Major in Nursing
Two tracks are offered in the Nursing major: the First Professional Degree program and the Nursing Completion program for RNs who wish to achieve a BSN. The BSN programs are fully accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). For information, contact the CCNE at One Dupont Circle, NW, Suite 530, Washington, DC 20036-1120; phone: 202-887-6791; or website www.aacn.nche.edu. In addition, a 6-credit certificate in Home Healthcare Management is available online. This certificate meets the current requirements for the position of Home Health Supervisor in Connecticut for RNs who do not have a bachelor’s degree.
First Professional Degree Program (FPD)
The BS in Nursing program provides a first professional degree for entry into the nursing profession. At the conclusion of four years of study, students are eligible to take the National Certification Licensure Examination (NCLEX) developed by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) in the United States. Qualified applicants are admitted into the University as Pre-Nursing students and are guaranteed a seat as a sophomore nursing student if they meet or exceed freshman prerequisite coursework and GPA requirements. Students who do not meet criteria will be evaluated for placement based on enrollment capacity. During the following three years, nursing students participate in simulated laboratory learning and clinical experiences at a variety of health-related facilities in the area.
Upon successful completion of freshman prerequisite coursework with an overall GPA of 3.0 or higher and grades no lower than C+ in science and math courses, students enter the Nursing major in the fall semester of the sophomore year. The course sequence is outlined in the Plan of Study below. To receive a BS in Nursing, First Professional Degree program students must successfully complete 122–124 credit hours, 55 of which are the Nursing major requirements. Students must maintain the overall GPA and course grade requirements and must demonstrate safe and competent practice in all nursing clinical and laboratory settings while adhering to the published professional standards of conduct (see Nursing Student Guide online at Nursing Student Guides—Sacred Heart University).
Admission to the Nursing Major
First Professional Degree Program
- Incoming freshmen applicants to Sacred Heart University who meet admission criteria established by the Nursing program will be notified of their acceptance by Undergraduate Admissions.
- Acceptance into Nursing is competitive and predominately based on SAT/ACT scores and scholarly achievement during the last three years of high school (particularly in science and advanced placement courses). Ideal candidates for SHU Nursing will have a 3.4 high school GPA and SAT or ACT equivalent of 1100 or higher on Critical Reasoning and Math scores. Admission essays and evidence of community service and other extracurricular contributions will also be taken into account.
- Students who are accepted will have a space held for them in sophomore nursing courses, provided they meet the criterion below.
- All nursing students planning to start sophomore nursing courses must have completed prerequisite courses and achieved a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher and a grade of C+ or higher in required science and math coursework.
- Students who do not complete prerequisite courses and/or do not meet the GPA requirement will not advance to sophomore year nursing coursework. Students are encouraged to contact the Undergraduate Director of Nursing to discuss options.
- Transfer students with excellent qualifications (including strong GPAs and SAT/ACT scores) will be admitted as space allows. Transfer students are encouraged to contact the Admission Office as early as possible for consideration and are expected to meet the criteria described above.
- Students with an adverse criminal background check may be deemed ineligible to sit for the NCLEX and/or obtain a professional license to practice nursing. It is the student’s sole responsibility to discuss this issue directly with the State Board of Nursing where he/she intends to take the NCLEX.
Differential Tuition
Sacred Heart University has implemented a differential tuition for the First Professional Degree Nursing program. The cost of nursing education is increased relative to other majors due to intensive clinical laboratory courses and clinical supervision required to maintain the professional standards of nursing education in addition to the associated expenses of clinical education. This charge will be reflected as a program fee each semester in addition to undergraduate tuition and fees. The fee will be initiated for nursing students starting their sophomore year.
Lab Fees
Clinical laboratory fees are attached to courses that involve laboratory activities, simulation, or practical exams. These fees are used to offset expenses associated with these learning activities.
Nursing Assessment Fee
A one-time assessment fee is levied in the sophomore year for individualized testing and evaluation that occurs throughout the nursing major courses. Students receive supplemental and remedial study materials in addition to individual feedback on tests and recommendations for improvement. Students who do not meet the program benchmark scores will be required to use remedial study materials to demonstrate competency before progressing to the next course. In addition, senior students will be required to participate in an NCLEX review course toward the end of the final semester. Questions about these fees and activities should be directed to the Director of Undergraduate Nursing or the Dean of the College of Nursing.
Nursing Verification/Health Requirements Documentation Fee
All clinical educational sites require the University to verify that each student placed in a clinical setting has met the necessary health requirements as designated by the clinical site. The University uses an outside vendor to collect and verify this information. There is a one-time fee associated with this process, which the student will pay directly to the assigned vendor. On or before the fall term, sophomore students in the First Professional Degree program must submit completed and approved health documentation to the vendor for verification. A listing of these requirements is available through the vendor or the Clinical Placement Department. All health documents must be renewed and updated as required during the entire time students are enrolled in the Nursing program. Please keep copies of all health documents for your files. Students may not attend clinical or classroom activities without health clearance provided in the correct format. Students who miss clinical activities due to non-compliance are at risk for not meeting clinical objectives which may result in course failure, probation, and/or recommendation for dismissal from the program. Healthcare agency placement agreements and patient safety needs require strict compliance with health screening requirements.
Special Clinical Agency Requests/Criminal Background Checks/Drug Screenings
Successful completion of the Nursing program at Sacred Heart University includes satisfactory completion of the clinical education component of the curriculum. A majority of clinical sites now require students to complete a criminal background check and drug screening prior to participating in clinical education placements. Additionally, national certification agencies may deem persons with criminal convictions as ineligible to sit for national certification examinations and state laws may restrict or prohibit those with criminal convictions from obtaining a professional license to practice following graduation. It is therefore the policy of the College of Nursing that all admitted students planning to enroll in the Nursing program must consent, submit to, and satisfactorily complete a criminal background check and drug screenings. These will be completed at the student’s expense. The University and Nursing program have no obligation to refund tuition or otherwise accommodate students in the event that a criminal background check or drug screening renders the student ineligible to complete required courses or clinical placement(s).
Program Competencies
Liberal Education (Essential I)
- Integrates knowledge from the biological, behavioral, social, and nursing sciences when providing care to patients with complex alterations in health.
- Integrates knowledge of pathophysiology, pharmacology, and nutrition when providing care to patients, families, communities, and populations.
Leadership (Essential II)
- Evaluate and provide safe, high-quality healthcare based on an understanding of organizational and systems leadership models.
- Apply leadership concepts, skills, and decision-making when coordinating the care of selected clients in a variety of settings.
Quality Improvement (Essential II)
- Evaluate and provide safe, high-quality healthcare based on an understanding of organizational and systems leadership models.
- Participate in quality and patient safety initiatives that impact patient care and system issues.
Safety (Essential II)
- Evaluate and provide safe, high-quality healthcare based on an understanding of organizational and systems leadership models.
- Participate in quality and patient safety initiatives, recognizing that these are complex system issues that involve individuals, families, groups, communities, populations, and other members of the healthcare team.
- Apply quality improvement processes and safety enhancing technology to effectively implement patient safety initiatives and monitor performance measures, including nurse-sensitive indicators in the micro system of care.
Evidence-Based Practice (Essential III)
- Provide professional nursing care that is grounded in current evidence.
- Discriminate between valid and invalid research for modifying clinical practice along with clinical expertise and patient/family preferences.
- Evaluate and propose changes based on evidence-based practice to structure the work environment to facilitate integration of new evidence into practice.
- Value the concept of evidence-based practice as integral to determining best clinical practice.
Informatics (Essential IV)
- Use computer information management systems and patient care technology to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of patient care.
- Use computer information systems to monitor and coordinate the care of patients with complex alterations in health.
- Integrate the use of technology and information systems to adapt patient care based on an analysis of expected and actual patient outcomes.
Healthcare Policy (Essential V)
- Integrate knowledge of healthcare policy, finance, and regulatory factors that influence healthcare delivery and nursing practice.
- Finance: Analyze the costs and availability of healthcare options for individuals, families, communities, and select populations.
- Healthcare Policy: Analyze healthcare policies that impact the delivery of healthcare and make recommendations for change based on that analysis.
- Regulatory: Examine the state’s nurse practice act in relation to the scope of practice of registered nurses in that state.
Interprofessional Collaboration/Communication (Essential VI)
- Provide effective patient-centered care as a member of the interprofessional healthcare team by fostering open communication, mutual respect, and shared decision-making.
- Participate in the development, implementation, and evaluation of intra- and interprofessional projects.
- Provide effective patient-centered care as a member of the interprofessional healthcare team by fostering open communication, mutual respect, and shared decision-making.
- Acknowledge own potential to contribute to effective team functioning.
Health Promotion-Disease/Injury Prevention (Essential VII)
- Support culturally competent health promotion and disease/injury prevention activities across the lifespan at the individual and population level to improve population health.
- Perform population-based screenings to identify potential health related risks and intervene as appropriate to minimize the risk of disease.
- Collaborate with others to develop a plan of care that takes into account determinants, available resources, and the range of activities that contribute to health and the prevention of illness, injury, disability, and premature death.
- Advocate for social justice including a commitment to the health of vulnerable populations and the elimination of health disparities.
Professionalism (Essential VIII)
- Demonstrate the core values of professionalism that support achievement of optimal health and wellness outcomes in patients, families, communities, and populations.
- Articulate the value of pursuing practice excellence, lifelong learning, and professional engagement to foster professional growth and development.
- Act to prevent, recognize, and intervene when unsafe, illegal, or unethical care practices are being carried out by members of the healthcare team.
- Promote the image of nursing by modeling the values and articulating the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of the nursing profession.
Patient-Centered Care (Essential IX)
- Evaluate the effectiveness of patient-centered care as a member of the interprofessional healthcare team.
- Develop and evaluate care that reflects spiritual, cultural, ethnic, and social preferences, values, and needs of patients, families, communities, and populations.
- Respect the centrality of the patient/family as core members of any healthcare team. (QSEN teamwork and collaboration attitudes)
Clinical Judgment (Essential X)
- Make individualized patient care related clinical judgments that are based on knowledge and evidence and developed through the process of clinical reasoning.
- Use evidence and clinical reasoning to support the management of care based on an ongoing evaluation of patient outcomes.
Nursing Laboratory
The nursing laboratories are equipped with sophisticated simulation mannequins and models, exam tables, hospital beds, computers, and a variety of audiovisual material. The laboratories are designed to promote critical thinking and skill proficiency for all major content areas of nursing practice. Under the direction of a full-time nurse, faculty members, and nursing lab assistants, students are able to practice and demonstrate skill competency in a simulated clinical setting. In addition to scheduled class times, laboratories are open and staffed for students’ individual practice during specified hours.
Freshman Prerequisite Courses for Matriculation to the BS in Nursing Program
Fall Freshman Year: 16 credits
Spring Freshman Year: 14 credits
| FYS 125 | First Year Seminar | 3 |
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| FLO 125 | The Art of Thinking | 3 |
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| PS 110 | Introduction to Psychology | 3 |
| CH 117 | General Organic & Biochemistry: An Overview | 3 |
| CH 119 | General Organic & Biochemistry Lab | 1 |
| BI 126 | Nursing Anatomy & Physiology I | 3 |
| BI 127 | Nursing Anatomy & Physiology I Laboratory | 1 |
| BI 128 | Nursing Anatomy & Physiology II | 3 |
| BI 129 | Nursing Anatomy & Physiology II Laboratory | 1 |
| MA 105 | Mathematical Applications for Health Sciences | 3 |
One Foundational Core Course in addition to PS 110 and CH 117/119 can be taken Year 1 Semester 1 or Year 1 Semester 2.
See Undergraduate Catalog Degrees and Curricula for course information.
Foundational Core subject areas include: Natural/Physical Science, Literature, History, Arts/Design/Communication, Philosophy, Theology/Religion, and Social/Behavioral Science.
- CH 117/119 can be taken Year 1 Semester 1 or Year 1 Semester 2
- PS 110 can be taken in Year 1 Semester 1 or Year 1 Semester 2
Additional Required Courses for the BS in Nursing
Fall Sophomore Year: 16 credits
Spring Sophomore Year: 15 credits
| NU 205/205L | Foundations of Professional Nursing | 3 |
| NU 310 | Pathophysiology | 3 |
| NU 220/220L | Pharmacology & Nursing Implications | 3 |
| NU 215/215L | Health Assessment | 3 |
| BI 161 | Introduction to Microbiology | 3 |
| BI 162 | Introduction to Microbiology Laboratory | 1 |
PH 101
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| SO 110 | Sociological Imagination | 3 |
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SO 120
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| SO 239 | Diversity & Oppression in Contemporary Society | 3 |
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| AN 110 | Human Cultural Diversity | 3 |
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| Foundational Core Course/Thematic Liberal Arts Course (3 credits each) | |
| CIT 201/202 | The Human Journey Seminars: Great Books in the Catholic Intellectual Tradition | 3 CR each |
Fall Junior Year: 16 credits
Spring Junior Year: 17 credits
| NU 210 | Health & Wellness & Cultural Diversity | 2 |
| NU 300 | Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing | 4 |
| NU 330 | Care of the Childbearing Family | 4 |
| NU 340 | Introduction to Adult Nursing | 5 |
| NU 365 | Evidence-Based Nursing Practice | 3 |
| MA 131 | Statistics for Decision-Making | 3 |
| PS 252 | Child Development Psychology | 3 |
| Foundational Core Course/Thematic Liberal Arts Course (3 credits each for a total of 9 credits in Junior Year). | |
Fall Senior Year: 16 credits
Spring Senior Year: 15–18 credits
| NU 360 | Adult Nursing II | 6 |
| NU 370 | Nursing Leadership | 3 |
| NU 374 | Concepts in Child Health Nursing | 4 |
| NU 381 | Public Health Nursing | 5 |
| NU 390 | Senior Synthesis Seminar | 3 |
| NU 395 | Transitions into Professional Nursing Practice | 4 |
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| TRS 340 | Bioethics: Religious Approaches | 3 |
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| PH 353 | Bioethics: Philosophical Approaches | 3 |
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| Foundational Core Course and/or Elective Course. | |