A baccalaureate degree program at a public university, such as James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, requires 120 credit hours of nursing courses as well as general education (GE) courses to supplement a degree with the title “Bachelor of Science in Nursing.” GE courses required for all majors include things like writing, communication, government, history, and literature. In addition to those GE courses, a nursing major is required to take GE courses totaling 27 credit hours and specific to processes of chemistry, statistics, human anatomy, physiology, microbiology, nutrition, and psychology of human development. Once GE courses are complete, a nursing curriculum totaling 61 credit hours must be completed. Classroom requirements focusing on fundamentals of nursing, portfolio development, evidence based practice, skills lab, mental health nursing, adult health disease pathophysiology and pharmacology, gerontology, women’s health nursing, and community health promotion total 40 of the 61 credit hours strictly designed for nursing majors. The remaining 21 credits consist of clinical requirements focusing on mental health nursing, medical surgical nursing, gerontology, pediatric nursing, community health nursing, and women’s health nursing. Students completing all of the courses in these various areas of nursing ensure for a well rounded RN upon graduation. When placed in the work force, these nurses will be able to demonstrate a holistic approach to nursing care.
Based on Northern Virginia Community College’s curriculum, admission to an Associates Degree nursing program requires a few pre-requisites. These include: attending a nursing information session, having a high school diploma or GED, completing one unit of high school level algebra and two units of science, (for example 1 biology unit and 1 chemistry unit, with a “C”), the student must qualify for English College Composition and Mathematics for Allied Health, the student must take the National League of Nursing Pre-Admission Examination and receive a score at the 50th percentile in verbal abilities, mathematics, and science, must have a minimum 2.5 curricular GPA, and submit a portfolio of various documents to the nursing department .
Once accepted, the two-year program consists of certain classes and a total of 69 credits to graduate, much less than the 120 credits needed to graduate with a Bachelor’s Degree. In the first year, students must take and pass with a C or better, Human Pathogenic Concepts in Health, combined Anatomy and Physiology, and Introduction to Psychology. Other classes taken during the first year include: Orientation to Health Care I, Introduction to Medical Terminology, Nursing I, Community-Based Nursing in a Multicultural Environment, General Pharmacology, Essentials of Maternal/Newborn Nursing, Psychiatric Nursing . This first year comes out to be 42 credit hours.
The second year of the program consists of Intercultural Communication, Humanities/Fine Arts Elective, Second Level Nursing Principles & Concepts I, Second Level Nursing Principles & Concepts II, Nursing Dimensions, and Nursing Organization & Management. This comes out to be a total of 27 credits and a combined total of 69 credits to graduate. This Associate program is based on learning nursing fundamentals, skills, and nursing care, while a Bachelor’s degree also has classes teaching evidence based research, and leadership skills. Many of the nursing classes and prerequisite classes are only 2 credits, while the same classes offered at 4-year program are 3 or 4 credits. It is safe to say that at a four-year program, classes are going more into depth on the topics taught in class.
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