The nursing program at Texas A&M University–Central Texas is adapting to better address nursing shortages while accommodating the need for more nurses with bachelor’s degrees.
While the industry has seen a decline in the number of RNs nationwide, the call for nurses with bachelor’s degrees is increasing. The Institute of Medicine is calling for at least 80% of nurses to hold a bachelor’s degree. Likewise, employers are increasingly starting to require bachelor’s degrees for their nursing staff. According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 28% of employers currently require nurses to hold a bachelor’s degree, and 72 percent strongly prefer baccalaureate-prepared nurses.
To meet these goals, many nurses need additional college education. A&M–Central Texas is answering that call, offering a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree designed for working nurses. Program director Dr. Amy Mersiovsky said the goal is to meet the needs of those nursing looking to further their career through additional education.
Learn more about our award-winning Nursing Department and our Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree program.
“We want to provide an RN to BSN online program that is available to those who need it,” Mersiovsky said. “Our students are very appreciative of the education we provide and the format and value they receive from it.”
Delivered 100% online, the BSN program allows students to study and complete assigned coursework at times that are most convenient for them. This gives students the freedom to continue working and taking care of family needs while completing their education.
A&M–Central Texas also recently made some changes that will make the degree more accommodating for students. First, students currently enrolled in community colleges working toward their RN are eligible to take summer courses at A&M–Central Texas and jump start on their BSN coursework. A&M–Central Texas offers Pathophysiology and Introduction to Professional Nursing as summer options for students.
“There are not many BSN programs that offer the opportunity to start before completing an associate’s degree,” Mersiovsky said. “With these summer classes, students can still be moving forward to get there degree.”
Additionally, Mersiovsky said the summer classes will help students retain information they have learned through their other coursework.
In another move designed to make degree completion more attainable, A&M–Central Texas offers its program in 8-week terms. Many nursing students at the university take one course per term to accommodate busy work, family and life schedules, prolonging the amount of time to degree completion. The 8-week terms basically break a traditional long semester into two, allowing flexibility in scheduling and more expedited course completion. By utilizing the 8-week terms, students who take one course per term can still complete their bachelor’s degree in two years.
For more information on A&M–Central Texas’ BSN program visit www.tamuct.edu/nursing.