RN to BSN Program Arrives at Ferrum College

By Kelsey Smith

      Ferrum College recently announced the addition of a pre-license Bachelor of Science in Nursing program that will be launching in January 2021. This pre-licensure BSN program will prepare nursing students for the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurse (NCLEX-RN). It is offered completely online with a customized plan allowing students to obtain their BSN in a little over 18 months.

      “The program is set up to be flexible to meet the lifestyles of the nurses trying to obtain their BSN,” said Kimberly Brown, who is the Nursing Division Chair and Associate Professor leading the work of this pre-licensure BSN program.

      According to Nightingale College, to become a Registered Nurse in the state of Virginia, one can have either an associate degree in Nursing or a bachelor’s degree of nursing (BSN) as well as passing the NCLEX-RN. According to the National Nursing Workplace Survey, only 42.5% of RN’s in Virginia have their BSN as of 2017. 

      Brown emphasizes that, “the quality of patient care is higher when more RN’s have their bachelors.” 

      This is mainly because of the depth of research and leadership management learned when taking the pre-licensure BSN program.

      The population that should be interested in this program are RN’s with their associate degree. In order for students to be accepted into this program they must hold an RN license or be attending an RN program within the Virginia Community College System. The program gives nursing students the opportunity to further their expertise while giving them a flexible schedule to do so. The cost of the online nursing courses is $310/per credit hour and some of the classes included in the program are: US Health Policy & Ethics (NUR 351), Gerontological Nursing (NUR 461) and Nursing Informatics & Data Management (NUR 491).

      “A couple years ago, Katie Goff and Angie Dahl were exploring the possibility of bringing nursing to Ferrum College,” Brown said, “When the timing became right, they were discussing my skill set and experience compared to the needs of Ferrum.” 

      Brown has been working in the nursing area for almost 30 years. She has spent most of her career at Carilion as well as a variety of different settings including Orthopedics, Diabetes and emergency services. In 2010, she switched her career to the academia side of nursing. She had worked at three different colleges before her arrival at Ferrum, including Jefferson College of Health Science - which is now Radford University - as well as Liberty University, and James Madison Universities. She arrived at Ferrum in January 2020.

      Other faculty behind the Nursing Program are Angie Dahl, who is the Dean of Health Professions and Social Sciences; Lisa Pendleton, who is the Assistant Professor of Nursing; Ava Porter, who is an Adjunct Professor; as well as Betsy Smith, who is the Nursing Program Specialist.

      Anyone interested in learning more about the RN to BSN Program can check out the School of Health Professions and Social Sciences on Ferrum’s website (www.ferrum.edu). Nursing is located under the division tab on the School of Health Professions and Social Sciences page.