From BGSU OFFICE OF MARKETING & BRAND STRATEGY
Since launching as a standalone program in 2020, the Bowling Green State University nursing program has quickly grown to become the largest bachelor’s program of its kind in northwest Ohio.
BGSU established its own School of Nursing within the College of Health and Human Services after providing pre-nursing education for more than 50 years to address ongoing shortages of skilled health care professionals, both locally and in the greater region.
The program initially enrolled 41 students in its first cohort and has since grown significantly in the subsequent years. The program now boasts about 200 students in its first three cohorts alone and nearly 400 more are enrolled in the pre-nursing program, which readies freshmen and sophomores for admittance into the School of Nursing as a junior.
Demand was so immediate that BGSU added an additional spring enrollment for the first time earlier in 2024. When the Spring 2025 semester begins on Jan. 13, the program expects to have four cohorts enrolled at all times.
Dr. Shelly Bussard, director of the BGSU School of Nursing, said current and prospective students appreciate the program’s unique support system, which includes coursework that prepares them for real-world experiences, resources that connect students directly to prospective employers, expert faculty and state-of-the-art facilities in Central Hall.
“We go to great lengths to ensure that students have all the support they need here, whether that’s additional help outside the classroom, a space to practice their skills or faculty members who are rooting for their success every step of the way,” Bussard said. “Health care certainly has its challenges, but we believe our program thoroughly prepares students for anything they might face.”
The program was designed to empower students with hands-on experience as undergraduates, which includes a 29-bed skills lab open to students at all times of day and audio/visual space in which they can practice real-world scenarios and go through debriefing sessions.
By asking students to learn skills through practicing them, not just talking about them, BGSU nursing graduates are ready to enter the workforce immediately upon program completion.
In a short time frame, the program has grown exponentially to meet a vital workforce need in the region and beyond.
“More than ever, communities need nurses with skills to achieve desired patient outcomes, and those are the types of graduates we aspire to mold in the BGSU School of Nursing,” Bussard said. “We’re excited to fill this role in northwest Ohio for years to come.”
