Hybrid RN to BSN Curriculum Overview

This course recognizes the professional knowledge and clinical competencies registered nurses have already achieved prior to entering the RN–BSN program. Through verified RN licensure and reflective activities, students validate foundational nursing competencies and map their professional practice experience to the ten AACN Essentials domains. The course establishes the starting point for competency development throughout the RN–BSN program.

This course examines the historical, philosophical, and theoretical foundations of nursing as a scientific discipline. Building on prior nursing experience, students explore how nursing theories guide professional practice and shape professional identity. Ethical decision-making is examined using principles from the ANA Code of Ethics for Nurses. Students develop a personal philosophy of nursing that reflects professional values, accountability, and a commitment to ethical practice.

This course integrates nursing science, research, and quality improvement principles to support safe, high-quality patient care. Students move beyond basic comprehension to develop an understanding of research principles, levels of evidence, and ethical scholarship. Emphasis is placed on locating and evaluating scholarly sources, synthesizing evidence, and communicating findings to support evidence-based practice and quality improvement in healthcare.

This course strengthens clinical reasoning through advanced health assessment and interpretation of holistic patient data. Building on prior nursing experience, students analyze simulated clinical scenarios to interpret comprehensive health assessment findings. Emphasis is placed on health promotion through individualized education strategies and counseling techniques, including motivational interviewing, to support wellness and self-management. Students also examine care coordination strategies and interprofessional collaboration that support continuity of care across healthcare settings.

This course introduces the foundations of population health nursing through the study of population practice, health equity, and the factors that influence health across communities. Through practice experiences, students examine how health is defined and measured at the population level and how disparities emerge among vulnerable populations. Emphasis is placed on sociopolitical, environmental, and structural drivers of health, cultural agility and inclusive care, population health frameworks, and the nurse’s role in disaster response and community resilience.

This course builds on foundational population health concepts by applying the nursing process to population-level assessment, planning, intervention, and evaluation. Using the Population Health Roadmap, students analyze epidemiologic indicators, identify community assets and barriers, and develop evidence-based strategies that promote health and prevent disease. Emphasis is placed on the role of policy, advocacy, and program design advancing health equity at the population level. Through asynchronous and simulation-based activities, students engage in community assessment and population health decision-making to support improved health outcomes.

This course examines the role of informatics and digital innovation in advancing nursing practice and improving healthcare outcomes. Students progress from foundational use of healthcare technologies to analyzing how digital systems influence clinical decision-making, workflow efficiency, and patient outcomes. Emphasis is placed on evaluating emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, telehealth, and remote monitoring, while considering the ethical, organizational, and equity implications of integrating technology into healthcare systems.

This course prepares nurses to lead and transform complex healthcare systems through strategic influence and advocacy. Students progress from foundational leadership concepts to analyzing and influencing healthcare systems, policy, and organizational change. Emphasis is placed on systems thinking, structural advocacy, and interprofessional leadership to address barriers to health equity. Students develop policy proposals, examine financial and reimbursement models, and build the capacity to lead teams and advocate for system-level improvements that enhance the value, quality, and sustainability of healthcare.

This seminar serves as the summative experience for the RN–BSN curriculum. Students synthesize knowledge gained throughout the program and demonstrate attainment of baccalaureate-level competencies while highlighting the foundational master’s-level competencies developed through advanced coursework. Through portfolio development and a scholarly poster presentation, students integrate concepts from evidence-based practice, population health, leadership, informatics, and systems improvement to showcase readiness for professional advancement and graduate education.

Students will take five 1-credit theology courses.