Nursing (B.S.N.)

Faculty

Carrie O’Reilly, RN, MSN, Ph.D, Nursing Program Director; Clinical Associate Professor of Nursing
Denyse Barkley, RN, Ph.D, Assistant Professor of Nursing
Ellen Gustafson, DPT, Assistant Professor of Anatomy and Physiology
Debra Massaro, RN, DNP, Assistant Professor of Nursing
Khafi Muhammad, RN, MSN  Assistant Professor of Nursing
Nephtalie Perrin, RN, MNS, CNM, Assistant Professor of Nursing, Director of Simulation Laboratory
Keisha Rollins-Monroe, RN, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Nursing; Conway Scholar Mentor
Sheila Spurlock-White, RN, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Nursing
Fiona Swaby-Hall, DNP, RN, Assistant Professor of Nursing
Jennifer Wallace, RN, MSN, Assistant Professor of Nursing

Description

Trinity’s Pre-Licensure BSN Program combines the academic structure and clinical preparation necessary for a career in nursing. Students focus initially on liberal arts courses that provide a framework for their chosen major in nursing. When pre-nursing students are in their final semester of completing prerequisite nursing courses, they are eligible to submit an application for formal acceptance into the nursing program. The rigorous academic coursework in the nursing program then lays the foundation for a progressive mastery of the knowledge, skills, values, ethics, and abilities required of a professional nurse. Students will have ample opportunities to experience firsthand the rewards of nursing in numerous closely supervised clinical settings. Upon successful completion of the program, graduates are eligible to apply for licensure as a registered nurse. Graduates must pass the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN) to practice as licensed registered nurses.

See Pre-Licensure BSN Curriculum Plan

Major Requirements

I. CAS General Education Requirements

Foundational Skills (24 credits)

  • Critical Reading (7 credits) CRS 101 Critical Reading and Writing Seminar I and CRS 102 Critical Reading and Writing Seminar II
  • Written Communication (3 credits or waived by assessment placement) ENGL 107 College Composition
  • Oral Communication (5 credits) NURS 360 Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing
  • Critical Reasoning (5 credits required) NURS 117 Foundations for Professional Nursing Practice
  • Quantitative Reasoning (4 credits) MATH 108 Finite Mathematics or higher

Knowledge and Inquiry (29 credits)

  • Social Sciences (complete 6 credits in 2 different disciplines)
    • Psychology PSYC 101 Introductory Psychology
    • Sociology SOCY 100 Introduction to Sociology
  • Sciences and Mathematics (complete 7-8 credits, of which one course must be in laboratory science)
    • Biology BIOL 121 Human Anatomy and Physiology I
    • Chemistry CHEM 113 Chemistry for the Health Sciences
  • History, Arts, and Literature (9 credits) Complete one course in each discipline.
    • History: HIS 128 Creation of the Atlantic World, HIS 130 Introduction to American Civilizations, HIS 133 Travelers' Tales, HIS 135
    • Fine Arts: FNAR 101 Survey: History of Art I, FNAR 102 Survey: History of Art II, FNAR 145 Introduction to Music Literature, FNAR 205 Modern Art, FNAR 241 Experiencing Musical ArtFNAR 243 Blues, Jazz, Gospel, and Ragtime, FNAR 247 Women in Music History, FNAR 313 Art of the Americas, FNAR 315 Twentieth Century Art
    • Literature: ENGL 150 Writing about Literature, ENGL 220 African American Literature, ENGL 267 Multicultural United States Literature, SPAN 213 Latina VoicesENGL 370 Ethics and Social Change in Global Literature, ENGL 381 Literary Representations of Nursing
  • Foreign Language (6-8 credits)

Values and Belief (6 credits)

  • Religious Studies and Theology (3 credits) Any RST or THE course
  • Philosophy (3 credits) PHIL 251 Bioethics

Application: Turning Knowledge into Action (6 credits)

  • Civic Knowledge (3 credits) SNHP 220 Health Promotion, Policy and Politics
  • Leadership (3 credits) NURS 410 Leadership and Management of Health Care

General Education Capstone Seminar (3 credits)

  • General Education Capstone Seminar (taken in junior year in the Nursing program): SNHP 330 Research and Evidence-Based Practice

II. Additional Required Pre-Requisite Nursing Courses for Students Intending
to Declare a Nursing Major

  • BIOL 121 Human Anatomy and Physiology I (4 credits) (this also fulfills General Education Knowledge and Inquiry)
  • BIOL 122 Human Anatomy and Physiology II (4 credits)
  • BIOL 130 Microbiology for the Health Professions (4 credits)
  • CHEM 113 Chemistry for the Health Sciences (4 credits) (this also fulfills General Education Knowledge and Inquiry)
  • HPNU 120 Medical Terminology (1 credit)
  • HPNU 200 Nutrition, Diet Therapy, and Health Promotion (3 credits)
  • HPNU 210 Pathophysiology (3 credits)
  • MATH 110 Introduction to Statistics (3 credits)

III. Nursing Specific Courses

Junior Year (First Semester)

  • NURS 117 Foundations for Professional Nursing Practice
  • NURS 218 Pharmacology I
  • NURS 222 Health Assessment
  • SNHP 220 Health Promotion, Policy and Politics

Junior Year (Second Semester)

  • NURS 350 Medical-Surgical Nursing I
  • NURS 460 Maternity and Women's Health Nursing
  • NURS 219 Pharmacology II
  • SNHP 330 Research and Evidence-Based Practice

Senior Year (First Semester)

  • NURS 361 Medical-Surgical Nursing II
  • NURS 410 Leadership and Management of Health Care
  • NURS 461 Pediatric Nursing
  • SNHP 405 Informatics and Data Management

Senior Year (Second Semester)

  • NURS 360 Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing
  • NURS 420 Community and Public Health Nursing
  • NURS 491 Capstone: Transition to Professional Nursing Practice

Program Policies

I.   Acceptance into the Pre-Licensure BSN Nursing Program

A.  Acceptance Criteria:

Formal acceptance into the Nursing program requires the following at minimum:

  1. Successful completion of ALL required prerequisite nursing courses with a grade of “B-” or higher.
  2. Overall GPA of at least 3.0
  3. A science GPA of at least 2.75
  4. No more than one failure in a science course
  5. Satisfactory score on the Test of Essential Academic Skills (TEAS)

Pre-licensure BSN students should direct any questions about the process for formal acceptance into the Nursing program to their undergraduate advisor in the College of Arts and Sciences.

B.  Application Process:

  1. Students should submit their application to their advisor early in the semester PRIOR to the semester of their projected acceptance date.
    1. Nursing program deadlines:
      1. Fall Semester: February 1
      2. Spring semester: October 1
  2. Students must include their application scores from the TEAS taken within 90 days of applying to the nursing program.  Students may take the TEAS up to three times.
  3. Students will be notified by the nursing program of the results of their application when the Nursing Admissions Committee has completed its review and evaluation of all submitted applications.
  4. Questions regarding the application process, acceptance criteria, or TEAS should be directed to the Nursing Program Office (202.885.9670) or to the student’s undergraduate advisor.

II.    Health Requirements*

  • Current physical examination by a health care provider
  • Current immunizations
    • Tetanus/diphtheria (TD booster within 10 years)
    • MMR – (two vaccines or a positive titer)
    • Varicella – (Chicken pox) – (two vaccines or a positive titer)
    • Hepatitis (series of 3 vaccines given with a 6 month period.
    • PPD (Tuberculosis skin test given within the last 6 months with follow-up chest X-ray if the skin test result is positive.  A new skin TB test must be completed annually once a student is accepted into the nursing program.)
    • Influenza (Annual)
  • Current major medical health insurance

*NOTE: No student will be allowed to participate in clinical experiences until all health requirements have been satisfied.

III.    Other Requirements

  • Criminal Background Check (the criminal background check is at the student’s expense)
  • FBI Fingerprint
  • Drug Test (the drug screening test is at the student’s expense)
  • BLS/CPR certification for the Health Care Provider (2-year card)
  • Clinical agencies may have additional health or safety requirements which students are required to meet prior to receiving access to the clinical placement site

NOTE:  No student will be allowed to participate in clinical experiences until all requirements have been satisfied.

IV.    Transfer Policy

Students transferring to Trinity in or after fall 2002 from another appropriately accredited institution of higher learning for a bachelor’s degree must earn a minimum of 45 of their final 60 credits through course work at Trinity, excluding credits for experiential learning.

V.    Grades in Major Courses

B.S.N. students must earn a minimum of “C+” as a final course grade in all nursing (NURS and SNHP) courses. A final grade below a C+ will require the student to repeat the course to successfully complete all requirements of the nursing curriculum plan. A final grade below a “C+” may impact a student’s academic progression in the nursing program. Any grade involving a numerical fraction is NOT rounded up at the end of the semester in the final course grade.

A nursing student may fail or withdraw from no more than one nursing course (NURS or SNHP prefix). If a student fails or withdraws from a nursing course, the student may repeat the nursing course only once. Students may repeat no more than one nursing course. Failing or withdrawing from a second nursing course will result in dismissal from the nursing program.

VI.    Pass/No Pass

The pass/no pass grading option is not accepted in courses to be applied for the major.

VII.    Transportation

Students are required to provide their own transportation to and from clinical sites. Clinical placements may be located within a 50 mile radius of the University. Trinity’s free shuttle service connects the Main campus with the Brookland metro station.

Accreditation

The baccalaureate degree program in nursing at Trinity is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, 655 K Street, NW, Suite 750, Washington, DC 20001, 202-887-6791.