Bachelor of Science in Nursing (RN to BSN) Online Program

Bachelor of Science in Nursing (RN to BSN) Online Program

Bachelor of Science in Nursing (RN to BSN) Online Program

In the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (RN-BSN) Completion Program, current registered nurses (RNs) who have a diploma or associate degree in nursing are provided with the opportunity to earn a BSN degree.

Walden’s Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE)–accredited RN-BSN completion program is structured to support and equip RNs with specialized skills and current knowledge they can apply on the job immediately. Students may be eligible to transfer up to 75% of the required credits. Classes start every 6 weeks.*

Prospective Washington students: Walden University is approved by the Washington State Nursing Care Quality Assurance Commission to provide practice experiences in Washington State for a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing; Master of Science in Nursing with a specialization in Nursing Education, Nursing Informatics, Leadership and Management, Family Nurse Practitioner, Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner, and Psychiatric and Mental Health Nurse Practitioner; as well as the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program. For more information, go to the following website: https://www.doh.wa.gov/LicensesPermitsandCertificates/NursingCommission/NursingEducation/NursingPrograms.

Note: The Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program is offered in two different learning modalities: the course-based modality and the competency-based modality, Tempo Learning®.

*^, Start times do not apply to the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) (Competency Based) modality.

Accreditation

Learning Outcomes

1. Utilize technology and information systems to communicate, and support decision making for safe practice. 
2. Use evidence, based on the sciences, humanities, and research to guide nursing practice across a diverse health-illness continuum in a variety of healthcare communities. 
3. Evaluate the implications of policy on healthcare disparities including issues of access, equity, affordability, social justice, and social needs in healthcare delivery. 
4. Demonstrate effective cooperation, coordination, and collaboration with interprofessional partnerships in delivering diverse and inclusive quality care to patients, families, and communities. 
5. Implement collaboration across the health care system to provide population health nursing care to improve access to quality healthcare and equitable health outcomes. 
6. Demonstrate leadership and accountability by expanding the contributions of nursing and committing to professional development, social change, and personal wellbeing. 
7. Apply person-centered assessment skills across the lifespan based on social determinants of health, development, and culture to provide quality evidenced-based nursing care. 

Course-Based Program Tracks

• RN-BSN Track
• RN-BSN-AIM Track

RN-BSN Track

The Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) Completion Program provides current registered nurses (RNs) who have a diploma or associate’s degree in nursing with the opportunity to earn a BSN degree.

The program is specifically designed to provide students with the evidence-based practices that can be applied on the job immediately. At the same time, students will develop the skills of reflection, independent learning, and enhanced critical thinking that will enable them to stay current in their field throughout their career.

Degree Requirements

• 181 total credits
• General Education courses (45 credits)
• Upper-level nursing core courses (46 credits)
• Elective courses and prior nursing credit (90 credits)

Curriculum

General Education Courses (45 credits)

See the General Education section of this Walden University Catalog.

Upper-Level Nursing Core (46 credits)

NURS 3021 – Professional Nurses as Change Agents (6 credits) FECN 4300 – Field Experience Preparation (0 credit) NURS 3025 – Health Assessment (5 credits) NURS 3111 – Nursing Informatics and Healthcare Technology (5 credits) STAT 3001 – Statistical Methods and Applications* (5 credits)

• Students may take this as a non-degree course.

ORPSYC 3002 – Introduction to Basic Statistics* (5 credits)

• Students may take this as a non-degree course.

NURS 4151 – Nursing Research & Evidence-Based Practice (5 credits) NURS 4106 – Patient Safety and Quality Improvement (5 credits) NURS 4110 – Leadership and Health Policy (5 credits) NURS 4212 – Population Health Nursing (5 credits) NURS 4300 – BSN Capstone (5 credits)

Field Experience Preparation  

Walden is committed to providing students with resources and support in preparation of field experience(s). To help ease anxiety in the field experience process, Walden offers a 0-credit Field Experience Preparation course, a structured experience that guides students through the application process and currently available readiness resources. The course is designed to complement other pre-requisite courses needed in preparation for field experience(s). The goal is that students submit their field experience application by the end of the course. Of course, there may be reasons why a field experience needs to be postponed, or the readiness course may not be needed if a field experience opportunity has already been secured. In this instance, students may opt-out of the course.  By opting out of the Field Experience Preparation course without having submitted a complete field experience application you are notifying Walden that you have chosen to delay the beginning of your field experience indefinitely, it is your responsibility to notify Walden when you plan to begin the field experience component of your program. In some instances, opting out of the Field Experience Preparation course indicates the foundational components of the field experience process have been satisfied and submission of the field experience application is pending. While the course is not yet available for Tempo students, the same readiness resources are available to Tempo students seeking field experience.   

Elective Courses and Prior Nursing Credit (90 credits)

Students with less than 90 transfer credits can choose elective courses from the recommended list below or from any of Walden’s bachelor degree programs.

Note: A minimum of 10 quarter credits of electives must be completed at the 3000 or 4000 level in order to meet program requirements.    NURS 3030 – Advocating for Diversity Equity and Inclusion in Healthcare (5 credits) LDRS 1001 – Personal and Organizational Leadership (6 credits)HRMG 3001 – Human Resource Management* (5 credits)

• Students may take this as a non-degree course.

MRKT 3001 – Marketing* (5 credits)

• Students may take this as a non-degree course.

HLTH 3100 – Ethical and Legal Issues in Healthcare* (5 credits)

• Students may take this as a non-degree course.

HLTH 3105 – Interprofessional Teamwork in Healthcare* (5 credits)

• Students may take this as a non-degree course.

HLTH 4110 – Healthcare Quality and Safety* (5 credits)

• Students may take this as a non-degree course.

HLTH 4121 – Human Resource Management in Healthcare* (5 credits)

• Students may take this as a non-degree course.

HLTH 4115 – Strategic Planning and Marketing in Healthcare* (5 credits)

• Students may take this as a non-degree course.

HLTH 4100 – Healthcare Organization Theory and Behavior* (5 credits)

• Students may take this as a non-degree course.

PUBH 1000 – Foundations of Public Health* (5 credits)

• Students may take this as a non-degree course.

PUBH 3000 – Environmental Health* (5 credits)

• Students may take this as a non-degree course.

PUBH 3100 – Human Disease and Prevention* (5 credits)

• Students may take this as a non-degree course.

HLTH 2500 – Theories of Health Behavior (5 credits)HLTH 4000 – Introduction to Healthcare Management* (5 credits)

• Students may take this as a non-degree course.

Tempo Learning® Program

• RN-BSN-AIM Track
• RN-BSN Track

RN-BSN-AIM Track

The RN-BSN-AIM program provides current registered nurses (RNs) who have a diploma and/or associate’s degree in nursing with the opportunity to earn a BSN degree as well as take three master’s-level courses that can be transferred* into a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree.

The program is specifically designed to provide students with evidence-based practices that can be applied on the job immediately. At the same time, students will develop the skills of reflection, independent learning, and enhanced critical thinking that will enable them to stay current in their field throughout their career.

The RN-BSN-AIM program will provide a student with a bachelor’s degree. All students will enter the program with previously earned education credits. These credits may include:

• Credits awarded for meeting competencies required to achieve the nursing license through either a diploma program or an associate’s degree program.
• Transfer credits from undergraduate courses that they have taken at other universities.
• 135 of the 180 quarter credits may potentially be transferred into the program (depending upon the qualifications the students bring as they enter).

* After completion of the BSN program, students must apply to the MSN program, and the three master’s-level courses can be transferred into an MSN degree if the students receive a grade of “B” or higher.

Core Curriculum

Degree Requirements

• 180 total credits
• General Education courses (45 credits)
• Upper-level nursing core courses (45 credits)
  • NURS 5050, NURS 5051, and NURS 5052 will transfer into the MSN program
• Elective courses and prior nursing credit (90 credits)

General Education Courses (45 credits)

See the General Education section of this Walden University Catalog.

Upper-Level Nursing Core (45 credits)

NURS 3021 – Professional Nurses as Change Agents (5 credits)

(Note: NURS 3021 is worth 5 credits, not 6, in the competency-based program.)

• XA3001 A Vision for Social Change in professional Practice & Advancing Nurses’ Health and Wellness
  •  Analyze strategies that promote the nurse’s role as an agent of change in implementing social change for professional practice and community decision making.  
• XA3002 Professional Communication
  •  Apply professional communication strategies in various settings and modalities. 
• XA3003 Prioritizing Social Determinants of Health
  •  Assess how social determinants of health influences disparities in patient populations and efforts aimed at providing quality patient care. 
• XA3004 Health Equity and Advocacy and Political Engagement
  •  Analyze the impact of civic engagement on health equity. 
• XA3005 Collaboration as Ethical Influencers and Scholars
  • Collaborate for influence and social change. 

NURS 3025 – Health Assessment (5 credits)

• XH3001  Person Centered Communication
  • Apply nursing knowledge to gain a person-centered holistic approach to ethical practice. 
• XH3002 Critical Judgment through Assessment
  • Apply clinical judgment skills to inform nursing knowledge.  
• XH3003  Health History Across the Lifespan
  • Analyze effective communication techniques to reflect variation across the lifespan. 
• XH3004  Physical Assessment Across the Lifespan
  • Analyze the impact of cultural competence in conducting a physical assessment. 
• XH3005  Social Change and Social Determinants of Health
  • Analyze the impact of social change and social determinants of health on care coordination and care outcomes. 

NURS 5051 – Transforming Nursing and Healthcare Through Technology (5 credits)

• TN001 What is Informatics?
  • Analyze frameworks and tools for the role of the nurse as an informaticist and knowledge worker.
• TN002 The Role of Nurse Informatics in Healthcare
  • Analyze the role of the nurse informaticist in nursing informatics projects to improve outcomes or efficiencies in healthcare organizations.
• TN003 Data to Information to Knowledge to Wisdom
  • Analyze how standardized terminologies impact the practice of healthcare and nursing informatics.
• TN004 Technologies Supporting Applied Practice and Optimal Patient Outcomes
  • Analyze nursing informatics research on the application of clinical systems to improve outcomes and efficiencies.
• TN005 The Nurse Leader and the Systems Development Life Cycle
  • Define the role of the nurse for participation on an implementation team as a component of the systems development life cycle.
• TN006 Policy and Regulation Supporting Informatics and Technology
  • Evaluate legislative policies and regulations for health and nursing informatics and their impact on improvement for outcomes and efficiencies in nursing practice.

STAT 3001 – Statistical Methods and Applications* (5 credits)

• ST3001 Descriptive Statistics 
• ST3002 Correlation and Regression 
• ST3003 Normal Distribution 
• ST3004 Hypothesis Testing 

NURS 5052 – Essentials of Evidence-Based Practice (5 credits)

• EB001 Evidence-Based Practice and the Quadruple Aim
  • Analyze the relationship between evidence-based practice and the Quadruple Aim in healthcare organizations.
• EB002 Research Methodology
  • Analyze research methodologies described in peer-reviewed articles.
• EB003 Clinical Inquiry, Problem-Intervention-Comparison-Outcome-Time (PICOT), and Searching Databases
  • Analyze relevant, peer-reviewed articles in support of PICOT questions.
• EB004 Critical Appraisal, Evaluation/Summary, and Synthesis of Evidence
  • Recommend best practices based on critical appraisal of evidence-based research.
• EB005 Evidence-Based Decision-Making
  • Recommend evidence-based organizational changes using an evidence-based practice approach to decision making.
• EB006 Disseminating Evidenced-Based Practice Changes
  • Analyze dissemination strategies for evidence-based practice changes in healthcare.

NURS 4106 – Patient Safety and Quality Improvement (5 credits)

• XQ4001  Safety & Quality Fundamentals
  • Apply quality improvement and patient safety principles in care delivery. 
• XQ4002  Culture of Healthcare safety
  • Contribute to a just culture of patient, provider, and work environment safety. 
• XQ4003  Data and Evaluation Performance
  • Utilize benchmark and outcome data to inform performance management and clinical decision making. 
• XQ4004  Quality Tools and Quality Process
  • Analyze quality improvement methods, strategies and quality tools to improve patient care outcomes.   
• XQ4005 Quality Improvement Plan
  • Apply a change theory to a quality care problem in a healthcare setting. 

NURS 5050 – Policy and Advocacy for Improving Population Health (5 credits)

• PA001 Agenda Setting
  Evaluate federal agendas to promote healthcare issues within the policymaking system/process.
• PA002 Legislation
  Advocate a position on a population health-related bill.
• PA003 Regulation
  Analyze how regulations influence the nurse’s role and the delivery, costs, and access to healthcare.
• PA004 Design and Implementation
  Analyze advocacy and the role of the nurse in healthcare program design and implementation.
• PA005 Healthcare Program/Policy Evaluation
  Assess outcomes of population health program/policy evaluations.
• PA006 Global Healthcare Issues
  Analyze the impact of nurse advocacy on addressing global health issues.

NURS 4212 – Population Health Nursing (5 credits)

• XP4001  Managing Population Health
  • Analyze concepts of population- based public health nursing relative to the role of the nurse. 
• XP4002 Socioeconomic Impact on Healthcare Delivery
  • Formulate leadership and advocacy strategies to reduce health disparities, advance ethical nursing, and promote health equity in policies. 
• XP4003  Disaster Preparedness and Public Health Emergencies
  • Propose leadership strategies to advance preparedness to protect population health during disasters and public health emergencies. 
• XP4004  Advocacy Strategies of Population Health
  • Advocate for improvement in population health with use of evidence-based practice, cultural competence, and strong community assessment and analysis.. 
• XP4005  Population Health Evidence-Based Plan
  • Apply theory to articulate a need for a change, engage stakeholders, implement messaging strategies, and evaluate effectiveness of advocacy actions. 

NURS 4300 – BSN Capstone (5 credits)

• XC4001 Interprofessional Communication for Practice Change
  • Apply interprofessional communication to a practice change that promotes positive health outcomes. 
• XC4002  Data Analysis and Evidence to Plan Practice Change
  • Evaluate data and evidence-based research to plan practice change. 
• XC 4003 Leadership Strategies for Practice Change
  • Apply leadership strategies in the collaboration process to develop a practice change to improve health outcomes 
• XC 4004 Implementation of Practice Change
  • Implement the educational components of a practice change to improve healthcare outcomes 
• XC 4005 Evaluation of Practice Change
  • Evaluate a practice change to improve healthcare outcomes.. 

Elective Courses and Prior Nursing Credit (90 credits)

Students with less than 90 transfer credits can choose elective courses from the recommended list below or any of Walden’s bachelor degree programs. 

Note: A minimum of 10 quarter credits of electives must be completed at the 3000 or 4000 level in order to meet program requirements.    NURS 3030 – Advocating for Diversity Equity and Inclusion in Healthcare (5 credits) LDRS 1001 – Personal and Organizational Leadership (6 credits)HRMG 3001 – Human Resource Management* (5 credits)

• Students may take this as a non-degree course.

MRKT 3001 – Marketing* (5 credits)

• Students may take this as a non-degree course.

HLTH 3100 – Ethical and Legal Issues in Healthcare* (5 credits)

• Students may take this as a non-degree course.

HLTH 3105 – Interprofessional Teamwork in Healthcare* (5 credits)

• Students may take this as a non-degree course.

HLTH 4110 – Healthcare Quality and Safety* (5 credits)

• Students may take this as a non-degree course.

HLTH 4121 – Human Resource Management in Healthcare* (5 credits)

• Students may take this as a non-degree course.

HLTH 4115 – Strategic Planning and Marketing in Healthcare* (5 credits)

• Students may take this as a non-degree course.

HLTH 4100 – Healthcare Organization Theory and Behavior* (5 credits)

• Students may take this as a non-degree course.

PUBH 1000 – Foundations of Public Health* (5 credits)

• Students may take this as a non-degree course.

PUBH 3000 – Environmental Health* (5 credits)

• Students may take this as a non-degree course.

PUBH 3100 – Human Disease and Prevention* (5 credits)

• Students may take this as a non-degree course.

HLTH 2500 – Theories of Health Behavior (5 credits)HLTH 4000 – Introduction to Healthcare Management* (5 credits)

• Students may take this as a non-degree course.

Note on Field Experience and Relocating

Students who are considering relocating are advised to contact their student success advisor or Tempo coach prior to any decision to relocate in order to determine how relocation may impact progress in their program.  They can provide information and guidance on how relocating may result in possible changes, restrictions, and/or additional requirements affecting field experience. Each Board of Nursing and Higher Education Authority governs the field experience rules and regulations in their respective states, and students may be unable to complete field experience in the state in which they plan to relocate. While Walden is committed to working collaboratively with students to secure field sites across the United States, it is imperative that students contact their student success advisor or Tempo coach immediately when considering relocating.