Nursing, BSN

The Generic 4-Year BSN program admits post-high school, first-year students and when capacity allows, transfer students (students with some college credits or with degrees in other disciplines).

All professional nursing courses are taught by highly qualified faculty who are experienced and proficient in scientific foundations and clinical applications of nursing principles. State-of-the-art professional instruction emphasizes that nursing is centered on caring for people. The curriculum reflects this emphasis in clinical nursing practice courses that begin in the sophomore year and become increasingly complex. Students work with children, adults, childbearing families, and the elderly in a variety of settings, including acute care hospitals, using sophisticated technology and community agencies dealing with individual, family, and community health care needs. Opportunities to gain comprehensive clinical experience are available because of excellent relationships with area hospitals, mental health clinics, home health care agencies, schools, and senior citizen centers. The faculty and students comprise a community of learners with the faculty member as facilitator and the student responsible for his or her learning. Teaching/learning strategies are varied so that students can maximize their learning potential.

The curriculum is four academic years and includes College Core courses, courses in the natural and behavioral sciences, and nursing science and practice courses. The nursing courses are concentrated in the upper division and include nursing science and practice in the nursing clinical learning laboratory and nursing practice experiences in area health care agencies. BSN graduates are qualified to take the National Council Licensing Examination (NCLEX-RN) to become licensed Registered Professional Nurses. Application for licensure is regulated by the Board of Nursing in the state in which the student applies to take the NCLEX and varies from state to state. The New Jersey Board of Nursing requires nurse education programs to inform students before they are admitted, that a criminal history background check is a prerequisite to licensure.

TCNJ’s nursing graduates are broadly prepared as advanced beginner practitioners of professional nursing practice. They are able to provide nursing care in any health setting and assume responsibility for diagnosing and treating human responses to actual or potential physical and emotional health problems through such services as case finding, health teaching, health counseling, and provision of care supportive to or restorative of life and well-being, and through execution of prescribed medical regimens (NJSA 45:1123). In addition, they protect the rights, safety, and welfare of clients, work to influence health and social policy and contribute to the development of the profession