Nursing

About the Program

Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing (BSN): 182.0 credits

The BS in Nursing (BSN) is a full-time, five year program. This program offers three paid, six-month cooperative education experiences. There is also a full-time, four-year option with one, 6 month co-op experience in the 3rd year of studyStudents graduate with a bachelor of science in nursing and eligibility to sit for the RN licensure examination.

The BS in nursing degree is approved by the Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing, the National League for Nursing Accreditation Commission, and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.

Drexel’s nursing curriculum is built to respond to the rapidly changing health care system, as well as to student's needs. Graduates of the baccalaureate program will be prepared to:

• Utilize the growing compendium of knowledge and information sources from nursing and other disciplines to learn, teach, heal the sick, and conserve health.
• Contribute to the profession by sharing knowledge and skills with clients, peers, and other professionals in a variety of methods.
• Utilize multiple technologies that access and manage information to guide professional practice.
• Participate in culturally sensitive health promotion activities that contribute to the community’s health and wellness.
• Participate in ongoing educational activities related to personal growth, professional practice, and community service.
• Apply knowledge and skills appropriate to their selected areas of career clinical practice.
• Develop personal potential for leadership in a changing health care environment.
• Integrate ethical concepts and principles, The Code of Ethics for Nurses, and professional standards into practice within professional, academic, and community settings.
• Utilize critical-thinking skills to improve the health outcomes of patients, families, and communities across the continuum of care.

A BSN is awarded at the completion of the program.

For more information about the BSN with Co-Op option at Drexel, visit the Nursing Co-Op Program page.

Degree Requirements 

Writing-Intensive Course Requirements

In order to graduate, all students must pass three writing-intensive courses after their freshman year. Two writing-intensive courses must be in a student's major. The third can be in any discipline. Students are advised to take one writing-intensive class each year, beginning with the sophomore year, and to avoid “clustering” these courses near the end of their matriculation. Transfer students need to meet with an academic advisor to review the number of writing-intensive courses required to graduate.

A "WI" next to a course in this catalog may indicate that this course can fulfill a writing-intensive requirement. For the most up-to-date list of writing-intensive courses being offered, students should check the Writing Intensive Course List at the University Writing Center. Students scheduling their courses can also conduct a search for courses with the attribute "WI" to bring up a list of all writing-intensive courses available that term. Transfer students need to meet with an academic advisor to review the number of writing-intensive courses required to graduate.

Sample Plans of Study 

BS in Nursing: Co-op Experience Track "A"

BS in Nursing: Co-op Experience Track "B"

About the Co-op

Co-operative education was designed to provide students with real-world experience in a variety of professional settings before graduation. Co-op integrates full-time work experience in the student's field of study throughout the academic program. The College of Nursing and Health Professions co-op program is one of only two of its kind in the nation.

The nursing co-op provides students with 18 months of co-operative education in addition to the traditional clinical educational experiences.

Through co-op, students will have the opportunity to learn the role of the nurse and unlicensed assistive personnel as well as other daily professional, political, and social issues in a work environment. Both before and during co-op students will receive instruction on career management and professional development skills, such as résumé writing, job searches, interviewing skills, maintaining a career portfolio, negotiating salary, and professional. The clinical background students gain from co-op, coupled with a knowledge of career management, makes the Drexel option a value-added model of nursing education.

Co-op Descriptions

First Experience
Co-op I: Nursing in Contemporary Health Networks
Students will have co-operative education experiences in managed care settings, pharmaceutical companies, and other non-traditional healthcare work environments where nurses and nursing can effect change. Students will either work under the direction of a professional nurse or another health care professional with a minimum of a baccalaureate degree. Students will not perform any basic nursing skills in this role.

Second Experience
Co-op II: Acute and Chronic Health and Illness
Students on the 4-year track participate in Co-Op II, an education experience in the traditional health care environment that emphasize the delivery of nursing care to adults and adolescents with acute and chronic illnesses. The majority of placements will be in general and specialty medical-surgical units. Students will function in the role as an unlicensed assistive person and their job description will be modeled similarly to unlicensed assistive personnel or nursing externs.

Third Experience
Co-op III: Specialty Nursing Concentration
Students will have co-operative education experiences in a specialty area of their choice which will build upon their previous clinical courses and work experiences. For example, students may elect to specialize in labor and delivery, critical care, or return to work for a pharmaceutical or managed care company. Selection of content area for the Co-op III site will be made by each student in consultation with the student’s faculty advisor. Students will be given a suggested reading list and texts to be used for supplemental reading and learning for the specialty co-op area. Students will function in the role as an unlicensed assistive person and their job description will be modeled similarly to the role of unlicensed assistive personnel or nursing externs.

Accelerated Career Entry (ACE) BSN

About the Program

Drexel University offers the Accelerated Career Entry Option, a one-year intensive nursing program for students who already have bachelor’s or graduate degrees. The program is ideal for working adults or college graduates who want to change careers and earn a new degree in one year. This innovative program is geared to students who will benefit from intense education in nursing science rather than the traditional program, which takes three or four years.

Like their counterparts in the traditional baccalaureate nursing program, graduates of the accelerated program emerge with a set of skills that will serve them well in their chosen profession. Our graduates:

• Utilize the growing compendium of knowledge and information sources from nursing and other disciplines to learn, teach, heal the sick, and conserve health.
• Contribute to the profession by sharing knowledge and skills with clients, peers, and other professionals in a variety of methods.
• Utilize multiple technologies that access and manage information to guide professional practice.
• Participate in culturally sensitive health promotion activities that contribute to the community’s health and wellness.
• Participate in ongoing educational activities related to personal growth, professional practice, and community service.
• Apply knowledge and skills appropriate to their selected areas of career clinical practice.
• Develop personal potential for leadership in a changing health care environment.
• Integrate ethical concepts and principles, The Code of Ethics for Nurses, and professional standards into practice within professional, academic, and community settings.
• Utilize critical-thinking skills to improve the health outcomes of patients, families, and communities across the continuum of care.

Admission requirements/Prerequisites

Candidates for admission must be college graduates with a 3.0 overall GPA or a 3.0 GPA in their most-recent 60 semester hours of coursework completed. Admitted students must complete all prerequisites before continuing with the program.  Applicants whose native language is not English and/or were born outside of the United States are required to take both the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) and the TSE (Test of Spoken English) and achieve a passing score in each.

Prerequisites

 Degree Requirements

RN/BSN Completion Program

Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing (BSN): 180.0 quarter credits (for Registered Nurses)

The RN/BSN Completion program is an option for nurses from associate degree and diploma nursing programs looking to complete the bachelor of science degree in nursing.

About the Program

The Bachelor of Science in Nursing program continues the education of registered nurses to prepare them for the rapidly changing health care environment. Core courses prepare the graduate for population-based cases and the managed care environment. Support courses, electives, and study in an area of the student’s choosing build on foundational educational experiences to facilitate the examination of critical issues from a variety of perspectives.

A BSN is awarded at the completion of the program. Qualified students are encouraged to submatriculate in the MSN program (RN/BSN/MSN pathway) while enrolled in the BSN program.

For more information about this completion program at Drexel, visit the RN/BSN Completion Program page.

Admission Requirements/Prerequisites

Admission Requirements

• RN licensure (provisional acceptance will generally be offered pending successful completion of the NCLEX-RN examination)
• Official college transcripts
• College grade point average of 2.5 or better
• High school degree or equivalent

To be eligible for admission to the bachelor of science in nursing program, students must have completed 60 hours of college prerequisites, as follows, with a grade of C or better. Students may transfer in up to 90 credits. Remaining credits will be evaluated on an individual basis. To graduate, students must have completed 180 credits.

The 60 required hours include:

Graduates of National League for Nursing (NLN)-accredited associate or diploma nursing programs who meet the criteria of the Pennsylvania Nursing Articulation Model will receive credit for 30 semester hours of nursing, which may be applied toward the program entrance requirements.

Degree Requirements

The College of Nursing and Health Professions faculty uses a variety of teaching and learning methods to facilitate the achievement of a student’s personal objectives. Most courses incorporate e-mail and Internet assignments as well as a variety of innovative, active learning assignments. Courses are offered in several stimulating educational formats, including in an online format.

Course sequences are scheduled to allow full-time students to complete the nursing component of the program in three semesters. Students may also complete the program on a part-time basis. Admission can occur in any term.

Accelerated RN/BSN/MSN

The RN-BSN-MSN Option is a pathway for students who are currently in the Drexel RN to BSN completion program and are interested in continuing their studies to pursue the MSN.

Admission

For the following tracks, students submit an application to the MSN program in the final term of BSN study:

• MSN in Nursing Education and Faculty Role
• MSN in Clinical Trials
• MSN in Leadership in Health Systems Management
• MSN in Innovation & Intra/Entrepreneurship for Advanced Practice Nursing.

Students interested in either the Nurse Anesthesia program or Nurse Practitioner programs may opt for an accelerated option. The following Nurse Practitioner tracks are available:

• Adult Care Nurse Practitioner Program (online)
• Family Nurse Practitioner Program (on campus)
• Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Program (on campus)
• Adult Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner
• Program (online)
• Women’s Health Care Nurse Practitioner Program (on-line)

For both the Nurse Anesthesia and the Nurse Practitioner programs, students submit an application when close to completing their BSN degrees. The BSN students must meet the admission requirements for the MSN program. The GRE or MAT exams are required for the Nurse Anesthesia program. Specific admission criteria are outlined on the Admission Requirements RN to BSN to MSN Option page.

Students may not register for graduate courses until they are accepted in the program. Additional information is available on the RN-BSN-MSN program page.

Note: Students in the MSN Adult Acute Care Nurse Practitioner and the Adult Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner program may only be admitted from, and must have clinical placements only in one of the following states: Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, Washington DC, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Students living on the borders of these regions may be admitted with the understanding that all clinical practica must be taken in the regional states. Students must be licensed in the regional state where clinical practica will occur.

If a student decides not to finish the MSN program after completing two or more MSN courses, the University will award the BSN, provided that the student has completed the required 180 credits. All students who have applied to and entered the RN/BSN/MSN program work closely with the academic advisor to ensure proper progression.

Clinical Affiliations

Clinical Placement Sites

The Undergraduate Nursing Programs have an extensive network of clinical placement sites, including:

11th Street Family Health Services
Abington Memorial Hospital
Albert Einstein Medical Center
Belmont Center
Bryn Mawr Hospital
Paoli Hospital
Camden County Department of Health and Human Services
Camden County Health Services Center
Cooper University Hospital
Chandler Hall
Chestnut Hill Hospital
CHOP (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia)
Christiana Care (Wilmingon Hospital)
Crozer-Chester Medical Center
Deer Meadows
Delaware County Memorial Hospital
Devereaux Children's Behavioral Health Center
Doylestown Hospital
Evangelical Manor
Fairmount Behavioral Health
Fox Chase Cancer Center
Frankford Health Care System
Friends Hospital
Gray Manor
Grandview Hospital
Girard Medical Center
Hahnemann University Hospital
Heritage Church
Holy Redeemer Hospital and Medical Center
Horizon House
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
Temple Children's Hospital
Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
Kennedy Memorial Hospital
Kirkbride Center
Landsdale Hospital (Abington Health)
Lankenau Hospital
Livengrin Foundation, Inc. Lourdes Medical Center
Methodist Hospital
Moss Rehab - AEMC
Mother Bachman Maternity Center
Nazareth Hospital
NJ Monroe Township Schools
NJ Winslow Township Schools
NJ Black Horse School District
North City Congress (N. Broad Senior Center)
Northeastern Hospital
Our Brother's Place
Our Lady of Lourdes
Pennsylvania Hospital
Paul's Run
Peter Becker Community
Philadelphia School District
Presbyterian Medical Center
Riddle Memorial Hospital
Riverside Care
St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children
St. Francis Hospital
St. John's Hospice
St. Joseph's Manor
Shriners Hospital for Children
SPIN, Inc. Temple University Hospital
Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
Underwood Memorial Hospital
Veteran's Haven
Village of Arts and Humanities
Virtua health (Vorhees, Marlton, Memorial)
Watermark

Division of Undergraduate Nursing Faculty

Interdepartmental Faculty