The baccalaureate nursing program is based upon the belief that preparation for professional nursing encompasses a broad liberal, general, and professional education. The mission of the School of Nursing is to educate nurses at the Associate, Baccalaureate, Masters and Doctorate levels who work in inter-professional environments to promote health and well-being for diverse populations across the Commonwealth, country and world.

RN to BSN Program Outcomes

Upon completion of the baccalaureate nursing program the BSN graduate will:

1. Demonstrate self-care, professionalism, accountability, and competence in nursing practice with a commitment to advancing the profession of nursing and respecting clients’ rights to self-direction and decision-making.
2. Synthesize communication, collaboration, critical thinking, research, leadership, and teaching/learning knowledge when functioning as a leader or member of an intra/inter-professional health care team.
3. Evaluate safe effective, quality health care for complex clients.
4. Examine the impact of ethical and legal issues on complex health care and nursing practice.
5. Use the nursing process, evidence- based nursing practice, critical thinking, research methodologies, informatics, and health care technology to provide therapeutic interventions across levels of prevention, predict outcomes, and influence the care of patients with complex health problems.
6. Synthesize knowledge of systems including sociopolitical, cultural, and epidemiologic systems, and health care economics when analyzing complex care situations.
7. Advocate for improved care for complex care patients.

Admission and Progression Requirements (RN-BSN)

The School of Nursing offers the opportunity for Associate Degree registered nurses to earn a baccalaureate degree in nursing. Admission requirements include an Associate Degree in Nursing from a regionally accredited school and an RN license from an approved state that is free and unrestricted, meaning that it has not been subject to reprimand, revocation, probation, suspension, restriction, limitation, disciplinary action, discretionary review/hearing or encumbrance nor had any type of complaint filed against it.

Protocol for Accepting RN-BSN Students as General Education Certified

Eastern Kentucky University will consider all RN-BSN applicants, who are currently licensed nurses with professional work experience, as General Education certified based on the following standards:

• Applicants will have completed an associate degree for which they have earned a minimum of fifteen (15) General Education credit hours.
• Applicants will have taken and passed the NCLEX RN licensure exam. Competencies demonstrated by this exam are sufficient to satisfy certain General Education competencies.
• Applicants have practical experiential learning that can be applied to the General Education competencies.

Note: Must have 120 total credit hours to complete BSN

Transfers from Other Colleges and Universities

Academic credits earned at other accredited colleges or universities are transferable upon approval of the appropriate department at Eastern Kentucky University. Official transcripts are to be submitted by the student to the Office of the Registrar. Credits more than eight years old must be approved.

Transfer students must submit copies of all transcripts along with their application to the program. These transcripts will be considered a part of the application process and are necessary to determine admission and placement.

Students wishing to transfer nursing courses from another accredited institution must have a grade equivalent of “C”/2.0 or better in any nursing course to be transferred. In addition, the applicant must submit complete course outlines and/or syllabi. This material should be submitted well in advance of expected matriculation to provide time for necessary evaluation.

Program Requirements

CIP Code: 51.3801

Major

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
University Graduation Requirements
General Education 1		36
Foundations of Learning
GSD 101	Foundations of Learning 1	3
Upper division courses (42 hrs. distributed throughout Major/Supporting/Gen Ed/Free Electives categories)
Major Requirements
Core Courses
BSN Core Courses
NSC 330	Clinical Drug Therapy 2	3
NSC 332	Health Assessment and Promotion II 2	1
NSC 332L	Health Assessment and Promotion 2	1
NSC 350	Pathophysiology 2	3
NSC 380	Adult Health Nursing I 2	2
NSC 380C	Adult Health Nursing I Clinical 2	2
NSC 386	Adult Health Nursing II 2	7
NSC 386C	Adult Health Nursing II 2	2.5
NSC 390	Research for EBNP	2
NSC 392	Mental Health Nursing 2	3
NSC 392C	Mental Health Nursing Clinical 2	2
NSC 396	Family Health Nursing 2	5
NSC 396C	Family Health Nursing 2	2
NSC 480	Health Care Leadership	3
or NSC 440	RN Leadership and Management
NSC 484	Adult Health Nursing III 2	2.5
NSC 484C	Adult Health III Clinical 2	2.5
NSC 487	Population Health Nursing	2.5 or 3
or NSC 486	RN Public Health Nursing
NSC 495	Professional Role Transition	2
or NSC 445	RN Professional Role Transitions
RN to BSN Track Courses
NSC 381	Perspectives in Professional Nursing I	3
NSC 383	Perspectives in Professional Nursing II	3
NSC 385	Perspectives in Professional Nursing III	4
NSC 442	Complex Health Systems	3
NSC 442C	Complex Health Systems	2
Supporting Course Requirements
Choose one from the following:		3
SOC 232	Social Statistics
STA 215	Introduction to Statistical Reasoning (Element 2) G
STA 270	Applied Statistics (Element 2) G
Total Hours		120

¹

Waived for students who hold an associate's degree in nursing, however students may be required to complete additional coursework to meet the minimum requirement of 120 hours for a bachelor's degree.

²

Upon admission to the RN to BSN track and a current, valid, unencumbered RN license from an approved state, credit for prior learning will be granted for NSC 330 Clinical Drug Therapy, NSC 332/NSC 332L Health Assessment and Promotion II/Lab, NSC 350 Pathophysiology, NSC 380/NSC 380C Adult Health Nursing I/Clinical, NSC 386/NSC 386C Adult Health Nursing II/Clinical, NSC 392/NSC 392C Mental Health Nursing/Clinical, NSC 396/NSC 396C Family Health Nursing, NSC 484/NSC 484C Adult Health Nursing III/Clinical (39 credit hours)

G

Course also satisfies a General Education element.  

Specific Degree Requirements for Bachelor of Science in Nursing Degree

In addition to the general requirements for the baccalaureate degree, students must earn a grade of “C”/2.0 or better in all nursing and supporting courses.