Ohio University's first four-year bachelor's degree program in nursing will enroll its first class of pre-nursing students this fall at the Athens campus.
The program has been in the planning stage for about 18 months and received approval from the Ohio Board of Nursing May 14, said Mary Bowen, director of the School of Nursing.
I think we're going to have a really full nursing roster
Bowen said. There's a lot of demand for the course. I'm anticipating that all the slots we will have open will be filled.
About 300 to 400 students have already applied to the program, most of whom will be freshmen upon acceptance, Bowen said, adding that there is no application cutoff date. The school will begin accepting 100 pre-nursing students in June 2010 for the bachelor's in nursing degree.
Students accepted into the pre-nursing program will go through one year to 18 months of nursing courses before they can apply for the nursing major, Bowen said. After the first class graduates in 2013, the department will apply for accreditation, Bowen said, adding this is a regular part of nursing education.
The nursing program will receive about $1.2 million in Vision Ohio money for staff and supplies over the next four years. Students enrolled in the program will pay regular tuition and room-and-board rates.
The planning committee for the program found space on campus for the pre-nursing stage of the program, but is still looking for laboratory space for Winter Quarter 2010-11, Bowen said.
Bowen said she hopes the program will attract Athens residents who previously traveled to Columbus and farther to study in a four-year nursing program.
The nursing school has teamed up with at least six local health care providers to set up students with jobs and internships while allowing for better recruitment and retention in area hospitals, Bowen said.
It's a big plus for local residents of southeast Ohio that now they can achieve the four-year baccalaureate of nursing degree right here in their home town Bowen said.
Nursing graduates who hold baccalaureate degrees are more marketable to hospitals because they are statistically proven to produce lower mortality rates among patients, Bowen said.
Unlike the online RN-to-BSN program - a bachelor's degree program for already licensed, registered nurses - the traditional, four-year nursing program is for pre-licensure students or those who transfer in with pre-nursing coursework, Bowen said.
1
News
Olga Kharitonova
