RN to BSN Online Completion Program

The Marian University online RN to BSN program uses the following professional standards and guidelines in the development, delivery, and assessment of the program:

• Standards for Accreditation of Baccalaureate and Graduate Nursing Programs [Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), 2018]
• The Essentials of Baccalaureate Education for Professional Nursing Practice [American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), 2008]

Program Outcomes

1. Patient-Centered Care: The graduate will partner with the patient whether individual, family, community, or population, and across the lifespan to provide compassionate and coordinated care with respect for preferences, values and needs.
2. Informatics: The graduate will integrate information technology for the purposes of communication, workflow efficiency, knowledge management and clinical decision support creating a safe environment.
3. Quality Improvement: The graduate participates in Quality Improvement  to optimize achievement of patient outcomes with an emphasis on safety and organizational processes.
4. Safety: The graduate integrates and analyzes aspects of safety to provide quality patient-centered, team, and organizational care to improve patient outcomes.
5. Evidence-Based Practice: The graduate will use clinical judgment based on the exploration and integration of evidence from interprofessional perspectives to improve patient outcomes.
6. Teamwork and Collaboration: The graduate will effectively collaborate and communicate with interprofessional team members, inclusive of the patient and system, while advocating for quality care across the lifespan.
7. Clinical Judgment: The graduate utilizes clinical judgment to make evidence based decisions for safe and high quality individual, family, community, or population outcomes.
8. Professionalism: The graduate incorporates leadership and system thinking skills by following the Code of Ethics in their professional practice.

The Bachelor of Science in nursing program in the Nursing Department consists of the traditional pre-licensure BSN program and an RN to BSN completion program.

Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program Goals

The mission and philosophy of the Nursing Programs serve as a foundation for the development of program goals.  The baccalaureate program goals are to provide a curriculum which:

1. Combines the foundation of liberal arts and biopsychosocial sciences with baccalaureate level nursing concepts.
2. Fosters professional growth, professional development, clinical judgment, and a commitment to life-long learning at the baccalaureate level.
3. Fosters compassion and respect for people from diverse cultures and the belief that each person has the right to participate in the fullness of life to the greatest extent possible.

Mission Statement

The Nursing Department is an integral, dynamic, and innovative entity committed to the education and preparation of diverse health care professionals in a faith-based academic institution while improving the health and well-being of individuals, families and communities through the application of evidence-based practice in a global environment.

Program Philosophy

Provide state of the art undergraduate and graduate nursing education that endows nursing graduates with the knowledge, values, and skills to work within collaborative interdisciplinary teams to provide safe patient-centered care in any setting.  Through the use of research evidence, health informatics, and knowledge of quality improvement, graduates will have the skill set to lead change in individual patient care settings, the community, and the nursing profession.

The undergraduate and graduate programs will provide a curriculum which fosters personal growth, professional development, and a commitment of service to the profession, lifelong learning, a community of respect, a commitment to social justice, and the freedom to explore spiritual traditions.

The RN to BSN degree completion program is specifically designed for working nurses who either desire or are required to obtain their baccalaureate degree in nursing. Students enrolled in the RN to BSN program are employed either full time or part time as fully licensed Registered Nurses with an associate’s degree or technical diploma in nursing. The goal of these students is not employment but rather promotion or advancement as a BSN prepared nurse. In many cases, the BSN is a requirement of the students’ current supervisory or managerial position.

Requirements for progression to the nursing major:

• Associate degree in nursing or diploma from an accredited school of nursing
• Cumulative GPA of 2.0 or above
• Unencumbered Registered Nurse license in state of residency per the nurse-licensing compact
• Application
• Official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions