability of financial aid, and more by contacting the universities below.

5 | Gerontology

Gerontology is the studying of aging. RN classes in gerontology include topics such as conditions associated with aging, the psychology of aging, how to effectively communicate with aging adults, and end-of-life concerns for nursing. Gerontology is included in nursing major classes because of the important role nurses play in providing care to aging patients. Because it is a specialized class, most nursing students take it during or after their second year.

This is a foundational course for nurses who plan to specialize in gerontology but vital for all nurses because of the aging US population. Aside from pediatrics and obstetrics, older adults make up a large and growing proportion of general and specialty care patients, so the ability to understand their needs and provide effective nursing care is vital.

6 | Psychology and Mental Health

While introductory classes on psychology cover all aspects of psychology, including organizational psychology, RN classes on psychology and mental health focus on providing mental healthcare. Because understanding the psychological aspects of health is important to many other nursing school classes, this course is usually included in the first or second years. These courses cover mental health conditions and their treatment, as well as the special legal and ethical considerations associated with caring for patients with mental health conditions.

Physical and mental health are closely related, and so this course and other RN courses on mental health are vital to understanding patient well-being. Because nurses provide so much hands-on care to patients and are a vital communications link for patients, their ability to understand mental health directly affects the quality of their nursing.

7 | Pharmacology

Pharmacology is the study of medications. Nursing courses in pharmacology focus on the safe administration of medications, including opioids and other substances with the potential for abuse; different methods for administering them; how to watch for medication errors; and potential drug interactions. In addition to learning about medications and how they work, you will learn about the major pharmacology reference sources, including databases and texts.

While nurses (other than advanced practice nurses) do not prescribe medications, they must understand the fundamentals of pharmacology in order to ensure patient safety and answer patients’ questions.

8 | Women and Infant Health

Women and infant health covers women’s health, reproductive health, pregnancy, delivery, and infant development. Nursing school classes in this subject emphasize the nurse’s role in patient education and communication, as well as their role in providing direct nursing care. Generally, this is a foundational course that students take earlier in their nursing school curriculum. Some schools offer this topic in two courses, one in reproductive health and the other in infant health.

This foundational course covers general nursing concepts, as well as preparing nurses who specialize in women and infant health for advanced courses. These courses can include pediatrics, gynecology, or obstetric nursing.

9 | Leadership Management

Leadership management is typically offered later in RN curriculum since it requires broader knowledge of the scope of nursing. These classes include management and administration, staff leadership and motivation, legal and ethical aspects of leadership, nursing strategic planning, and healthcare administration. The curriculum combines management theory and case studies of how that theory applies to real-life nursing situations.

In addition to preparing nurses for leadership roles , these nursing school classes prepare nurses to understand nursing leadership functions so that they can understand their own role in their organization. While there’s no substitute for real-world experience to teach leadership, leadership management courses also provide a theoretical underpinning to understanding organizational behavior and management theory.

10 | Ethics in Nursing

Ethics in nursing is a core class because of the many difficult ethical situations that nurses face, no matter where they practice. RN classes in ethics cover topics such as professional conduct, conflicts of interest, health equity, diversity and inclusion, and appropriate responses to unethical behavior. Like leadership classes, ethics classes combine theory and, so be prepared to critically analyze ethical issues.

Throughout their career, nurses will face ethical dilemmas that might not have an obvious right or wrong answer. No matter how ethical you may be as an individual, nursing major classes in ethics provide you with the mental framework to think through dilemmas and find the best resolution.

11 | Community and Environmental Nursing

Community and environmental nursing is a branch of public health . These courses, which are typically offered in BSN programs, look at how the community and environment affect health and how to promote health in different communities and environments. Students will study factors including community safety, pollution and its impact on health, and community design for health in urban, suburban, and rural settings. As part of this course, you are likely to study your own community and the factors impacting its health.

As frontline health workers, nurses are among the first individuals to be in contact with individuals in need of information on environmental hazards or communicable diseases. An understanding of the influence of community and environmental factors on health can allow nurses to better communicate with local leaders and organizations. This may be especially critical for at-risk or underserved populations.

12 | Care Transitions

Care transition programs teach students about the process of transferring patients from one health environment to another, changing treatments, or discharging patients. The course covers other subjects such as health promotion, risk reduction, safety standards, and healthcare interventions.

Transferring medically complex patients between healthcare settings can have a significant impact on patient comfort or even health outcomes. Transition processes are especially at-risk for human error. Nurses must understand how to transfer important patient information including health records, medication information, and adverse reactions between settings.

13 | Population Health

Population health is sometimes offered as a capstone course to include a clinical intensive or synthesized experience within the public health industry. This course explores information and processes within complex healthcare systems and social-ecological theories within the public health system. It covers topics such as epidemiology, promoting healthy behaviors, health equity, and increasing access to health care. During this course, you’ll learn about the social factors that affect health and the healthcare system, including government, employment and income, media messaging about health and disease, and public health initiatives such as vaccinations.

While much of your career as a nurse will be responding to individual patients, those patients and their nursing needs are affected by population health factors. Understanding these factors and how they work helps you promote health at a different level. This is also a vital subject if you plan to go into nursing administration or healthcare strategy.

14 | Clinical Theory

Clinical theory teaches you the theoretical underpinnings of medicine and nursing, and how medical and nursing practices are designed, tested, and applied. It is typically one of the later RN classes, as it requires some familiarity with nursing and healthcare theory and practice. In these courses, you will learn about how different models of medicine, health, and healthcare apply to nursing. You will also learn how to apply these theories to your daily work in nursing as you encounter different parts of the healthcare system. For an ADN degree, nursing school classes may include elements of clinical theory rather than having a separate class, while at the BSN level, this is more likely to be a separate class.

Clinical theory courses help you think more strategically about health and healthcare, and are particularly important for nurses preparing for roles in healthcare management and leadership or advanced practice nursing.

15 | Clinical Study

Clinical study (often abbreviated as “clinicals”) is a vital part of becoming an RN , since it requires fieldwork hours in a clinical setting such as a hospital, physician’s office, health clinic, or other healthcare facility. During this course, you will apply both the skills and the theory you learned, under the guidance of a preceptor. These courses usually start with theory, move on to simulations, and end with you working with your own caseload.

Clinical study is a vital test of how ready you are to become a nurse, as well as a chance to learn hands-on about different healthcare settings and specialties. This makes it one of, if not the most important, of the classes required for nursing.

Frequently Asked Questions About Nurse Classes

What subjects are covered in nurse courses.

Nursing courses generally cover subject matter relating to biology and chemistry. Biology courses focus on anatomy, epidemiology, microbiology, and physiology. Chemistry courses include biochemistry, organic chemistry, pharmacology, and pathophysiology. Outside of the life sciences, nursing courses include study in mathematics, psychology, and sociology.

Are nursing classes hard?

Programs are intended to prepare nurses for a rigorous profession; therefore, they can be intense and challenging, but not impossible. Courses teach the complicated practices necessary for nurses to provide the best care to their patients. To ensure nurses can perform to the best of their ability, programs need to make sure students are up to the task of committing themselves to a difficult yet rewarding profession.

What is the easiest class in nursing school?

Some of the easiest classes in nursing school tend to be general education courses. These often focus on the memorization of key terminology or the development of soft skills, such as collaboration and communication. Some courses that are considered easier than others include the social sciences, introduction to speech, and information technology.

What is the shortest nursing program?

The shortest programs typically focus on becoming a practical nurse. Learners can become certified nursing assistants (CNAs) or licensed practical nurses (LPNs) in the shortest amount of time. CNA programs take 4-12 weeks to complete and prepare students to assist RNs in helping patients with daily functions. LPN programs take approximately one year to complete, preparing them to provide basic nursing tasks. Unlike CNAs, LPNs are licensed nurses.

Related Resources

The Top 50 Schools for Registered Nurses By State

Registered nursing students are in great demand in the U.S. as the country faces a rising shortage of nurses. Find the best RN program in your state.

The Best Online Nursing Schools

As an in-demand field, nursing provides opportunities for job growth with above-average salaries. Many prospective nurses rely on online nursing schools to earn their degrees and advance their careers.

How to Become a Registered Nurse

Registered nurses (RNs) provide patient care in every healthcare setting. Learn how to become a registered nurse.

17.4 Evaluation of Teaching and Learning

Learning objectives.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

• Describe different evaluation methods for teaching and learning
• Understand the importance of analyzing and interpreting evaluation methods

The evaluation step of the nursing process allows nurses to determine whether goals were met using the interventions created. Similar to the nursing process, the education of patients and families must also be evaluated for its efficacy. Without this essential step, there is no way to determine that the teaching session was successful.

It is also important for the nurse to analyze results and interpret how they influence the next steps for the patient. If goals have been achieved, the education on a topic or topics may be concluded. If goals are unmet, however, the process continues with reassessment. Subsequent findings from the patient’s updated needs assessment will indicate the need for further education, typically with revisions to the goals, the teaching methods, or both.

Evaluation Methods

Teaching may take place separate from learning; an educator can present information and concepts, yet learning may not be effective and established goals may not be achieved. Patients and family members may respond to teaching with head nods or smiles, but those reactions could be attempts at being polite rather than a demonstration of actual understanding. Nonverbal responses like nodding or shaking the head may contribute to the evaluation of learning, but specific and objective measures, such as direct observation of actions, demonstration of an acquired skill, verbalization of comprehension, and use of a checklist, offer more reliable corroboration of learning.

Direct Observation of Actions

Observing the learner in normal setting for actions and behaviors illustrating learning acquisition is referred to as direct observation of actions . There are similarities of this evaluation method with return demonstration and verbalization of understanding, because the nurse is engaged in visual and/or auditory observation of a skill or body of information. Direct observation is different from the other listed methods because the observation is done surreptitiously, or not in such an overt manner as the other evaluation methods.

Real RN Stories

Deep breathe and cough.

Nurse: Brian Clinical setting: Neurological-trauma unit Years in practice: 3 Facility location: Baltimore, MD

I’d been taking care of a 77-year-old who had fallen down the stairs outside her home; she had a couple of rib fractures and fractures to the right clavicle and wrist. She was pretty bruised up, and she didn’t want to take deep breaths because it hurt. We talked about using her incentive spirometer (IS) hourly and how important it was for preventing pneumonia, but she really didn’t want to use it. At about 1:30 in the afternoon, her grandson came to visit; he was about 5 years old. I went in the room to take out her lunch tray, and the boy was playing with the IS in his lap. I stood for a minute outside the door and heard him ask her what it was. “Oh that,” she said, “it’s to keep me from getting sicker. They don’t want me to get pneumonia.” The boy asked how that would help her not get sick. I listened to her as she described that pneumonia might happen if she didn’t take nice, deep breaths, so she was supposed to use the little machine to take deep breaths, 10 times an hour if she was awake. He asked something I couldn’t hear, but her answer was that the deep breaths would probably make her cough, and both those things together would keep her lungs working right. Funny: for all her resistance, she really had been listening, and she actually gave her grandson a good explanation of pneumonia and the IS. And she showed him just how deep a breath she was able to take, then she coughed. Her grandson cheered her on for nine repetitions. I dropped off her tray and sat down to document evaluation of her IS teaching by direct observation.

Direct observation is frequently combined with checklists as a way to minimize subjectivity and maximize objectivity in observational evaluation (Nayyeri et al., 2021). Checklists provide clear descriptions of criteria for the actions under evaluation. Some direct observations are formalized through a process called direct observation of procedural skills , which are particularly helpful for evaluation of step-by-step psychomotor tasks. For patient education, this could be exemplified by a nurse watching a family member changing the patient’s wound dressing and listening to the description of the appearance of the wound, incision, and how much drainage is noted in the dressing during the procedure.

It can be helpful to observe that patients are following suggestions they were taught, even when they don’t realize they’re being watched (Fix et al., 2022). Examples of direct observation include surveying a patient’s actions while they are eating a meal and drinking a beverage. This often does not include a formal tool like a checklist, but it is during such activities that the nurse can monitor whether a patient who has been taught careful mastication and swallowing techniques is using those techniques for safety and aspiration prevention. Another example of informal evaluation is watching a patient ambulating with a family member, observing for correct application and use of a gait belt or assistive device such as a cane or walker.

Direct observation of actions may be a valuable method for evaluating literacy or health literacy skills. An example might be a nurse who hears a patient describe their medical diagnosis and related testing that is scheduled, or a parent explaining to a child why there is no breakfast tray on the morning of their surgery. In the next section, return demonstration of skills is explored, which has some overlap with direct observation.

Return Demonstration of Skills

A patient or family member’s ability to demonstrate a psychomotor skill (or multiple skills) after having it is presented by the nurse is referred to as a return demonstration , which has the patient showcase the ability to complete the task by performing it back to the educator. This evaluation method involves the nurse educating the patient and/or family with a combination of verbal explanation and showing the process of a particular skill. The description and task may be exemplified separately, or the nurse may illustrate the steps of the procedure and simultaneously narrates. After the primary demonstration, the learner is offered an opportunity to ask questions and practice before evaluation of return demonstration.

Mastery varies depending on the complexity of the skill, abilities of the learners, and expectations as to how many teaching and learning sessions required. It is also expected that learners approach a new skill in a linear, stepwise fashion. At different stages, acquisition of a skill may take longer. While putting the pieces together, most learners are not able to multitask by speaking while doing. Asking for a description of the procedure before requesting a demonstration is a common way to approach a task that involves multiple, coordinated actions.

When a patient or family member can demonstrate a newly acquired skill with precision, this is known as skill acquisition . The learner can not only correctly perform the skill but do so more rapidly while maintaining accuracy. At this stage, proficiency is being developed. The ability of the learner to not only accomplish the skill properly but do so promptly and to converse at the same time, illustrates full understanding of the task. All three of the learning methods discussed earlier are incorporated into this demonstration. The patient shows an understanding of both the cognitive and psychomotor processes, the fluency involved in multitasking, and comfort in holding a conversation at the same time—all of which supports the affective component of learning.

Verbalization of Understanding

Another method for evaluation of teaching and learning is for the learner to verbalize understanding. Asking open-ended questions that require more than one-word answers can illustrate acquisition of learning. Giving patients and family members an opportunity to describe what they comprehend at various intervals provides the nurse with insight about how much they know and understand. Allowing time for questions offers the nurse a chance to determine understanding or confusion about topics that have been taught. Verbalization of understanding may be used as an independent evaluation method or in combination with another method, such as discussion with a patient after a return demonstration.

Patient Conversations

Education: a lot to swallow.

Nurse: Mr. Alvarez, I saw you eat breakfast while I was setting things up for your shower. I noticed that since the speech therapist gave you some tips, your swallowing has improved. I didn’t see you hesitate between chewing and swallowing, as was happening before. How do you feel about eating and swallowing today?

Patient: So much was going on in my brain! Remembering what the therapist said and trying to chew more than I used to. And not to swallow too soon! I was really nervous!

Nurse: I know it can be a lot. You have many therapies to think about since your stroke, but you’re working very hard to recover! I want you to know, you felt nervous, but you did all the steps the speech therapist told you, and I didn’t notice you were nervous.

Patient: Thank you. I’m going to try just as hard with walking when I see the physical therapist later.

Nurse: Excellent, Mr. Alvarez. I’ll plan to watch you walk later and see how you do.

The teach-back method is a commonly used technique in health care whereby the patient or family member is asked to repeat, in their own words, the information they received through education. As mentioned earlier, when patients are first presented with new information, they may understand and retain only a portion of it. By asking the patient to recall information and explain it in their own words, the nurse can get a better understanding of what information was retained and what information needs to be retaught or clarified.

Link to Learning

The teach-back method is an evidence-based intervention used to improve patient–healthcare provider communication and health outcomes. Explore the Teach-back Toolkit and how you can incorporate it any time important information is being shared.

The use of teach-back in discharge education reduced rates of hospital readmissions and improved patient satisfaction (Yen & Leasure, 2019). Patients also have a higher ability for self-care, greater understanding of their diagnosis, and compliance with their medication and treatment regimen (Yen & Leasure, 2019). Teach-back may also be used in conjunction with return demonstration after the teaching of a psychomotor skill.

Unfolding Case Study

Unfolding case study 3: part 5.

Refer to Unfolding Case Study 3: Part 4 for a review on the patient data.

Checklists can serve as an independent evaluation or provide documentation of evaluation, such as direct observation of actions, return demonstration of skills, and verbalization of understanding. Checklists can be simple or complex, depending on what is being evaluated. More complicated psychomotor skills, such as those that require multiple steps, a combination of evaluation methods, or illustration of acquisition of a skill in more than one learning domain, require a checklist that reflects the patient’s various achievements.

A checklist also helps objectify the evaluation process, which can be valuable for complex skills or processes, which have different levels of achievement and acquisition. Checklists permit the educator-evaluator to make notations for listed skills, as well as levels of performance. Spaces can also be included for initials and/or signatures of both the teacher(s) and learner(s). Space may be allotted for comments, which is helpful when there is the possibility of a note being vague or inconclusive without explanation ( Figure 17.10 ).

Analyzing and Interpreting Teaching and Learning

Evaluation also involves analyzing the teaching and learning process to determine whether the teaching was effective and successful. Teaching efficacy is reflected by whether the patient learned what was taught and if the learner’s goals were achieved. If evaluation of the data indicates one or more goals set prior to the educational intervention were not met, the care plan may be modified to meet the goals for the patient. This involves reassessing the patient’s educational needs, revising patient goals, and revising teaching methods.

Reassessment of Patient’s Educational Needs

Reassessment is key to identifying changing learning interests and priorities, as well as causes for why teaching was successful or unsuccessful. If the educational session was successful, the patient acquired the correct knowledge or skill, and the goals were achieved. When an education session is unsuccessful, reassessment of the patient’s educational needs can determine what interventions need to be adjusted to meet education goals. For example, a patient who is unable to complete a return demonstration on how to inject insulin may need another interactive demonstration by the nurse. They may also have a fine motor function deficit that makes it difficult for them to draw insulin into a syringe and so be a better candidate for an insulin pen instead. During reassessment, a nurse can discover unmet needs and adjust the education being given to meet those needs.

Revision of Patient Goals

There are many reasons why patients’ healthcare goals change. Considering the patient’s physical and emotional status, the nurse assesses, intervenes, and evaluates continuously while providing patient care. Awareness of changes allows the nurse to understand factors that influence learning. For example, if a patient is anxious or in pain or physiologically compromised, then their mental state is not optimal for taking in new information.

Patient goals can also change based on external factors, such as ambient temperature or environmental distractions. Creating an environment free of distraction to facilitate learning can help set the patient and family up for success with learning. It is important for the nurse to recognize and accommodate changes in the patient’s goals and work with the patient to produce goals that meet the needs of the patient, family, and care team. Learning goals and techniques may be affected by a teaching technique that was expected to be successful but was ultimately ineffective for the patient.

Revision of Teaching Methods

If the patient’s goals have not changed but a teaching session was determined to be unsuccessful, it may be worth exploring a revision of the teaching method. Perhaps during assessment of the patient’s needs, the patient shared a preference for verbal delivery of information “because I learn best by listening.” However, in asking the patient for verbalization of understanding after an explanation of a new medication, it was discovered that much of the information was misunderstood, including the drug’s classification, the dose prescribed, and what time of day it should be taken. Through further reassessment, and with additional input from the patient’s adult child, the nurse may determine that a combination of verbal information with written information would be more effective. The nurse may revise the teaching method and use a whiteboard and markers, writing the name of the drug, what type of drug it is, the dose, and a drawing of a clock face with the time to take it to offer the patient multiple ways to learn the information.

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• Authors: Christy Bowen, Lindsay Draper, Heather Moore
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• Book title: Fundamentals of Nursing
• Publication date: Sep 4, 2024
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The BSN program serves both traditional and nontraditional students and offers opportunities to enhance the community’s health care through participatory learning experiences. The South College School of Nursing offers four options to pursue a BSN Degree – the traditional option, the accelerated option (for those who have already earned a baccalaureate degree), an RN/BSN option, and an LPN/BSN option, but not all options are available at all campuses. Information on when major rotations begin, and the maximum number of students admitted in each rotation is available by contacting the desired campus.

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• Utilizes critical thinking skills to provide holistic nursing care to patients.
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State Authorization (Asheville, Atlanta, Indianapolis, Knoxville, Nashville, Orlando, & Pittsburgh) The South College Bachelor of Science in Nursing program offered at the Parkside Learning Site (Knoxville) received initial approval from the Tennessee Board of Nursing in December 2003, with full approval granted in September 2008. Approval for the addition of the Nashville Learning Site was granted in November 2016. The Master of Science in Nursing program received approval in November 2016. The Doctor of Nursing Practice program received approval in February 2020.  The Post-Graduate Certificate programs received approval in August 2021.  The South College Bachelor of Science in Nursing program offered at the Asheville Learning Site received initial approval from the North Carolina Board of Nursing in February 2016, with full approval granted in May 2019. The Bachelor of Science in Nursing program offered at the Atlanta Learning Site received initial approval from the Georgia Board of Nursing in September 2018.  The Bachelor of Science in Nursing program offered at the Orlando Learning Site received initial approval from the Florida Board of Nursing in November 2021. The Bachelor of Science in Nursing program offered at the Indianapolis campus received initial approval from the Indiana Board of Nursing in July 2022. The Bachelor of Science in Nursing program offered at the Pittsburgh campus received initial approval from the Pennsylvania Board of Nursing in April 2023.

The South College Associate of Science in Nursing program (Knoxville & Nashville Learning Site) was approved by the Tennessee Board of Nursing in November 2022. The Associate of Science in Nursing program offered at the Orlando Learning Site was approved by the Florida Board of Nursing in January 2023.  The Associate of Science in Nursing program offered at the Atlanta Learning Site was approved by the Georgia Board of Nursing in March 2023. The Associate of Science in Nursing program offered at the Pittsburgh Learning Site was approved by the Pennsylvania Board of Nursing in November 2023.

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The Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Master of Science in Nursing, Doctor of Nursing Practice, and Post-Graduate APRN Certificate programs offered at South College are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, 655 K Street NW, Suite 750, Washington, DC 20001, 202-887-6791 ( http://www.ccneaccreditation.org ).

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Visit South College and see for yourself what the college has to offer. Campus tours include a personal admissions consultation, campus facility tour and more! When you are ready to start your journey at South College, submit an online application or speak with an admissions representative. Once your application is received, we will begin building your personalized plan to pursue the chosen degree or certificate program based on your interest. We want you to have the best possible educational experience. To learn more about the educational opportunities available for your future, Apply today!

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South College offers a wide range of degree and certificate programs in areas such as business, healthcare, legal studies, education, criminal justice, and technology. At this time, we do not currently offer housing options. Our expansive online study and hybrid options allow our students to learn wherever they are located, and often with the flexibility of their own convenient time. With academic advisors that support the students throughout their tenure at South College, along with tutors, study groups, and a student success team, students at South College have resources at their fingertips to assist them in their educational pursuits and may be able to guide towards housing areas close to the campus of their choice. The individual attention and support provided by our faculty and staff helps to set us apart. Students interested in a more personalized learning experience are often attracted to South College over other larger universities and colleges in our campus locations. Request more information about South College today!

Looking for South College Consumer Information?

South College was founded in 1882 and focused on serving students who want a hands-on, relevant education that can have a meaningful impact on their lives. South College strives to provide quality instruction, resources, and support services based on systematic and ongoing assessment and evaluation of objectives/outcomes to ensure the development of student abilities necessary for the achievement of positive student outcomes and the mission/vision of the college. The institution establishes policies and procedures to maintain compliance with applicable federal, state, and accrediting requirements. Click below to learn all about South College’s history, and who we are as an institution today.

Does South College accept Transfer Students?

Yes! Credit for transfer work may be given if it was taken at an accredited collegiate institution, if it is equivalent to courses offered at South College, and if it carries a grade of C or better. Any coursework taken over seven years ago may be denied transfer credit if the material is outdated. Policies for the acceptance of any graduate level transfer credit are determined by the associated program faculty within guidelines determined by the institution. We want students to succeed and will do our best to help you in your journey to apply transfer credits to those who qualify. Contact admissions for assistance for your transfer individualized plan and consideration and learn about transfer specifications and time limits by course here:

What Kind of Certificate & Degrees does South College Offer?

South College is a regionally accredited private co-educational, institution with non-residential campuses in Knoxville and Nashville, Tennessee; Asheville, North Carolina; Atlanta, Georgia; Indianapolis, Indiana; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Orlando, Florida. Students can pursue academic programs at all levels, including professional certificates and associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees. New academic programs are added frequently in response to local, regional, and national employment trends, and South College is committed to providing programs at all levels with innovative course content and teaching platforms. Explore all the programs and come back often as we regularly add new programs that may spark your interest!

Online vs On-Campus – What Is Best?

Since its founding 140 years ago, South College‘s mission has been to serve students who want a hands-on, professional focused education. Today this means offering traditional classroom experiences along with accelerated, hybrid, and online learning options. It means small class sizes, modern labs, and campuses that are convenient to large numbers of students. Most of all, it means experienced instructors who provide real world experiences in their classes and lead in-depth discussions on the concepts taught. South College also offers non-traditional distance-learning programs, allowing students to earn a college degree online providing more flexibility with the same level of quality education and experience from all academic programs offered. This option is great for potential students who are working a full-time job or are not in travel distance to one of the learning sites. Online vs. campus? You decide. Get the student experience you desire in the program that fits your style best on your road to success!

Does South College Have Programs for Active or Retired Military?

As an institution of higher education, South College recognizes its responsibility to society and supports both institutional and individual commitments to service. South College encourages its administration, faculty, and staff to invest their knowledge, experience, and expertise in community, professional, and institutional service. South College’s core values of excellence, responsibility, and integrity serve as the foundation for assessing the quality of institutional, school/departmental, and individual performance in achieving this mission. South College is grateful for the service and sacrifice of our military and their families. We are happy to provide the South College Military Grant to support our military – past and present – in the pursuit of their education and skill development. The South College Application Fee is waived for all active-duty military members, veterans, their spouses, and their dependent children who receive this Grant.

Welcome to the Essentials

Used to define quality in nursing education, the AACN  Essentials  outline the necessary curriculum content and expected competencies of graduates from baccalaureate, master’s, and Doctor of Nursing Practice programs.  AACN is dedicated to providing resources and support to facilitate this shift in nursing education. Whether you're an educator, student, or healthcare professional, explore this microsite to stay informed and engaged as we shape the future of nursing education together.

Don't Miss AACN's Next Vendor Showcase!

As your school continues to evolve its nursing programs and transition to competency-based education, we want to ensure you stay abreast of the latest tools and services to enhance your school's Essentials implementation efforts. This event is specifically designed for AACN member deans, faculty, and administrators who are considering innovative technology solutions to elevate your curriculum and streamline program administration. Register now for the next virtual showcase, which will be held on Tuesday, October 1 at 10:00 am (ET) .

Essentials Tool Kit

Guides & Talking Points

Webinars & Workshops

Download & Order Essentials

Latest updates & resources.

Consider the AACN Essentials through the Integrative Lens of Caring Science

September 11, 2024 On Wednesday, October 2, from 2:00-3:00 pm (ET), AACN will present a webinar on Unifying Caring Science and the AACN Essentials featuring distinguished presenters Jean Watson, Sara Horton-Deutsch, and Danny Willis. Championed by Dr. Watson, Caring Science provides an ethical, humanistic, and heart-centered educational guide for the future of nursing. The presentation will explore a visionary partnership model between healthcare organizations and academic institutions focused on integrating the AACN Essentials within the broader context of Caring Science and the nursing discipline. This integration aims to elevate the standards of nursing education, preparing a new generation of nurses with a deeper understanding of the caring, healing, and compassionate aspects of the profession.

Explore Solutions at AACN’s Upcoming Vendor Showcase

September 4, 2024 On October 1 from 10:00 am – 3:00 pm (ET), AACN will hold its next virtual Vendor Showcase to spotlight services and tools available to assist member nursing schools with meeting essential needs. This event is designed for deans, faculty, and staff who are considering innovative technology solutions to elevate their curriculum and streamline program administration. With a variety of companies featured, vendors will share details about their services to assist with experiential learning, competency tracking, curriculum mapping, simulation, learning assessment, and/or other needs. The event is free to members, and registration is now open .

Note: AACN does not endorse any specific company, product, or service.

Register Now for a Regional Faculty Development Workshop Focused on CBE

August 28, 2024 AACN is hosting two types of regional workshops this fall for faculty seeking strategies, resources, and solutions to meeting the 2021 Essentials and transitioning to competency-based education (CBE). The first workshop, titled Essentializing Your Curriculum: Moving Forward with Competency-Based Education , will show faculty how to apply backward design to adapt curriculum with a stronger focus on performance-based learning and assessment. Tips for using AI to develop progression indicators will be shared. Workshops are planned for September 27 in St. Louis, MO and November 8 in Denver, CO. For complete details and to register, click here .

AACN is also introducing a new workshop, titled Unlocking the Power of Simulation - Coach for Competency , on December 3-4 in New Orleans, just prior to the Transform 2024 conference. Faculty will explore how to adapt instructional strategies through experiential learning using various forms of simulation in the lab, classroom, and clinical setting. Participants will learn how to take their coaching and debriefing techniques to the next level using simulation. Register now , space is limited and expected to reach maximum capacity.

Upcoming Webinar: Strategies for Scaffolding Competency Development Across the Curriculum

August 21, 2024 On Wednesday, September 4 from 2:00-3:00 pm (ET), AACN is presenting a faculty webinar titled Strategies for Scaffolding Competency Development Across the Curriculum . Join Dr. Gerry Altmiller, a national expert on competency-based nursing education, who will demonstrate approaches for scaffolding competency development across the curriculum and share strategies for implementing systematic processes that will support schools in making incremental advances on their Essentials journey.

Be the Essentials Champion for Your School of Nursing August 14, 2024 AACN is asking each member school dean to identify one lead faculty member to serve as an Essentials Champion. This individual will be your school’s central point of contact and communication liaison who will have access to a new network of leaders engaged in Essentials implementation. Champions are encouraged to share updates and information with administrative staff, faculty, practice partners, and students as well as identify issues, ask questions, and share ideas during virtual Q&A sessions held each quarter with AACN staff leaders. Fill out a short online form to designate your Essentials Champion . Please direct any questions to [email protected] .

New Essentials Webinar: Achieving the  Essentials  Nursing Competencies with Immersive VR July 31, 2024 On Monday, August 12, from 2:00-3:00 pm (ET), AACN is presenting a webinar titled  Achieving the Essentials Nursing Competencies with Immersive VR . Join Dr. Cynthia Bradley and Dr. Michelle Aebersold to explore the benefits of immersive virtual reality (IVR) as a powerful medium for enhancing educational experiences in the health sciences. This cutting-edge technology enables students to practice patient care within a safe, controlled, and highly realistic setting, without the need for the extensive resources required for in-person simulations. This presentation aims to assess the potential of IVR, describe essential concepts, and provide guidance on effectively integrating immersive VR technology into educational curricula.

Unlocking the Power of Simulation - Coach for Competency July 24, 2024 AACN is pleased to announce a new faculty development workshop for those engaged in the transition to competency-based education (CBE). Scheduled for December 3-4 as a pre-conference to  Transform 2024  in New Orleans,  Unlocking the Power of Simulation - Coach for Competency  will show faculty how to adapt instructional strategies through experiential learning using various forms of simulation in the lab, classroom, and clinical setting. Don't miss out on this opportunity to unlock the potential of experiential learning to preparing highly competent nurses able to provide quality and safe patient care.

Ask the Experts: Explore AACN’s Essentials Coaching Program July 10, 2024 Does your school of nursing need guidance on how to adapt your curriculum to align with the 2021 Essentials and transition to competency-based education? AACN’s Essentials Coaching Program is here to help! Offered on a contract-basis, this program provides expert coaches on request to help meet institution-specific needs for schools at all stages of Essentials implementation. 

Peer Reviewers Needed to Assess Essentials Teaching Resources July 3, 2024 AACN is currently seeking peer reviewers to evaluate the learning and assessment strategies submitted for inclusion in the Essentials Teaching Resource Database . Home to nearly 100 peer-reviewed classroom resources, the database is a valuable tool for those looking to align curriculum with the 10 Domains and 8 Concepts identified in the 2021 Essentials . Faculty use the database to find recommended learning and assessment strategies, potential courses, and related tools and readings to assist with meeting today’s competency standards and transitioning to competency-based education. Those interested in serving as peer reviewers are encouraged to contact [email protected] for more information.

View all Updates

Upcoming Workshops

September 27, 2024 | St. Louis, MO Essentializing Your Curriculum: Moving Forward with Competency-Based Education Workshop

November 8, 2024 | Denver, CO Essentializing Your Curriculum: Moving Forward with Competency-Based Education Workshop

December 3-4, 2024 | Transform 2024 Pre-Conference | New Orleans, LA Unlocking the Power of Simulation - Coach for Competency

Helpful Links

• AACN Statement on Faculty Preparation
• AACN Statement on Supporting the Master’s Degree
• AACN Statement on the Timeline for  Essentials  Implementation
• Discussion Corner (AACN Connect)
• Essentials  References
• Executive Summary of the  Essentials
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Previous  Essentials  Series
• Understanding the New  Essentials : A Roadmap
• Vision for Sharing Data and Information Across Nursing Education, Practice, and Regulation
• White Paper -   Practice Experiences in Entry-Level Post-Licensure Nursing Programs

Featured Resources

Essentials  Competency Assessment Framework

Guide to Curricular Transition for Competency-Based Education

• NLN Certification
• Assessment Services
• CNEA Accreditation
• NLN Foundation
• Mission & Core Values
• History & Archives
• Board of Governors
• Senior Management
• Consultants & Speakers Bureau
• NLN Nominations
• Career Center

NLN Offers New Competency-Based Education Toolkit to Guide the Future of Nursing Education

Integrating competency-based education in the nursing curriculum.

Washington, DC —  With the publication of the latest entry in the National League for Nursing Vision Series , Integrating Competency-Based Education in the Nursing Curriculum , the League proposed a transformative shift in the preparation of new nursing graduates. Competency-based education holds the promise of improved patient safety and better health outcomes in the delivery of outstanding, equitable care for today’s diverse population of patients, families, communities, and populations.

To help guide the future of nursing education, the National League for Nursing now offers the NLN Competency-Based Education Toolkit as a comprehensive and practical guide for implementation across pre-licensure and graduate-level nursing curricula. By taking incremental steps now to incorporate the components of competency-based education into academic nursing programs and clinical education, faculty may progress in closing gaps between what learners are expected to know and what they are expected to do as health care providers in today’s sophisticated, dynamic health care institutions.

With an emphasis on student-centered learning in the acquisition of knowledge and the development of practical and analytical skills, competency-based education relies on nurse educators capable of transmitting information within a new instructional framework that prioritizes critical thinking and clinical judgment and takes account of individualized learning styles. This new toolkit will help faculty to create reliable methods of assessment that reflect the core competencies students must master to successfully transition to practice across the multiplicity of current health care environments.

“As educators, we are always looking for ways to support our students, to help them succeed as professionals, and to grow in their skills and confidence. Competency-based education provides an essential approach to unlocking their individual potential and thereby raising the standard of excellence for the entire nursing workforce today and for generations to follow. With the new toolkit, educators now have the roadmap to put this into action, strategically adapting its concepts and methodologies to best match school culture, program level, and student demographics,” said NLN Chair Patricia Sharpnack, DNP, RN, CNE, NEA-BC, ANEF, FAAN, Dean and Strawbridge Professor at the Breen School of Nursing and Health Professions at Ursuline College in Ohio.

“Academic leaders in nursing agree that competency-based education can transform nursing education by bridging the gap between education and practice. This new innovative, concrete blueprint can help assess nursing competence in real-world settings and will prove invaluable in assisting faculty and administration as they strive to craft a framework for a workable competency-based curriculum,” said NLN President and CEO Beverly Malone, PhD, RN, FAAN.

About the National League for Nursing

Dedicated to excellence in nursing, the National League for Nursing is the premier organization for nurse faculty and leaders in nursing education. The NLN offers professional development, networking opportunities, testing services, nursing research grants, and public policy initiatives to its nearly 45,000 individual and 1,000 institutional members, comprising nursing education programs across the spectrum of higher education and health care organizations. Learn more at  NLN.org.

September 10, 2024

Michael Keaton, Deputy Chief Communications Officer

CareerStaff Unlimited

Home Clinician Life Blog Nursing 5 Nursing Professional Development Plan Essentials

5 Nursing Professional Development Plan Essentials

September 3, 2024 — 6 min read

September 14-20 is NPD Week — Nursing Professional Development Week! This special week is all about helping you become the best nurse you can be. It’s a time to recognize your growth and provide you with the resources you need to reach your career goals. For instance, your plan for nursing professional development.

To celebrate, let’s look at the best ways to learn and grow in your nursing career: Starting by creating an effective Nursing Professional Development Plan (NPDP).

What is a Nursing Professional Development Plan?

A Nursing Professional Development Plan (NPDP) is a strategic tool designed to help you advance your career, improve your skills, and expand your professional knowledge. As you know, healthcare is always changing. This plan helps you stay on top of the change and grow with it, all while achieving your specific goals.

What is Included in a Nursing Professional Development Plan?

Your Nursing Professional Development Plan focuses on the actions you’ll take to reach your educational and career goals. It might include:

Clear, specific goals that outline where you want to be in both the short term and long term.

• Example : “Become a Nurse Leader in the next 3 years.”

How are you going to make it happen? Write down each of the steps you’ll take to achieve your goals. For instance:

• Earn a master’s degree in Clinical Nurse Leadership (CNL). 
• Complete the CNL program.
• Pass the CNL certification exam.

Explain why you have the strength to make it happen. What unique traits or qualities do you have that support your goal?

Example : “Natural Leader: I’m always finding myself guiding, motivating, and teaching others.”

Think about nursing skills or areas you want to improve to help make your goals possible.

Example : “Conflict resolution skills, communication skills…”

Opportunities

What opportunities can you look for to gain experience and support your goal?

Example : “Volunteer for leadership roles on committees, look for assignments with increased leadership responsibility, sign up for leadership trainings/webinars…”

Are there any mentors, networks, or educational resources you can use to guide and support your professional development?

Example : “In-house continuing education, leadership webinars through the ANA…”

Remember: Your NPDP isn’t something you make once at the beginning of your nursing career and call it good. It grows with you and your goals. It helps you stay focused, motivated, and proactive in your professional growth, turning your goals from ideas into achievements !

How to Select Your Nursing Professional Development Activities

Start by setting a smart goal.

First, effective Nursing Professional Development Plans are action-oriented. Instead of saying, “I want to become a Team Lead,” specify how you’ll get there with concrete steps: “I want to become a Team Lead by completing X, Y, and Z.”

To guide your plan, start by setting a SMART goal :

• S pecific : Spare no detail! The clearer your goal, the easier it is to achieve.
• M easurable : How will you know when you’ve reached your goal? Determine how you’ll measure progress. For example, if you want to get “better” at a skill, set criteria for how you’ll gauge your improvement.
• A ttainable : Make sure your goal is within your reach. Dream big, but set yourself up for success.
• R elevant : Is your goal relevant to what you want to achieve in your career and life in the long run? Make sure it aligns.
• T ime-Bound: We all procrastinate. Without a deadline, it’s easy to put our goals off. Fight this by giving yourself a realistic deadline for your goal to keep yourself on track.

Talk with a Mentor

Not sure where to start? Talk with a mentor, unit leader, or someone you look up to at your facility. Share your goals and seek their advice on what to include in your Nursing Professional Development Plan.

Use Nursing Professional Development Plan Resources

There are endless resources out there to help you make your goals happen. The Association for Nursing Professional Development is a great place to start. Plus, we’ve compiled a whole list for you here !

5 Ways to Level Up Your Nursing Professional Development Plan

Want to take your Nursing Professional Development Plan to the next level? Here are some must-haves and best practices to help:

Look Into Continuing Education Opportunities

The more you learn, the more you grow. Continuing education (CE) is crucial for your NPDP.

• Check if your facility offers CE courses.
• Attend local or national conferences to expand your knowledge (and your network).
• Explore CE online courses and webinars through the American Nurses Association (ANA) .

Remember: Choose courses or conferences that tie back to your goals. For example, if you want to become a Nurse Leader, look for opportunities focused on leadership and management.

Get a Certification

Become an expert — and make it official! Getting a nursing certification is one of the most effective ways to level up your career and confidence.

Once again, go back to your main goal. What do you want to achieve in the long-term? What type of certification(s) will help get you there?

Explore More Advanced Roles

Plan your next career steps. Where can you grow and go next?

• Can you move into a Nurse Leader or Nurse Manager role?
• Could you become a specialist?
• Could you advance to a more specialized setting ?

Research advanced roles you’re interested in and see what education, experience, and steps are required to get there. Then, you’ll have your next action steps for your nursing professional development plan!

Participate in Committees

See if your facility has any committees you can join or volunteer with. This can help you rub shoulders with important leaders, increase your experience, and open advancement opportunities that support your nursing professional development plan.

Find or Become a Mentor

Lastly, wherever you are in your career, mentorship can help you get a step further.

• If you need a mentor, they can help you reach your goals, dream bigger, and overcome obstacles.
• If you become a mentor, you can help others do the same — all while building your own confidence, experience, and leadership skills.

Growing Your Nursing Career with New Experiences

The ultimate key to nursing professional development is always looking for and staying open to new experiences. Wherever you want to go in your career, CareerStaff can connect you with the right opportunities.

Curious about openings for your dream roles? Quick Apply to work with a dedicated recruiter today, or search hundreds of local, travel, and per diem nursing jobs nationwide now.

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Doctor of Nursing Practice, DNP (Family Nurse Practitioner Concentration)

Graduates Will Be Eligible To Take The ANCC Or AANP Certification Exam For Family Nurse Practitioners

Program Can Be Completed In As Few As Eight Semesters

Nursing Professionals Seeking Advanced-Practice Skills

UNCW’s Doctor of Nursing Practice Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) concentration is designed for nursing professionals seeking advanced-practice skills that will enable them to provide primary health care to patients across the lifespan, with an emphasis on underserved rural or urban populations.

The DNP serves as a clinical leader in transforming care of the individual, the community, and the health care system. This program integrates nursing science with biophysical, psychosocial, analytical and organizational sciences, which graduates use to understand the nature of health and health care delivery and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions.

Integrate science from nursing and other disciplines to identify, develop, and evaluate practice change initiatives that improve individual and population health

Demonstrate leadership within healthcare systems to adopt strategies to improve quality and safety

Incorporate knowledge of evidence-based practice into advanced decision-making through the evaluation and translation of evidence into practice

Analyze, apply and integrate appropriate information and technology that will improve and transform care at the individual and population level

Critically analyze health policy to develop and implement health care reform that advocates for social justice and equity

Alumni work as:

Maintain patient records; perform physical exams; order or perform diagnostic tests; prescribe medications; develop treatment plans; and treat acute and chronic illnesses, conditions and injuries that fall under primary care. ( Source )

Assess, diagnose, order, and interpret medical tests, prescribe medications, and collaborate in the care of patients. ( Source )

Serve as faculty in nursing schools and teaching hospitals, sharing knowledge and skills to prepare the next generation of nurses. ( Source )

Plan departmental activities, evaluate doctors and other hospital employees, create and maintain policies, help develop procedures for medical treatments, quality assurance, patient services, and public relations activities such as active participation in fundraising and community health planning. ( Source )

Take temporary nursing positions in high-need areas. Jump into hospitals, clinics, and other facilities, giving patients across the country quality care. ( Source )

Sample Courses

Admission Deadlines & Requirements

Information: dnp doctor of nursing practice - family nurse practitioner (bsn to dnp).

• Complete applications are considered for admission as a group, after the published deadline.
• All application and supporting documents must be received by the published deadline.

Coordinator

• Dr. Sara Hubbell - Program Coordinator [email protected]    Ms. Annette Richards - Program Contact [email protected]  

Location/Delivery Method

• Distance Education - Online except for the mandatory on campus orientation and designated on campus intensives scheduled throughout the program as indicated for each concentration.   Mixture of asynchronous and synchronous by class Asynchronous - instructional materials made available on the Internet and available 24 hours a day every day-not time-dependent slots. Synchronous - instruction made available on the web or internet in time-dependent slots.

Concentration

• Family Nurse Practitioner - BSN to DNP

Deadlines (11:59 p.m. EST)

• Application Deadline: February 1, 2025

Test Scores

• None required

Recommendations

• 3 professional references; Recommender will submit a survey through online application tool.  An additional letter is not required.

Additional Requirements

• Upload Supplemental Documents After Application Submission Upload Supplemental Documents
• Bachelor's Degree in Nursing:  Bachelor's Degree in nursing from a regionally accredited institution.
• RN License:  Must have a valid unrestricted North Carolina registered nurse license or a compact state license to complete practicum hours in North Carolina.
• GPA:   Overall cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher. A GPA as low as 2.75 will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
• Resume:   1-page clinical work-history resume.
• Include Academic Credits on Resume:   Successful completion of academic credits in undergraduate community health, health and physical assessment, nursing research, and statistics.
• Include Registered Nurse Experience on Resume:   Include the 600 hours of Registered Nurse experience prior to beginning any clinical courses in the BSN to DNP program.
• Video (Save Video as Public):   Creation of time-limited professional video responding to prompted interview questions.   YouTube Video Creation Tips Prompt Instructions & Time Limits
• International Applicants:   Must present evidence of professional standing in their home countries. This requirement excludes U.S. citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents.
• Differential Tuition: Differential tuition applies to this program. Tuition & Fees

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Montgomery County Community College

Mccc nursing pinning ceremony honors new graduates.

Thirty-three nursing students recently graduated from the Dr. Stuart H. & Sandra K. Fine Nursing Program at Montgomery County Community College. Photos by Linda Johnson

Montgomery County Community College (MCCC) recently celebrated the graduation of 33 nursing students from the Dr. Stuart H. & Sandra K. Fine Nursing Program , who are ready to share their skills, compassion and dedication with the patients they will serve.

Following graduation, MCCC nurses are fully prepared to take the National Council Licensing Examination-Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) to become registered nurses. In March 2024, MCCC nursing graduates achieved a first-time pass rate on the NCLEX-RN exam, which exceeds the state average of 90.7% and the national average of 86.73%.

At the beginning of the ceremony, Dr. Isabelle Porter, MCCC Dean of Health Sciences and the Director of the Physical Therapist Assistant Program, welcomed the families and guests and congratulated the new graduates.

During her remarks, Dr. Porter shared an experience she once had when some of the nursing staff were not very caring and spent more time on the computer than treating patients. She reminded students that it’s important to “treat the patient, not the screen.”  

“I want you to continue to be the amazing nurses I know you are going to be, but I also want you to think about being the nurse that your loved ones deserve. Congratulations to all of you,” Dr. Porter said.

Building on Dr. Porter’s remarks, Dr. Chae Sweet, Vice President of Academic Affairs and Provost acknowledged and thanked the students for taking up this special calling that changes lives.

“Nursing is, indeed, a critical and high-priority occupation. Hospitals, medical offices and clinics are facing a shortage of qualified, well-trained nurses,” Dr. Sweet said. “I am proud that you are poised to step into these roles and make meaningful contributions…Always keep in mind the patient you care for is also cherished by family and friends. The kindness and care you extend in every interaction makes a difference.”

The ceremony’s keynote speaker, Assistant Professor of Nursing Elizabeth Keene, MSN/Ed, RN, CNE, shared some fond memories and words of advice.

Following Keene’s speech, Dr. Britt described the history of the pinning ceremony.  The student then lined up to walk on stage to receive their pins from faculty members Lindsey Doran, MSN, RN-BC; J. Farrell, RN, MSN, VA-BC; Kelly Lyles, MSN, RN, CEN, CPEN; and C. Troyer, RN-BSN, BFA, PHRN, CFRN. The graduates recited the International Council of Nurses Pledge together.

Nursing Director, Dr. Patricia White, sent the students off with two words: “honor” and “integrity.”

“Whenever you go to meet a new patient or client, you will want to say ‘HI’ to them, and that will remind you what an honor it is to be a nurse and to help individuals with integrity,” White said.

Many of MCCC’s nursing graduates are employed at hospitals, physicians’ offices, clinics and other health care settings across Montgomery County and the region. Upon completion of the Dr. Stuart H. & Sandra K. Fine Nursing Program, graduates may seamlessly transfer their Associates of Applied Science degree to a Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. Some of MCCC’s top transfer schools include Drexel University, Penn State University and Ohio University.

For more information about MCCC’s Nursing Program, register for one of the upcoming information sessions .

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