St. Francis Adds New Four-Year BSN to Current RN to BSN Program

Students looking to get in on the newest and best approaches to modern nursing need look no further than 180 Remsen Street and St. Francis College.

St. Francis is proud to now offer a new four year BSN program for undergraduates, which is fully accredited by CCNE, the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, and is now looking for candidates who meet the undergraduate requirements. (sfc.edu/nursing)

“In the past, we only were able to teach people who were already nurses,” said Susan Saladino, Chair of the Department of Nursing at the College. “With this program, we get to grow our own professional nurses from the start and instill in them the kind and caring values of our Franciscan Tradition. This allows us to offer high school graduates the same opportunity to become nurses that we have successfully offered to our Registered Nurse students in the past.”

Clinical coursework will begin in the fall of 2014 which prerequisites starting in January 2014 and running over the summer.

“There are very few opportunities for people in New York City to get their RN and BSN as an undergrad,” said Dean for Academic Programs and Development Allen Burdowski who was instrumental in organizing the new program and developing the curriculum. “Our program will help institutionalize a modern approach to nursing that incorporates the latest technologies with informatics and simulators.”

To enter the program students must first be accepted as undergraduates of the college. If they maintain a 3.0 GPA after two years they can then begin taking the Nursing courses.

The program involves class work as well as opportunities to study at world renowned hospitals across New York City.

The backbone of the program will be the new Nursing Lab on the fifth floor with state-of-the-art simulators (SimMan, SimBaby, SimMom) that mimic illnesses and medical conditions. A full one quarter of the BSN program will be spent using these simulators.

“It’s important that our nurses be trained in the latest technology,” said Burdowski. “The field of nursing is changing fast and we are committed to educating at the forefront of the field and producing well-rounded graduates who can mix traditional practices with the cutting edge.”