Nursing, B.S.N (RN-BSN)

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Phyllis King, Ph.D., MSN, RN, Chair of the RN-BSN Track

The Registered Nurse to Bachelor of Science in Nursing program (RN-BSN) at Palm Beach Atlantic University specifically seeks to meet the education and preparation needs of registered nurses who have an associate degree in nursing for professional practice in the expanding healthcare community. The program will provide graduates with qualities that professional nurses need to be leaders in the complex and ever-changing global health care environment; encouragement for professional development in a nursing career; as well as broader job opportunities in hospital, community/ public health, school or parish nursing, pharmaceutical and medical device sales, or research. The program also provides preparation for a streamlined pathway to graduate studies (MSN or DNP).

Program Features

28 nursing credits plus applicable General Education courses.
Completely online delivery.
Flexible course offerings with multiple entry points.
Part and Full time available.
Streamlined pathway to MSN and DNP.
Guaranteed entry to nursing graduate programs at PBA if GPA is 3.5 or greater (other graduate admissions requirements still apply).

Program Structure

The required curriculum for the major is composed of three and four-credit hour courses offered during eight-week subterms or 16 week semesters. Online courses are delivered electronically through the university learning management system. Attendance at a minimum of two synchronous online sessions is required in each online nursing course. The specific days and hours for these meetings will be scheduled by the instructor during the first week of each course. Online students should pay particular attention to the Online Attendance Policy. Students enrolled in the B.S. in Nursing program take many of their General Education core requirements from the Catherine T. MacArthur School of Leadership. Online general education courses are usually eight weeks long.

To qualify for graduation, students must earn a minimum of 120 credits, including a minimum of 42 upper-level credits (courses numbered 3000 and above). The curriculum is divided between the General Education requirements, Nursing major requirements, and Nursing Electives.

Capstone RN-BSN Practicum This comprehensive clinical course is the culmination of the baccalaureate nursing curriculum, integrating broad liberal education, nursing knowledge, technical skills, and core Christian worldview values in preparation of a professional career in a changing 21st century health care environment. This course should be taken as near as possible to the final term of study at Palm Beach Atlantic University.

Nursing Major Curriculum Requirements

120 Credit Hours

Note: Students who are enrolled in the online Nursing B.S.N. program should select the corresponding E-courses when registering (for example: EENG 1123 rather than GENG 1123).

General Education Requirements - 35 Credit Hours

Orientation Requirement: fulfilled through major coursework (ENUR 3803 ).
Global Studies Requirement: fulfilled through major coursework (ENUR 3233 ).
Lifetime Fitness Requirement: fulfilled through major coursework (ENUR 3813 ).

Foundational Courses - 20 Credit Hours

GENG 1123 - Composition I 3 Credit Hours
GENG 1223 - Composition II 3 Credit Hours
PLS 3003 - Freedom in American Society 3 Credit Hours
COM 1113 - Public Speaking 3 Credit Hours
MIN 1003 - Exploring the Bible 3 Credit Hours
MIN 4153 - Christian Values & Biblical Faith 3 Credit Hours
GMUS 2312 - Music Appreciation 2 Credit Hours

Humanities - 9 Credit Hours

Humanities courses should be taken in sequence.

GHUM 1013 - Humanities I 3 Credit Hours
GHUM 1023 - Humanities II 3 Credit Hours
GHUM 1033 - Humanities III 3 Credit Hours

Social Science - 6 Credit Hours

PSY 2133 - General Psychology 3 Credit Hours
PSY 2183 - Lifespan Development 3 Credit Hours

Math and Science Requirements - 24 Credit Hours

MAT 1853 - College Algebra 3 Credit Hours (Note: This class is a prerequisite for Statistics)
MAT 2003 - Elementary Statistics 3 Credit Hours
BIO 2103 - Therapeutic Nutrition 3 Credit Hours
BIO 2283 - Human Anatomy and Physiology I 3 Credit Hours and
BIO 2281 - Human Anatomy and Physiology I Laboratory 1 Credit Hours
BIO 2293 - Human Anatomy and Physiology II 3 Credit Hours and
BIO 2291 - Human Anatomy and Physiology II Laboratory 1 Credit Hours
BIO 2503 - Principles of Microbiology 3 Credit Hours and
BIO 2501 - Principles of Microbiology Lab 1 Credit Hours
Additional Natural Science (CHM 1123 - Principles of Chemistry preferred) 3 Credit Hours

Professional Nursing Courses Transfer - 33 Credit Hours

Students with an ADN in nursing and current license as an RN in the state of Florida may receive up to 33 hours of nursing course credit (13 hours of lower level and 20 hours of upper level nursing credit) towards graduation through a competency based process. This process includes:

Students graduating in the last 10 years from a regionally accredited Associate Degree in Nursing program may demonstrate competency through successful completion of standardized nursing exam scores in their Associate Degree program or in the first three semesters of the RN to BSN program at a comparable level to PBA BSN students in each area.
Students graduating more than 10 years ago from a regionally accredited Associate Degree in Nursing program may demonstrate competency through successful completion of standardized nursing exam scores in the first three semesters of the RN to BSN program at a comparable level to PBA BSN students in each area. Credit will be based on the exams and associated courses.
Students graduating from a non-regionally accredited Associate Degree in Nursing program may demonstrate competency through successful completion of standardized nursing exam scores in the first three semesters of the RN to BSN program at a comparable level to PBA BSN students in each area. Credit will be based on the exams and associated courses. Transfer credit for nursing courses will be conferred for students in this category after successful completion of 30 credit hours at PBA.
All students may demonstrate competency by successfully completing remediation in areas of weakness identified by the standardized exams.

Required RN to BSN Core Courses 25 Credit Hours

ENUR 3223 - Nursing Research 3 Credit Hours
ENUR 3233 - Community Nursing 3 Credit Hours
ENUR 3803 - Transition to BSN Role 3 Credit Hours
ENUR 3813 - Health Assessment for the Practicing RN 3 Credit Hours
ENUR 3824 - Pathophysiology and Pharmacology 4 Credit Hours
ENUR 4203 - Leadership 3 Credit Hours
ENUR 4343 - Healthcare Policy: Economic and Ethical Analysis 3 Credit Hours
ENUR 4883 - Capstone RN-BSN Practicum 3 Credit Hours
ENUR 4710 - Professional Nursing Competency 0 Credit Hours
Successful completion of ENUR 4710 with an assigned grade of P will provide 7 upper division level transfer nursing credit hours.
ENUR 4720 - Professional Nursing Competency 0 Credit Hours
Successful completion of ENUR 4720 with an assigned grade of P will provide 9 upper division level transfer nursing credit hours.
ENUR 4730 - Professional Nursing Competency 0 Credit Hours
Successful completion of ENUR 4730 with an assigned grade of P will provide 4 upper division level transfer nursing credit hours.

Nursing Electives - 3 Credit Hours

ENUR 4323 - Contemporary Nursing Stress Management Stratgies
ENUR 4333 - End-of-Life Issues & Concepts
ENUR 4353 - Nurses and Alternative Healing
* NUR 5013 - Faith and Science
* NUR 5123 - Epidemiology and Genetics/Genomics

Note:

Any course from the list of approved courses. Students may take an elective from the day BSN program; additional charges may apply.
NUR 5013 and NUR 5123 are graduate courses and may only be taken by student with a minimum 3.5 GPA or with permission from the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies. Graduate tuition applies.

Sample Degree Plan

Nursing, RN to BSN Sample Degree Plan