Overview
What is Nursing?
Nursing provides a solid foundation in clinical care at the individual, community and global level, preparing students to navigate the modern healthcare system. Students learn a wide range of topics, from disease prevention and care processes to communication and ethics.
Why Study Nursing at Keene State?
At Keene State College, students earning a BS in nursing develop close working relationships with faculty through small class sizes and hands-on learning experiences. They study in our state-of-the-art simulation lab with professors who use best practices in a fun learning environment. 100% of Keene State nursing students are employed as RNs after they pass the NCLEX, with many hired before graduation.
Program of Study
First-year students who express an interest in pursuing acceptance into the nursing program are admitted to the College as nursing students.
Most students enter as first-year nursing students, but it’s possible to transfer into the program as a sophomore, depending on seat availability. The BSN curriculum includes a variety of liberal arts, science, math, and nursing courses. Nursing students work with a nursing faculty advisor, receiving individualized attention to help them successfully progress through the curriculum.
The first two years of the curriculum, nursing students complete the College ISP courses, and other science course requirements. In the junior year, students who meet the Nursing Program Progression Requirements enroll in nursing courses. Junior and senior year students enroll full-time in nursing courses. The nursing courses include a combination of didactic, laboratory and clinical learning experiences. In the final semester of senior year, students are placed with a nurse preceptor and work one-on-one preparing for the transition to clinical practice.
Admission Requirements, Freshman Level “Nursing” Major:
- High School GPA of 3.25
- “B” grades or higher in math and science courses
Progression Requirements, Junior Level “Nursing” Major:
- “B” grade or higher in the four science courses
- Chemistry
- Anatomy & Physiology I
- Anatomy & Physiology II
- Microbiology
- Science GPA of 3.25
- Overall GPA of 3.4
- Successful completion of the Nursing Basic Math Competency
Nursing Program Goals:
- Eighty percent (80%) of nursing students successfully complete the program.
- Graduates pass the NCLEX-RN on the first attempt at or above the national pass rate for RN graduates.
- Ninety percent (90%) of nursing graduates who pass the NCLEX are employed as registered nurses within twelve months of graduation
- Eighty percent (80%) of nursing graduates who respond to the graduate survey are satisfied with the nursing program.
- Ninety percent (90%) of employers responding to the survey are satisfied with nursing graduate performance.
Accreditation
The Keene State College Nursing Program is fully approved by the New Hampshire Board of Nursing, 121 South Fruit Street, Concord, NH 03301, 603-271-2152.
The baccalaureate degree program in nursing at Keene State College is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.
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Career and Other Opportunities
Graduating with a BSN degree opens the door to your choice of healthcare careers as a professional registered nurse.
Nursing graduates are employed in a variety of healthcare facilities in New Hampshire and across the United States. Keene State Alumni are employed in medical surgical units, labor and delivery units, intensive care units, emergency departments and operating rooms.
Examples of recent nursing graduate employment include positions at Cheshire Medical Center, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, Elliot Hospital, Hartford Hospital in Connecticut, and Massachusetts General Hospital.
Student Learning Outcomes
Graduates of the nursing program at Keene State enter their profession with comprehensive skills, knowledge and experience. They are able to:
- Demonstrate accountability for practicing nursing within established moral, legal, ethical, regulatory, and humanistic principles.
- Demonstrate awareness of and responsiveness to the larger context and system of health care and the ability to effectively call on system resources to provide care that is of optimal quality and value.
- Use information and technology to communicate, manage knowledge, mitigate error, and support decision-making.
- Identify, evaluate, and use the best current evidence coupled with clinical expertise and consideration of patients’ preferences, experience, and values to make practice decisions.
- Function effectively within nursing and interdisciplinary teams, fostering open communication, mutual respect, shared decision-making, team learning, and development.
- Minimize risk of harm to patients and providers through both individual performance and system effectiveness.
- Use data to monitor outcomes and care processes and use improvement methods to design and test changes to continuously improve the quality and safety of health care.
- Influence the behavior of individuals or groups of individuals within their environment in a way that will facilitate the establishment and acquisition/achievement of shared goals.
- Deliver holistic nursing care and advocate for health promotion and disease prevention strategies at the individual, family, community, and global levels.
- Demonstrate effective communication skills with clients that foster mutual respect and shared decision making to enhance patient satisfaction and health outcomes.
