From BGSU OFFICE OF MARKETING & BRAND STRATEGY
Bowling Green State University has announced a new Bachelor of Science in nursing (BSN) degree program to meet the growing demand for skilled nurses globally. The four-year nursing degree program prepares students for jobs as registered nurses and will begin at the start of fall 2021 semester.
“We are all very excited to bring our new BSN program into the School of Nursing portfolio,” said Dr. Jim Ciesla, dean of the College of Health and Human Services. “It represents a huge step forward for our nursing program and is a perfect fit for our mission as a college and a University to create public good while really enhancing our students’ experience and prospects for success.”
The BSN program is the latest addition to the College of Health and Human Services’ School of Nursing, which was launched in June 2020 and builds on the University’s 50-year history of nursing education.
The School of Nursing will be housed in Central Hall, the former College of Business annex, with comprehensive renovations underway. The facility will feature a new state-of-the-art skills lab and simulation center and is slated to open in late spring, well ahead of the 2021-2022 academic year. The 23-bed lab complex has benefited from a generous donation from the Wood County Hospital Foundation and features computerized manikins that simulate patient scenarios that are realistic, helping students to develop clinical judgment skills. BGSU has introduced two courses specifically focused on building clinical judgment that are unique to the University’s nursing program.
“I don’t think we could ask for a better time in history to prepare more nurses to enter the workforce,” said Dr. Shelly Bussard, director of BGSU’s School of Nursing. “The world needs more nurses, and BGSU is prepared to provide highly trained registered nurses to care for the most vulnerable among us.”
BGSU has a long history of providing pre-nursing education as part of a unique consortium with the former Medical College of Ohio, which later merged with the University of Toledo to form the University of Toledo Medical Center. A mutual decision was made to phase out the consortium agreement, allowing both institutions to independently build their nursing programs.
Today, BGSU’s School of Nursing is designed to meet the critical demand for nurses, both in the region and throughout the country. In August 2019, BGSU began a fully online RN to BSN program that allows registered nurses with an associate degree or diploma in nursing the ability to continue their education and earn a Bachelor of Science in nursing degree. BGSU graduated its first class of RN to BSN students in December 2020.
The School of Nursing also offers a dual degree program in partnership with Mercy College, with clinical nursing classes held either at Mercy College in Toledo or at BGSU and offering clinical placements throughout Northwest Ohio. BGSU also created a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) Industry Certificate, which assists diploma LPN and LPN-to-RN students in seamlessly transitioning to a BSN degree.
With the new BSN program, the pre-nursing course work will be similar to what has been offered through the UT consortium and Mercy dual degree programs. However, the nursing major, which comprises the last four semesters of the four-year nursing degree, will now be taught on campus by BGSU faculty.
“BGSU has long played a pivotal role in preparing future nurses through innovative pre-nursing courses,” Bussard said. “With excellent faculty, leadership and stakeholders, we will move BGSU into a new era of preparing registered nurses to care for individuals, families and communities.”
Industry and U.S. labor statistics show the nursing field remains one of the fastest-growing industries in the country. Registered nursing (RN) is listed among the top occupations in terms of job growth through 2026, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2016-26 employment projections, which projected the field to grow by more than 438,000 jobs over that 10-year period.
The demand for BSN degrees is expected to rise as more workplaces make it a hiring requirement, recognizing data that shows hiring nurses with higher levels of education improves overall quality and patient outcomes.
The School of Nursing has also been working with health care partners in the community to provide meaningful learning opportunities in clinical settings. These crucial clinical opportunities are rich and varied, located in rural and urban settings, community settings, telehealth and much more.Applications are now open for the BSN program for the fall 2021 semester.
