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Bachelor of Science in Nursing

Inquiries about the BSN Program should be directed to the Assistant Director for Student Affairs, Mr. Ron Patterson, at email: rpatte10@utmem.edu or telephone: 1.901.448.1769 or 1.800.733.2498.

The Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree is an undergraduate program of study that prepares individuals to assume entry-level professional nursing roles in a variety of acute care and community based settings. There are opportunities to work with different age groups in a variety of arenas from hospital-based acute care settings such as intensive care units and operating rooms to health departments, home health and hospice programs and schools.

The BSN program educates nurses who are generalists with an emphasis on:

• Evidence-Based Practice
• Professional Values
• Ethical Clinical Decision Making
• Communication
• Critical Thinking
• Problem Solving
• Cultural Competence
• Interdisciplinary Collaboration
• Integrated Healthcare Delivery
• Resource Management

Applicants are required to complete a broad range of pre-requisite general education courses in the arts, sciences and humantities prior to admission to the UTHSC College of Nursing. Applicants who have a degree in a non-nursing field are likely to have already completed many of these required courses. After successful completion of the prerequisite courses, individuals may apply to the College of Nursing for admission into the BSN program. Upon admission to the BSN program students complete upper level nursing courses that provide theoretical and experiential learning opportunities. The BSN curriculum qualifies individuals to take the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) for registered nurses and to pursue graduate study in nursing.

The BSN program offers three options:

• Traditional BSN (applicants must enter with 60 hours of pre-requisite courses)
• Second Degree (applicants who have a bachelor's degree or higher in another field)
• RN to BSN (registered nurses with a diploma or associate degree in nursing)

Upon completion of the BSN program the graduate will be able to:

1. Communicate effectively with individuals, families and health professionals;
2. Deliver and manage comprehensive care along the health illness continuum in collaboration with other health professionals;
3. Apply legal, ethical, social, political, economic, historical, and global environmental factors as a basis of nursing practice;
4. Implement holistic care that addresses the needs of diverse populations across the lifespan;
5. Apply professional judgment and critical thinking in the provision of patient-centered care;
6. Use technology and information systems effectively to promote optimal health for patients, famililies, communities and populations in diverse settings;
7. Use evaluation methods to implement continuous quality improvement.

Students in the BSN program will be eligible for loans and scholarship awards from various sources. A limited number of scholarships will be sponsored by philanthropic organizations.