Nursing

BGSU’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree prepares students for jobs as registered nurses. You can enter one of many care-centered specializations and find rewarding, flexible and enjoyable work across the entire spectrum of the health sector. Students will be prepared to provide safe and person-centered care to diverse populations across the lifespan using evidence-based practice. BGSU Bachelor of Science in nursing graduates will use leadership and clinical judgment skills to improve the spectrum of complex healthcare issues throughout Ohio, the nation and the world.

Quality classroom experiences

Our Ohio based state-of-the-art nursing skills and simulation center provides students with hands-on experiences and realistic patient scenarios that promote clinical judgment. The lab space is filled with audio/visual equipment to assist students in guided reflection and debriefing sessions on their nursing practice. The 23-bed skills lab space will be open to students to use any time of the day to practice skills learned in the classroom. BGSU faculty are experts in the field of nursing and bring excellent knowledge, skills and attributes to each class, lab and clinical experience. BGSU nursing degree students will not just “see,” they will "do". The program’s mission is to prepare nursing graduates who are truly ready to enter the workforce immediately after graduation.

The program offers innovative teaching strategies to promote clinical judgment skills, which will assist the student in passing the National Licensure Nursing Exam (NCLEX-RN) and transition to nursing practice seamlessly.

Career - what can you do with a nursing degree?

Clinical opportunities exist for nursing students to learn core nursing skills, like physical assessment, wound management, and IV management. You will gain knowledge and care for real patients in a variety of settings throughout the nursing program. Students will have a final practicum course in which they will choose a clinical site for meaningful learning to demonstrate their skills and knowledge as they prepare to enter the workforce. The School of Nursing has formed robust partnerships with many Ohio area health care organizations to maximize clinical experience opportunities. Nursing students will work with a faculty member and preceptor in their chosen healthcare location to learn the skills necessary to make a successful transition from school to the nursing workforce. Graduates who pass the NCLEX-RN can work in a variety of healthcare settings including:

Career paths

• Hospitals
• Critical care settings
• School nursing
• Teaching
• Specialty clinics
• Outpatient settings
• Hospice care
• Correctional facilities
• Home care
• Case management
• Physician offices
• Long-term care facilities

Quick Facts from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Admission Requirements

• Submit an online application to the BSN program by May 1 (for fall entry) or October 1 (for spring entry) of your sophomore year (or equivalent). All prerequisite courses and supportive requirements must be completed before the first core nursing course begins.
  
• A cumulative GPA of ≥ 3.0 in all college courses.
• A grade of “C” or better is required for all science courses.
• All applicants are notified by letter of acceptance or rejection.
• All applicants to the BSN program must achieve a score ≥75 in select categories of the HESI Admission Assessment Exam (this is completed prior to the application deadline to the BSN program).
• Admission is competitive, and is based on a total admission rubric score comprised of the student's cumulative GPA, cumulative science + MATH 1150 GPA, and scores on selected components of the HESI A2. (>= 75 on Reading comprehension, Math, and Vocabulary. No minimum score required on Anatomy & Physiology.)
• The student is responsible to complete a criminal background investigation, TB test, drug screen, health assessment, immunizations and AHA Basic Life Support Certification after acceptance into the nursing major at the student’s expense. Completion is required for the student to start nursing core courses. Information about the Viewpoint Screening service is provided to the student to assist with this process. Must follow the nursing student health policy.

• Prospective students who have been honorably discharged from the armed forces of the United States, National Guard, or a reserve component may transfer credits for military training and experience. Credit will be awarded for any military education or skills training deemed substantially equivalent to courses in the BSN curriculum. The Transfer Evaluation Department will evaluate all military courses to determine identify credit allocation.
• The Office of Nontraditional and Military Student Services is available to assist students with prior learning assessment to determine college level equivalency.
• Military service will be evaluated to identify if the international perspective BGP course could be waived: An international experience, defined as an academic study abroad experience bearing three or more credits or a documented international military deployment of at least 30 consecutive or 60 non-consecutive days. The student is still required to meet the 36 credit hours of BGP course work for graduation.
• BGSU awards academic credit for completion of Airman Leadership School. The University has approved LMM 1101 Management/Leadership I to fulfill the requirement for Cultural Diversity in the United States. This is an automatic substitution that is handled by the Transfer Evaluation Office.
• Prospective students who were honorably discharged, within the previous five years, will not be required to take the HESI Admission Assessment examination. Three seats in the BSN program will be saved for students with military service experience or who are contracted with the ROTC.
• For students with military service experience or who are contracted with the ROTC, the BSN program will save 3 seats for fall admits and 2 for spring admits.

• The admission rubric will be used to determine admission to the nursing major.
• Components of the admission rubric include:
  • Cumulative GPA
  • Science + MATH 1150 GPA
  • HESI A2 Scoring of Reading comprehension, Math, Vocabulary, and Anatomy & Physiology
  • Total rubric score will be used to determine admission.
  Technical Standards

  Technical standards are an objective method of ensuring that all applicants meet and satisfactorily maintain the nursing program performance requirements. To ensure that students can meet end-of-course and end-of-program outcomes of the Bachelor of Science in nursing program at BGSU, the following technical standards shall be met, with or without reasonable accommodations (student accessibility services). A reasonable accommodation must be documented as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Decisions regarding reasonable accommodation are determined on a case-by-case basis taking into consideration each student’s disability-related needs, disability documentation and program requirements. While the School of Nursing will make every effort to work with students with disabilities to accommodate their disability-related needs, the School of Nursing is not required to provide accommodations that fundamentally alter or waive essential program requirements.

  • The student must be able to:
  • Provide safe patient care in any healthcare setting.
  • Respond effectively and safely in emergency situations.
  • Communicate effectively in a verbal, written and technological manner with individuals, families, communities, peers and interprofessionally.
  • Speak, hear, observe, read and understand the English language.
  • Have auditory abilities sufficient to auscultate, percuss, hear alarms and various sounds within all healthcare settings, promoting safe care (may be corrected hearing).
  • Have visual ability sufficient to promote safe care in all health care settings and situations (may be corrected vision).
  • Have olfactory ability sufficient to assess various odors that may indicate unsafe situations.
  • Have tactile ability sufficient to perform palpation and various assessments of individuals.
  • Assess patients and monitor health needs.
  • Provide safe, quality health care to all individuals across the lifespan in a variety of health care settings.
  • Function safely in stressful situations.
  • Demonstrate behaviors of compassion, integrity, responsibility, and ethical practices that reflect an evolving identity as a professional nurse.
  • Demonstrate effective emotional status to exercise good clinical judgment skills and knowledge.
  • Meet physical strength and mobility demands of providing care in any healthcare setting.
  • Consistently lift 10 pounds.
  • Lift ≥20 pounds in various situations.
  • Transfer, lift and reposition individuals.
  • Perform CPR.
  • Stand for long periods of time.
  • Move independently in patient rooms to provide safe care.
  • Utilize gross and fine motor skills sufficient to provide safe patient care.
  • Administer medications safely.
  • Use equipment with dexterity to provide safe patient care.
  • Abide by all admission requirements outlined in the Nursing Student Health Policy.
  Clinical Standards
  • The student is responsible to complete a criminal background investigation, TB test, drug screen, health assessment, immunizations and AHA Basic Life Support Certification after acceptance into the nursing major at the student’s expense. Completion is required for the student to start nursing core courses. Information about the Viewpoint Screening service is provided to the student to assist with this process.