Part of the College of Health Professions, the Department of Nursing offers an accredited program leading to a bachelor of science degree with a major in nursing. The curriculum plan includes courses in the liberal arts, sciences, and nursing. Upon completion, graduates are eligible to take the NCLEX-RN for licensure in Maryland or other states.

Nursing major courses are presented in four semesters. Prerequisite and most general education courses are completed prior to entering the nursing major. Once in the major, students sequentially complete theory and clinically-based courses in nursing.

The knowledge and skill needed to practice professional nursing in today's environment, and for the future, require a comprehensive, articulated approach to nursing education. Thus, faculty have organized the curriculum plan around the following four concepts:

• Education, which includes the concepts of knowledge and critical thinking. These concepts involve two significant tools used in nursing practice: nursing process and research. Education also includes the concepts of shared responsibility and self-development.
• Human, which defines the client as an individual, a family, a community, or a population group. It considers the concepts of needs and communication.
• Health, which encompasses wellness-illness; environment; and stress, adaptation, and change.
• Nursing, which includes the concepts of caring, professional role, and leadership.

These concepts are integrated in the teaching and learning of content and in the process of professional nursing practice. Learning experiences occur in on-campus classrooms and laboratories, in health care agencies such as hospitals and clinics, and in community-based settings. Students have learning experiences with individuals, families, and communities from a variety of cultural backgrounds. The focus of clinical experiences is on health maintenance and the provision of care when illness occurs. All age groups are included in experiences, as are many different types of health care settings.

Careers

Once graduates have passed the licensing examination (NCLEX-RN), they are eligible to seek employment in a variety of settings:

• hospitals
• ambulatory health centers
• nursing homes
• school and community health agencies
• health maintenance organizations
• industries
• and free-standing clinics