Central Montana Times

RN-BSN at UP: What Sets Our Program Apart

How could enrolling in an RN-BSN program change the trajectory of your career?

As a currently practicing registered nurse, you know the challenges that come with finding a balance between your work and personal life – making sacrifices on a monthly, weekly, and sometimes daily basis to make a living. Long hours at work compounded by responsibilities at home can make the idea of adding something else to your plate a challenge – especially one as concrete and expensive as returning to school for your Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN).

At the University of Providence, we understand the challenges you face as a registered nurse, the obstacles you’ve overcome to get to where you are in your career, the commitments you’ve made to your work and family, and how those might impact your decision to return to school for a higher degree. Maybe you’ve shopped around some different programs and looked into a few tuition costs here and here, but at the end of the day, you always return to the same questions:

•    Will I have enough time to complete my degree?

•    How am I going to manage my work life and personal life?

•    Am I going to be able to afford to pay my tuition?

•    Is the return on investment of a BSN worth the additional sacrifices?

•    How can I be sure which BSN program is right for me?

 

At UP, our RN-BSN program has consistently and efficiently provided registered nurses in need of a BSN the opportunity to earn their degree through 100% online courses.

Our one-year program builds off the skills you already know and use every day to help you become a leader in your practice, providing compassionate, patient-centered care to those who need it the most. With scholarship opportunities and special discounts for Providence St. Joseph Health members, earning your BSN degree will offer much more than a credential or checking off a box.

 

Our online courses are centered around you.

Your time is valuable. We get that. That’s why UP offers our RN-BSN program in an online, hybrid format. What is an online hybrid format? Instead of a traditional hybrid format where courses are split between online and in-person learning modalities, our RN-BSN program is offered 100% online, breaking lessons between asynchronous coursework and virtual meetings designed to maximize your learning outcomes.

With our asynchronous learning platform, you can complete coursework on your time before the assigned due date. Whether it’s early in the morning, in the middle of the day, or late at night – so long as you get the assignment in on the assigned date, you are free to work on it according to your schedule.

Just because our courses are offered online, and asynchronous doesn’t mean you will be without guidance or support from our dedicated faculty or your peers. Through our interactive learning platform, you can connect with faculty and fellow students to ask questions, review material, go over concepts you don’t understand, and stay on track with your coursework all on your time.

In addition to our asynchronous courses, you will learn the material through online virtual sessions. These sessions allow you to engage with faculty and converse with classmates during a 90-minute virtual meeting. Although these sessions are frequent during the first eight-week term, the live sessions will transition to only twice during a term at the start of the second eight-week term. Live class sessions are administered on the first, third, fifth, and seventh week for the first eight-week term but move to only the first and seventh week for the second eight-week term and beyond.

 

Live Session You’ll Have

•    Semester I

o    First & second eight-week session

    Week one

    Week three

    Week five

    Week seven

o    Semester II

    First and second eight-week sessions

    Week one

    Week seven

    Semester III

    First and second eight-week sessions

    Week one

    Week seven

 

Build Upon Skills You Already Know

As an already practicing registered nurse, you know what it takes to serve your patients and function in the job. At UP, we recognize and build off those skills – preparing you to deliver more enhanced care and grow your future career and education prospects should you pursue them.

 

Skills You’ll Learn

•    Compassion, ethics, and spirituality

•    Patient and family-centered care

•    Leadership and effective advocacy

•    Evidence-based practice

•    Population and community health

•    Transforming healthcare

•    Safety and quality outcomes

•    Professional accountability

•    Collaboration and interprofessional teams

•    Reflective practice and lifelong development

 

Our RN-BSN Curriculum, in addition to teaching the skills above, delivers advanced clinical and nursing practice concepts – building upon the skills you already know better to prepare you for new roles in your nursing career. Our RN-BSN program’s core tenants focus on delivering relationship-based care, vigilance in your nursing duties, and promoting professional accountability. Graduating from our RN-BSN program means you will be prepared to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing nursing practice head-on with tangible skills and a willingness and readiness to continue learning.

 

Courses You’ll Take

•    NRS 405 – Pathology & Pharmacological Concepts

•    NRS 301 – Research Methods & Statistics

•    NRS 402 – Evidence-Based Practice

•    NRS 407 – Public Health: Nursing Care of Populations

•    NRS 408 – Health Promotion & Disease in Communities

•    NRS 419 – Organizational Leadership in Quality & Safety

•    NRS 403 – Ethical Decision Making & Spirituality

•    PHL 101 – What Does it Mean to be Human

•    NRS 418 – Global Perspectives in Healthcare

•    NRS 420 – Advanced Issues in Nursing Leadership

•    NRS 494 – Senior Seminar

•    TRL 201 – Introduction to Theology

 

Grow Your Career, Faster

With a BSN, you can take on more roles in nursing – expanding your career and educational opportunities. Nurses open the doors to new opportunities beyond bedside nursing with options in clinical, administrative, and management sides of nursing. In addition to new opportunities outside of nursing, BSN recipients can transition to more specialized roles in nursing.

Earning a BSN also opens doors to additional education opportunities. Most of today’s graduate programs in nursing require a bachelor’s degree as an admission requirement. With a BSN, you can apply for a Master’s degree in nursing – expanding your career opportunities to include advanced practice nursing, executive positions in nursing, nurse education, nurse management, and more. Not only will earning your BSN impact your immediate future but your distant future as well.

With the University of Providence’s RN-BSN program, you can earn your Bachelor of Science in Nursing on your terms. Whether you’re working as a nurse full-time, part-time, or with overtime, our 100% online program is designed to meet you halfway – providing flexible learning options and in-demand skills that will help boost your educational and vocational opportunities.

Original source can be found here.