Total minimum number of credits required for a major in Nursing leading to the BSN degree - 120.
Accreditation
The baccalaureate degree in nursing/master’s degree in nursing/Doctor of Nursing Practice/, and post graduate APRN certificate programs at Wilkes University are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).
Philosophy and Curriculum
The practice of professional nursing is a deliberative process of assessing, analyzing, planning, implementing, and evaluating care with clients that promotes and restores health and prevents illness. The baccalaureate program prepares a beginning, self-directed practitioner who is capable of initiating, implementing, and revising nursing care.
Professional nursing is based upon the integration of knowledge from the humanities, the physical and social sciences, and nursing theories and research. The curriculum is based on the development of the individual and the family within a community. The curriculum flows from the philosophy and covers a four-year academic period. It includes integrated nursing courses, electives, and the General Education Curriculum requirements. Due to the cultural diversity of clients, it is suggested that students consider taking a foreign language. Written agreements with the cooperating hospitals and agencies in Northeastern Pennsylvania ensure clinical facilities for the student’s practice, which is concurrent with the classroom theory. NOTE: Students are responsible for their own transportation to assigned clinical areas.
In addition, opportunities for learning are provided in the Clinical and Simulation-Based Learning Center, which is equipped with computer-assisted instructional materials and with low fidelity and high fidelity manikins. A simulated clinical environment allows the student to practice the psychomotor skills necessary in nursing practice. A faculty member is available to assist the students.
Undergraduate Nursing Programs
Students majoring in Nursing are required to have completed courses in English (4 units), Social Studies (3 units), Mathematics (2 units, including algebra), and Science (two units, including Biology and Chemistry) during their secondary school program. The preferred criteria for admission are a high school GPA of 3.3 or numeric grade of 87, SAT scores of 510 in both Math and Reading (1020) or an ACT score of 21 for those students who do not take the SAT’s. Students who have graduated from an accredited institution and meet all other admission requirements will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Admission is not guaranteed. Transfer students or change of major students must meet the required score on the nursing entrance examination prior to admission into the nursing program. The student of nursing assumes all of the financial obligations listed in the section on fees in this bulletin. Additional expenses incurred in the Nursing Program are listed in the Undergraduate Nursing Student Handbook. A price list for these items follows.
Students must complete the required health and clearance documents and submit all requirements as directed by Castlebranch by June 30th every year of enrollment in clinical nursing courses for the fall semester and by January 5 for the spring semester. Failure to complete requirements by June 30th or January 5 will result in the loss of a clinical seat. Students must contact Lori Drozdis, Student Services Coordinator (at lori.drozdis@wilkes.edu or (570) 408-4092) for the required code.
In addition to the required health and clearance documents noted above, any student transferring into the nursing program from another school or from another program or from an undeclared status at Wilkes University must be in good academic standing and must successfully complete the nurse entrance examination before July 1st preceding the start of the entry level clinical nursing course (NSG 210 ). Students must also meet the technical standards essential to the practice of nursing, as defined in the Undergraduate Nursing Student Handbook to progress into clinical nursing courses. Satisfactory clinical performance is an essential component of the Wilkes Nursing program. Students become eligible to progress into clinical nursing courses when they have met the following prerequisite course requirements: nursing majors must earn a 2.5 or better in the required prerequisite sciences (BIO 113 , BIO 115 -BIO 116 , CHM 111 ) and a 2.0 in ENG 101 . In order to remain in clinical courses and progress in the nursing curriculum, students must earn a 2.5 or higher in the required co-requisite science (EES 242 ). Students will be allowed to repeat a science course one time for a gradeless than 2.5. A student who achieves less than a 2.5 in two science courses will not be able to progress into the nursing program. Students must obtain a cumulative GPA of 2.5 at all times.
In order to progress THROUGH the nursing program, all nursing students must:
- Follow the admission and progression policy of the Passan School of Nursing.
In addition to fulfilling the academic requirements of the University, students majoring in Nursing are required to successfully complete comprehensive examinations and required studies as assigned by the School of Nursing before being eligible to graduate