Building upon a liberal arts foundation, the RN-BSN program expands the student’s nursing knowledge, skills, and professional role. The program prepares the nursing graduate, based on the AACN (2008) Essentials, to provide holistic, evidence-based nursing care, in health and in illness, with diverse populations in the ever-changing and complex healthcare environment. The graduate will be able to function as an integral member of an interprofessional team promoting patient safety, cultural sensitivity, and quality outcomes. The BSN graduate will demonstrate clinical reasoning, care management and evaluation skills, use of informatics technology, and genetics/genomics knowledge through professional nursing practice with patients across the lifespan in various healthcare settings. These nurses are committed to ongoing professional education and scholarly work to remain current in the generalist nursing role.

The RN-BSN program at Chatham University is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, 655 K Street, NW, Suite 750, Washington DC 20001, (202) 887-6791.

Program Structure:
The RN-BSN program is an accelerated online distance learning program that requires completion of a minimum total of 120 credit hours in college level courses. Practice experience activities are integrated as a way for students to demonstrate new knowledge caring for a variety of patients across the lifespan and continuum of care. Students are admitted to the program in the Fall and Spring semesters. Students can enroll in full-time or part-time studies. Students must maintain a cumulative 2.0 GPA or better to be awarded the Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. All undergraduate students must satisfy the General Education requirements either through transfer credits or completion of additional coursework.

Admission Requirements

Applicant must:

• Complete the online application
• Submit proof of completion of an RN degree (Associate or Diploma) with a minimum 2.0 GPA
• Submit a copy of a current unencumbered RN license
• Submit a copy of official transcripts of all completed post-high school education from all schools attended

Admission Materials may be submitted to:

• Chatham University
  Berry Hall/SCPS Admission
  Woodland Road
  Pittsburgh, PA 15232
  Fax: (412) 365-1609
  Email: GradAdmission@chatham.edu

Additional Information

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the RN-BSN Program, the student will:

1. Synthesize knowledge from nursing and other related disciplines in acquisition and application of nursing knowledge, competencies, and values for professional practice.
2. Demonstrate knowledge for nursing leadership, quality improvement, and patient safety in order to provide high quality care.
3. Integrate evidence-based findings into professional nursing practice.
4. Apply skills related to information management and patient care technology in order to deliver quality patient care
5. Comprehend the influence of healthcare policies and finance on healthcare system operations.
6. Utilize interprofessional collaboration and communication with other health team members in planning, coordinating, providing, and evaluating care.
7. Apply concepts of clinical prevention and health promotion to individuals, families, and communities in a global society.
8. Provide professional, culturally competent, and ethically congruent care that reflects dignity and uniqueness of individuals and groups in diverse global populations.
9. Utilize the nursing process and health care resources in the protection, promotion, and optimization of health in care of individuals, families, and communities across the lifespan.

Curriculum

+Degree Requirements

26 required core RN-BSN credits

IND175	Introduction to Nursing Resources This course will teach nursing students how to develop and apply skills in locating, evaluating, and synthesizing information from a variety of library and information resources. The work completed in this course will help nursing students become more efficient in areas of evidence-based practice.	1
NUR402	Health Policy and Finance for Nurses This course will explore foundations of policy, finance, legislation, and regulation in complex systems of healthcare. Policy related to health equity, health disparity, and social justice will also be analyzed. Students will strengthen nurse advocacy skills and understanding of the Registered Nurse Scope and Standards of Practice.	3
NUR403W	Women's Health Nursing This course will present an overview of issues relevant to women’s health nursing. Nursing assessment techniques specific to female clients will be explored. Specific nursing interventions to promote women’s health will be covered including: HIV, early detection of female cancers, reproductive health, mental health issues, osteoporosis, pharmacokinetics, nutrition, physical fitness.	3
NUR407	Scholarship for Evidence-Based Practice This course will enable students to critically review nursing research, choose a relevant clinical issue to examine, explore literature, and utilize nursing research in clinical practice. Ethical principles of nursing research, particularly protection of human subjects and other ethical accountabilities focusing on research utilization and evidence-based practice will be explored.	3
NUR409W	Clinical Prevention, Population and Environmental Health This course provides a framework for the development of nursing interventions promoting population and environmental health for individuals and communities. Health promotion will be a significant focus of this course.	3
NUR410	Global Cultural Diversity and Specialty Population Nursing This course is focused on various cultural and specialty populations. Multiple aspects of culture, vulnerability, and needs of individual populations will be analyzed and discussed. Content includes issues of ethics, social justice, health literacy, and barriers to care.	3
NUR411	Geriatric Nursing Multiple aspects of geriatric health and the aging population will be explored. Specific nursing interventions to promote older adult health will be covered including pharmacological considerations, nutrition, elder abuse, sexuality, coping with loss and grief, health and wellness promotion and the continuum of care.	3
NUR412	Nursing Communication and Quality Improvement This course will prepare the student for effective communication and collaboration amongst the interprofessional team with the goal of practicing high quality, safe, patient-centered care. Topics of quality improvement and interprofessional communication will be emphasized.	3
NUR499W	Nursing Leadership and Professional Practicum This culminating course, which fulfills Chatham's internship requirement, encompasses various aspects of professionalism and leadership that students will encounter and utilize at all levels of nursing. Students will apply leadership concepts and decision-making skills while they complete their capstone project.	4

+Practice Experience Requirements

CCNE requires that RN-BSN programs include appropriate practice experiences (PE) that enable students to integrate new knowledge at the BSN generalist nurse level, leading to attainment of program learning outcomes. Chatham University’s RN-BSN program integrates PE activities into specific courses, through designated assignments, which require students to integrate, apply, and demonstrate new knowledge when providing care to a variety of patients across the lifespan and continuum or care. Students do not need to submit an affiliation agreement for the PE assignments and there are not prescribed numbers of hours that students must complete. Course faculty will act as the preceptor for the students in the PE, meaning the course faculty are a resource and are available for questions or guidance throughout the process. PE assignments, which are evaluated by faculty, allow students to understand, perform, and refine professional competencies while meeting course and program learning outcomes. Students must complete all PE assignments to graduate from the RN-BSN program.

+Transfer Credits

Students may transfer up to 90 credit hours of college level courses into the program. First degree students who graduated before December 2015 from select pre-licensure nursing schools that hold an articulation agreement with Chatham may be able to transfer up to 94 credits into the program through Summer 2019. Beginning Fall 2019 all first degree students may transfer in a maximum of 90 credits. Second degree students who have already earned a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution of higher education and an Associate or Diploma degree from a nursing program may complete the RN-BSN at Chatham University by completing only the 26 required core RN-BSN credits. All requests for transfer credit must be made prior to enrollment. A minimum of 30 credits, including the 26 required core RN-BSN credits, must be completed at Chatham University, unless students transferred in 94 credits.

+Liberal Arts courses

Liberal Arts courses to fulfill General Education requirements for RN-BSN students include the following. Other course options may be available to fulfill requirements. Students should consult with their Academic Advisor. (Note: Requirements may vary based on articulation agreements)

ART141	Media Literacy This course introduces students to computer graphic systems and related media practices. Students explore digital foundations, media-related histories, theoretical frameworks, and critical examination of production elements as they discover how digital practices are continuously changing the way imagemakers create and present their work. Additional Fee(s): Applied laboratory fee.	3
BIO119	Medical Terminology This course is designed for students who need a broad coverage of medical terminology and who have little or no background. It includes studies of etymology and human anatomy. There is a special emphasis on clinical applications. Three hours of lecture including media presentations per week.	3
ENG241	Writing for Professionals Writing for Professionals helps students write clearly and effectively about a variety of subjects in genres related to the workplace. Through writing and reading assignments, students learn about targeting an audience, organizing writing, and developing a professional style. They create documents useful when seeking employment and in the workplace.	3
MUS266	World Music The course focuses on the music and related arts of selected major civilizations of the world, including India, China, and Japan as well as areas such as Southeast Asia, South America, and Africa. Emphasis is placed on the factors resulting in art that is sometimes quite different from Western music.	3
MTH110	Elementary Statistics Topics include statistical measures and distributions, decision making under uncertainty, application of probability to statistical inference, linear correlation, introduction to nonparametric statistical methods, and application to problems drawn from the natural and social sciences. Three hours of class per week. Three hours of class per week.	3
PSY101	General Psychology An introduction to the scientific study of behavior with an emphasis on the origins of behavior, learning, social influences, physiological factors, individual differences, personality, and adjustment and maladjustment.	3