Nursing Postbaccalaureate BSN - Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

Overview

Designed for students with a bachelor's degree in another field, the 16-month postbaccalaureate bachelor of science degree program, offered on both the Worcester and Manchester campuses, provides a fast-track option for students ready to transition to a career in nursing.

Program Highlights

Accelerated, year-round, 16-month program
For students with an earned baccalaureate degree who have satisfactorily completed prerequisite courses
Fall and spring start
Instruction conducted in state-of-the-art facilities at both the Worcester and Manchester campuses
Clinical experiences in selected hospital and community agencies in and beyond the greater Worcester and Manchester regions

Program Details

Our 16-month accelerated BSN program, offered on both the Worcester and Manchester campuses, allows you to leverage your current bachelor's degree into a nursing degree.

The nursing programs in Worcester and Manchester have their own dedicated facilities but share a common commitment to high-quality curricula and student-centered learning. Each program provides students with rigorous instruction in newly renovated classrooms and state-of-the-art clinical and simulation laboratories.

Our outstanding nurse-educators are committed to fostering a learning environment where students and faculty collaborate in intellectual discovery, scientific inquiry, and hands-on practice.

As students master skills and concepts, they move into challenging clinical experiences at many of the area's top hospitals, clinics, and health care settings. Both Worcester and Manchester have prime locations in a region known for health caregiving students the opportunity for clinical experiences at more than 100 partner institutions.

Throughout their studies and on both campuses, MCPHS prepares nurses with the compassion, knowledge, technical skills, and critical thinking ability demanded in today's dynamic health care system.

Real-Time Distance Education Technology

Many of the core courses for the 16-month accelerated BSN program are delivered via real-time distance education technology between the Worcester, MA and Manchester, NH campuses; approximately 50% of the instruction on each campus is taught by faculty from the other. Large, flat-panel screens in classrooms on both campuses create a highly interactive learning system that has been proven to work well at MCPHS. All laboratories are conducted in state-of-the-art assessment and simulation labs on both campuses.

Curriculum

Semester I

COURSE	TITLE	SEMESTER HOURS
NUR 205	Nursing History, Knowledge and Narrative	3
NUR 208	Essential Concepts of Nursing	3
NUR 215	Nursing Skills and Technologies w/lab	4
NUR 226	Pathophysiologic and Pharmacologic Approach to Nursing Practice	6
TOTAL		16

Semester II

COURSE	TITLE	SEMESTER HOURS
NUR 245	Health Assessment and Promotion w/lab	4
NUR 325	Provider of Care I: Adult and Elder Health w/lab	8
NUR 350	Scholarly Inquiry	3
TOTAL		15

Semester III

COURSE	TITLE	SEMESTER HOURS
NUR 330	Nursing Informatics and Health Care Technologies	3
NUR 335	Provider of Care II: Child-Bearing and Child-Rearing Family Health	6
NUR 345	Provider of Care III: Mental and Social Health	6
TOTAL		15

Semester IV

COURSE	TITLE	SEMESTER HOURS
NUR 425	Provider of Care IV: Community and Home Health	8
NUR 445	Provider of Care V: Coordinator of Care	6
NUR 450	Member of a Profession and Capstone Leadership Project	4
TOTAL		18

Total Preprofessional Coursework: 58 s.h.**

Total Professional Major: 64 s.h.

Total for BSN 122: s.h.

* Courses will be offered in a block-scheduling format each semester, with students taking three or fewer courses concurrently during each block

** A maximum of 58 semester hours of credit for the prior BS/BA degree from a regionally accredited college or university will be awarded upon matriculation in fulfillment of MCPHS Core Curriculum requirements.

Clinical Rotations

Because clinical experience is such a vital part of the nursing program, students will be assigned to clinical rotations in some of the world's finest health care institutions, and also in such clinical settings as skilled nursing facilities, mental health hospitals and community agencies, schools, public health departments, and hospice and home health agencies.

Rotations are supervised by College faculty, clinical faculty, and practice preceptors

Students are expected to arrange their own transportation to clinical sites.

Notice on Clinical Rotations and Background Screenings

For some of MCPHS's programs placements in clinical rotations at health care providers are a required part of the MCPHS curriculum. Some of those health care providers require background screenings and a conviction for a criminal offense might present an issue. It is possible that certain types of criminal convictions, whether prior to being a student at MCPHS or while attending MCPHS, could preclude a student from being able to complete a required clinical rotation. If you have any questions, please contact the MCPHS Chief Compliance Officer.

Facilities

The state-of-the-art learning facilities and resources that Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences provides for nursing students ensure a high quality education that prepares students for the pace and realities of contemporary nursing practice.

Manchester, N.H.

MCPHS-Manchester's 33,000 square-foot campus houses both standard- and distance- education classrooms with media and internet capabilities, a computer laboratory, a health sciences library with electronic linkages to MCPHS-Boston and a student lounge with wireless and Internet access for study, socializing and relaxing.

The patient assessment laboratory on the Manchester campus, completed in 2003, is designed to provide an optimal environment for student experiences in outpatient and other ambulatory clinic environments. The lab features:

Twelve individualized bays
A life-size adult Manikin, which enables students to practice wound care and learn technical procedures including endotracheal intubation, nasogastric tube insertion, venipuncture and urinary catheterization.

Worcester, Mass.

The beautifully renovated Living and Learning Center on the Worcester campus includes classrooms, labs, an office suite and apartment-style housing for students. As in Boston, clinical simulation and patient assessment laboratories prepare students for leading-edge practice. Opened in 2009, the new building at 40 Foster Street houses 30,000 square feet of academic and student space.

The intimate and easily accessed Worcester campus offers:

Classrooms with state-of-the-art media and Internet capabilities linked directly to the Boston and Manchester campuses
State-of-the art video conferencing technology
Clinical simulation and patient assessment laboratories
Computer classrooms
Health sciences library with electronic linkages to other campuses
Seminar rooms
A student lounge, student meeting rooms,, and quiet study areas

Accreditiation

BS Nursing Program

The MCPHS program leading to a bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) has received Full Approval status by the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Nursing. The program also holds full initial accreditation from the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) for the maximum five year period accorded new programs. CCNE is located at One Dupont Circle, NW, Suite 530, Washington, DC 20036; tel.: 202.887.6791; fax: 202.887.8476; website: www.aacn.nche.edu

Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS) is chartered by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and is authorized to grant undergraduate and graduate degrees in the health sciences and related fields.

MCPHS is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), Inc. through its Commission on Institutions of Higher Education.

Worcester/Manchester Nursing Scholarship

MCPHS is pleased to announce an $8,000 Nursing Scholarship for qualified students who are accepted to the 16-month BSN program on the Worcester, MA or Manchester, NH campus.

This scholarship will be allocated to accepted students in four $2,000 increments during the BSN program. To qualify, students must meet the following criteria:

The Admission Office must receive your application and all supplemental materials on or before October 1 for spring enrollment or June 1 for fall enrollment
Students must be granted admission into the BSN program
Students must maintain good academic standing throughout the duration of the program (2.7 GPA and no grades below C)

Admission Requirements

MCPHS welcomes students from other institutions. Any applicant to MCPHS who has completed at least one semester of college coursework (12 credits or more) is considered to be a transfer applicant. Students who have been out of high school for more than two years are strongly encouraged to take math and science courses at another accredited college or university and then to apply for transfer to MCPHS.

The transfer requirements may be different for different MCPHS programs. To find the requirements for transferring into this program, please click the link below.

Admission Requirements for Nursing (Postbaccalaureate BSN) (Manchester, Worcester)

Programs

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