Nursing
Exploring the Major— During the first term, students interested in this major should complete the Developmental Mathematics sequence, if not waived. As soon as MAT 012 is waived or completed, students should register for BIO 101 during the spring term as well as CHM 113. First-year students should also choose from the following courses: WELL 101 and WELL 102 (1/2 credit each), PSY 100, as well as any courses meeting Perspective Areas and other requirements in the General Education curriculum. NUR 110 should be taken prior to the third regular term as it is a prerequisite to subsequent NUR courses. Students enrolled in NUR 110 must meet clinical agency requirements for the course, minimally: American Heart Association Health Care Provider CPR certification, negative nationwide healthcare fraud and abuse report, satisfactory criminal background check, TB skin test, influenza vaccine (during fall semester), health insurance card and letter of verification of coverage. Students must obtain and upload verification of these requirements into mycb.castlebranch.com prior to and/or during NUR 110. No student will be permitted to attend clinical without having these requirements uploaded and verified by mycb.castlebranch.com. Students progressing to NUR 226 and all clinical nursing courses thereafter, must meet the additional clinical requirements under Course Sequencing.
Berea College students with English as a second language (e.g., F-1 international students and for specific domestic students identified by the Admissions Office) who are interested in the Nursing Program will be required to take the paper-based TOEFL test, which will be administered on campus. Students must also complete a TOEFL iBT off-campus and earn a minimum total score of 83 and minimum subscore of 26 on the spoken portion before the first day of the student’s third term of enrollment at Berea College. The College will incur transportation and fees related to TOEFL testing. Students scoring below 540 on the initial campus-based TOEFL or who do not demonstrate high English proficiency will be advised to pursue other majors rather than nursing.
Admission to the Major— For entry into the nursing major, ESL students who have met the TOEFL iBT requirements, and all domestic students must have a cumulative GPA of 3.0, and a minimum pre-nursing GPA of 3.0 in the following required collateral courses: BIO 101, BIO 102, BIO 207, BIO 222, CHM 113, CFS 221, and PSY 100; students must also have satisfactorily completed NUR 110 and NUR 225. Note: Satisfactory completion for all nursing and pre-nursing courses is defined as a grade of “C or better.” A grade of “C- or less” refers to unsatisfactory completion for nursing and all pre-nursing courses. Students may repeat only one of the above pre-nursing courses to be considered for admission.
Prior to enrolling in any nursing course with a clinical component, students must obtain and upload into mycb.castlebranch.com a negative drug screen, negative nationwide healthcare fraud and abuse report, satisfactory criminal background check, American Heart Association CPR for health care providers certification, and immunizations. Annual immunizations are required thereafter. Students who do not comply with these requirements will not be eligible to begin nursing courses or continue in the major. The due dates/updates for clinical requirements are August 1 for the fall semester, December 1 for the spring semester and May 1 for the summer semester.
Credit requirement for graduation with Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree - 36 earned credits.
Course Sequencing Considerations (in order to complete degree requirements within eight terms)— In addition to course sequencing mentioned above under Exploring the Major, students wanting to take a foreign language should fulfill this option in the International Perspective of the General Education curriculum during their first year to avoid conflicts with Nursing clinical experiences in the sophomore, junior, and senior years. CFS 221 and PSY 100 must be completed prior to enrolling in the Fall Term of the junior year. It is important to fulfill as many General Education requirements as possible during the first two years. NUR 225 meets the Active Learning Experience (ALE). NUR 226 is taken in Spring Term of sophomore year. BIO 207 Pathophysiology and NUR 230 Pharmacology are taken concurrently with NUR 226. NUR 301 and NUR 351 are taken in the Fall term of the junior year. NUR 352, NUR 350, and NUR 355 are taken in Spring Term of junior year. NUR 401 and NUR 448 are taken in Fall Term of senior year. NUR 449 and NUR 450 are taken in Spring Term of senior year.
Proficiency Requirements for Acceptance, Progression, and Completion of the Major— Students must demonstrate skill proficiency (e.g., skill demonstration, principles of safe medication administration and mathematical drug calculations) each term beginning in the sophomore year. In addition to completing specified course requirements, in order to earn a degree in the Nursing major, each student must: 1) earn a grade of C or higher in each required Nursing Department course including each collateral course; 2) demonstrate appropriate qualities of judgment, disposition, and respect in the classroom and clinical setting; 3) obtain current immunizations or proofs of immunity, annual TB skin testing; and 4) maintain current CPR training for the adult, infant, and child with AED training for the healthcare provider. All nursing students must obtain a satisfactory criminal background check prior to taking their first clinical nursing course and again in the last semester of nursing coursework as required by the Kentucky Board of Nursing. Nursing majors also must satisfy departmental standards for effectiveness in written and oral communication. NOTE: Students need to complete 20.5 earned course credits outside the major, in addition to the 15.5 major course credits, which means a minimum of 36 earned credits are needed for graduation. Students whose major credits include transfer credits may need to adjust accordingly.
Other Considerations or Recommendations— The Nursing Department incorporates required standardized testing and remediation throughout the program. Students are required to complete remediation of course content prior to progression to the next nursing course. Standardized exams, remediation and review courses help prepare students for the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN).