Nursing, BSN

The Mission of the Westminster College RN-BSN/Post-licensure Program is to provide a high quality, innovative RN-BSN education grounded in academic rigor and the science of Nursing.

This Mission promotes the professional skills of leadership, inter-professional teamwork, compassion, and cultural competence within all healthcare practice settings and is aligned with the Westminster College Mission of assisting individuals in developing the competencies, commitments, and characteristics to function at their personal best.

The Vision of the Westminster College RN-BSN/Post-licensure Program is to be the most academically respected, innovative RN-BSN Program in the region by preparing baccalaureate nurses who excel in the rapidly changing world of healthcare.

RN-BSN End of Program Learning Outcomes

The professional nursing graduate will:

1. Incorporate into professional nursing practice, the intellectual perspectives obtained from the liberal arts and science underpinnings of the Westminster College nursing education program.
2. Employ knowledgeable leadership skills and quality improvement practices to provide safe, high quality patient care.
3. Maintain a commitment to inquiry by appraising the most recent health care research and advances for the provision of safe, high quality care.
4. Integrate current evidence to inform clinical decision making in professional nursing practice.
5. Apply knowledge and skills of information management and healthcare technology to facilitate high quality patient care.
6. Recognize in professional nursing practice, the importance and influence of healthcare policy, finances and regulations as support for quality improvement and safety in the healthcare setting.
7. Effectively communicate and collaborate with all members of the healthcare team to assure high quality, safe care for individuals and groups.
8. Incorporate knowledge of health promotion and disease prevention in all nursing practice encounters from the individual to the population level.
9. Demonstrate professional behaviors that reflect the values of altruism, autonomy, human dignity, integrity, and social justice as the foundation for professional nursing practice.
10. Provide professional nursing care for individuals, families, groups, communities, and populations that is culturally responsive and reflective of patient needs and preferences, as well as the increased use of healthcare resources in meeting those needs.
11. Engage in life-long learning and professional development to maintain practice relevancy and competency to further inform professional nursing practice.

Four-Year Collaborative Nursing Plan

In the first year of the Collaborative Nursing Plan, accepted Westminster College students are enrolled in general science and first-year courses in preparation for applying to the UPMC Jameson School of Nursing. The Year One courses are aligned with the required college-level courses that are a part of Jameson’s Diploma Program and the Westminster RN-BSN Program curriculum. In Year Two and with acceptance to the UPMC Jameson School of Nursing, students in the Collaborative Nursing Plan complete nursing courses, lab experiences, and clinical placements within the UPMC Jameson School of Nursing. Simultaneously, they complete additional liberal arts courses required for the BSN degree at Westminster. At the end of the third year, successful graduates of the UPMC Jameson School of Nursing are eligible to complete the NCLEX-RN examination for licensure as registered professional nurses (RN). With active RN licensure, students continue in the College’s RN-BSN/Post-licensure Program to complete upper-level nursing course work and remaining college courses to fulfill graduation requirements for the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree from Westminster College.

*The UPMC Jameson School of Nursing located in New Castle, PA is one of four UPMC Schools of Nursing.