Online course sends nurses back to school

For Registered Nurses wanting t o complete t heir Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree, Indiana University offers an onl i ne program t hat can be completed in as little as 12 months and i t’s gaining high marks as well.

College Choice, an i ndependent coll ege search and rankings website, recently ranked I U’s pro - gram 7th in a li st of t he t op 50 online Registered Nurse t o Bachelor of Science i n Nursing programs in the U. S. The rankings considered a variety of factors, i ncluding faculty, technology, student sup - port, accreditation and cost, as well as t he nat i onal and regional reput ati ons of each school.

Since 2010, IU has offered t he program t hrough ei ght of its campuses — including Gary’s I U Northwest, and several hundred RNs are currently enrolled across t he state.

I UN’s director of t he School of Nursing Linda Delunas said recent recommendations by t he Institute of Medicine advised that that 80 percent of t he nursing workforce should be prepared at t he BSN or higher i n order t o best meet patient needs in our ever- changing healthcare environment. An associate’s degree is typically required t o become a registered nurse.

Students are assigned t o an adviser at t he campus closest to where t hey l i ve, but t here’s no need to travel t o campus for any of t he coursework, Delunas said.

“There are a couple of cl i nical experiences in their capstone and community health courses, but they actually can be completed at t he hospital where they are employed,” Delunas said.

The program can be completed in 1 2, 1 8, or 24 months, after general education requirements are completed.

Traditional classroom settings didn’t work for nurses going for further education, Delunas said.

“With t heir busy schedules, i t’s been a big barri er for nurses returning for f urther education,” Delunas said. “But this is becoming a very popular option among worki ng nurses. And once they finish, t hey’re fully set and ready to go to grad school.”

For more i nformation on t he RN t o BSN degree completion program, vi si t www. i u- rnbsn. i u.edu.