Fitchburg State University offers an online RN to BS in Nursing program that allows registered nurses to earn a BSN degree in as few as 12 months.
Fitchburg’s CCNE-accredited RN to BS in Nursing program includes 10 courses — 32 credits in all. These courses prepare nurses for the added responsibilities and expanded opportunities a BSN brings.
The program starts with a seven-week course called Role Transition to Baccalaureate Nursing, which is specifically geared toward the nurse who wants to gain knowledge and responsibility by earning a BSN. The course includes leadership and management elements that many BSN-prepared nurses will come to know firsthand.
Other courses are as follows:
- Health and Physical Assessment is a course devoted to nursing assessments of the adult client that include age-related changes. It covers interviewing methods and health history taking, emphasizing critical thinking for interpretation of findings.
- Evidence-Based Practice in Nursing is a course that is essential in any healthcare professional’s modern-day approach to patient care. This course looks at how to integrate research with clinical judgment and patient preferences for a more holistic approach to patient care.
- Community Based Nursing is a course focused on using systems concepts to provide nursing care for vulnerable populations, emphasizing prevention in a variety of care settings. The course includes a clinical practice experience that focuses on applying practice to theory in the community.
- The Social Justice and Advocacy course is dedicated to the concept of social justice and how it applies to healthcare. This class focuses on showing nurses how they can act as advocates for vulnerable populations.
- Genomics for Nursing Practice covers genetics and genomics, including the social, legal and ethical aspects. This course also takes a look at the principles of epigenetics and pharmacogenomics.
- Health Care Policy and Finance looks at how economics and politics intersect with patient care.
- Nursing in a Global Community starts with the premise that cultural awareness is required for professional nursing practice. The course explores challenges faced in professional nursing practice — such as those generated by language, race, ethnicity, health beliefs and practices, sexual orientation, and subculture affiliation.
- Caring for Forensic Populations looks at another profound challenge in 21st century nursing: preventing and reducing violence and the consequences of violence in society. By learning forensic health assessment and intervention strategies, nurses are better equipped to take on this vital role.
The program finishes with a 7-week capstone class, which separates Fitchburg from many other online RN to BSN programs. Though it has online components, the capstone class requires students to complete a clinical practice experience in an approved healthcare facility. There, they apply their newfound knowledge in the same fast-paced and focused structure as they did in the program’s other courses.
By taking two courses at a time, students can finish the Fitchburg State program in 12 months. This program builds a valuable foundation of knowledge that will guide a nurse through an entire career as a BSN-prepared nurse.
Learn more about Fitchburg State University’s online RN to BS in Nursing program.
