September 21, 2012
Students interested in nursing now have another degree option at Shawnee State University.
This fall, the university introduced a new traditional Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree program. This program complements Shawnee State's two existing nursing programs: the RN to BSN program designed for nurses who want to advance their education by earning a bachelor's degree, and the associate degree in Nursing program for students who want to become a registered nurse (RN).
"This offers a new path for students going into nursing," Dr. Mattie Burton, Chair of Health Sciences at Shawnee State University, said. "With this program, students can begin working on their baccalaureate degree from the beginning."
Burton said that the development of the traditional BSN program is in response to the Institute of Medicine's recommendation for an increased proportion of nurses with baccalaureate degrees by the year 2020. This research stems from research finding hospitalized patients have better outcomes when nursing care is provided in facilities employing a greater proportion of nurses educated at a minimum of a BSN level.
"Our regional hospitals have been supporting advanced education for nurses for several years and continue to need and support the RN to BSN program," Burton explained. "High school students interested in nursing careers will benefit from the new direct BSN option."
Burton said that Shawnee State University has long-standing reputation for excellence in nursing education with higher first-time pass rates on licensure exams than state and national averages.
"Our program is competitive," she said. "We prepare excellent future nurses and we take great pride in the fact that we have doctoral-prepared nurses on our faculty."
Shawnee State is currently accepting new students into the BSN program. Interested students may call Health Sciences at (740) 351-3209.