Ohio State University

Nursing Programs Offered

Accelerated MSN Programs
BSN Programs
DNP Programs (Doctor of Nursing Practice)
RN Programs
RN to BSN Programs

RN to BSN Program Details

At graduation, BSN graduates are prepared to enter professional nursing practice as a generalist and have the foundation for graduate studies in nursing. They will be prepared to:

1. Integrate knowledge from a liberal education, the sciences, and nursing to address the health care of individuals, families, groups, communities, and populations across the life span in diverse and global health care systems and environments.
2. Apply a systematic process for application and evaluation of scientific evidence related to the principles of health promotion, risk reduction, disease prevention, and illness management across the continuum of dynamic healthcare environments.
3. Apply the knowledge and skills of information management and patient care technologies to deliver high quality nursing care that addresses legal, ethical, historical, and emerging issues.
4. Communicate effectively and work collaboratively with individuals, families, groups, communities, and populations and within nursing and with other health disciplines to design, manage, and deliver high quality and safe patient-centered care.
5. Demonstrate a commitment to leadership and professionalism through the delivery of socially, ethically, and fiscally responsible care while embracing the concept of life-long learning.

The College of Nursing has a long tradition of excellence in pursuing the highest standards of academic preparation. Graduates of the program are prepared to work in a variety of health care settings and have the foundation to pursue graduate degrees in nursing.

The RN to BSN option has been redesigned to provide students with greater flexibility and access. Through collaboration with Ohio State’s regional campuses and Carmen, the university’s distance learning system, the RN to BSN option is able to reach beyond central Ohio. This allows students greater flexibility to work, meet family responsibilities, and study while earning a BSN in their local communities. Students can access all required nursing courses online, allowing them more flexibility and convenience in an asynchronous format. The clinical nursing courses are tailored to registered nurses’ previous experiences and can be completed near home. Other non-nursing courses necessary for the baccalaureate degree can be fulfilled at any of the Ohio State campuses. Most importantly, advising is done at the student’s home campus.

BSN Program Details

The College of Nursing at Ohio State provides one of the finest baccalaureate program in the United States and is fully accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), and approved by the Ohio Board of Nursing. Like all baccalaureate programs at Ohio State, the curriculum includes general education course (GEC) requirements in foundational skills, the arts, sciences and humanities as well as courses in the nursing science major. The generic baccalaureate option includes a minimum of one year of prerequisite Pre-Nursing coursework, and after admission to the major, an additional three years of nursing and other related coursework.

The generic baccalaureate option can be completed in a minimum of four years, including the year of prerequisite coursework. Part-time study may be possible, however it is the exception and will lengthen the time to earn the degree. A minimum of 186 credit hours is required to earn the BSN. At the time of graduation, students are eligible to take the National Nursing Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN) that must be passed to be able to practice as a registered nurse (RN).

At graduation, BSN graduates are prepared to enter professional nursing practice as a generalist and have the foundation for graduate studies in nursing. They will be prepared to:

1. Integrate knowledge from a liberal education, the sciences, and nursing to address the health care of individuals, families, groups, communities, and populations across the life span in diverse and global health care systems and environments.

2. Apply a systematic process for application and evaluation of scientific evidence related to the principles of health promotion, risk reduction, disease prevention, and illness management across the continuum of dynamic healthcare environments.

3. Apply the knowledge and skills of information management and patient care technologies to deliver high quality nursing care that addresses legal, ethical, historical, and emerging issues.

4. Communicate effectively and work collaboratively with individuals, families, groups, communities, and populations and within nursing and with other health disciplines to design, manage, and deliver high quality and safe patient-centered care.

5. Demonstrate a commitment to leadership and professionalism through the delivery of socially, ethically, and fiscally responsible care while embracing the concept of life-long learning.

Admission to the nursing major is required before a student is permitted to enroll in nursing courses. Students new to Ohio State as first-year or transfer students may enroll in the College of Nursing as Pre-Nursing students provided they meet the criteria (See Pre-Nursing). Students may complete the prerequisite courses in another college at Ohio State or at another university. Students at other Ohio schools can check course transferability at http://www.transfer.org/.

MSN Program Details

The Master of Science is the graduate degree at the master’s level of the College of Nursing. The graduate program in nursing provides a broad range of clinical and classroom-based education with a strong emphasis on patient-centered practice. Several options are available which give students a solid background in theory and foundations of nursing, and expose them to the latest technology and ideas in nursing. By entering our graduate program, you will become a part of one of the nation’s premier research universities. Our students have access to exceptional faculty and research facilities and the support services of a large university, while benefiting from the high degree of personal attention and student interaction usually found in much smaller departments. We encourage you to review the information on our graduate program and the various options available to you as a student in the College of Nursing.

Doctor of Nursing Practice Program Details

The Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program offers doctoral preparation to nurses whose career emphasis is direct clinical nursing practice or areas that support clinical practice such as administration and health policy development. This contrasts clearly with the aim of PhD education for nurses, the goal of which is to prepare nurses for scientific investigation and a career in nursing scholarship.

Health care is more complex than ever, demanding additional education for those assuming leadership roles in caring for patients and assuring quality of care. Research by Aiken and others clearly connects better patient outcomes with higher levels of nursing education. The DNP program at Ohio State prepares nurses for a high level of excellence in advanced direct and indirect patient care.

There are eight essential competencies for those holding the Doctor of Nursing Practice title. These include: informatics, prevention and population health, organizational and systems leadership for quality improvement, health policy, advanced nursing practice, inter-professional collegial relationships, clinical scholarship, and scientific foundations of nursing practice.

The special focus of our program is a holistic approach to personalized health care for those impacted by disparities in health and health care access. The goal of scholarly productivity in the Ohio State DNP program is the application of translational science to practice-focused scholarship.

Graduates of the DNP program at The Ohio State University will be able to:

• Practice at the highest level of nursing, integrating and applying knowledge from the sciences with the fields of organizational management, ethics, health policy, and information technology
• Demonstrate leadership skills in organizational and health systems management to improve the safety and quality of health care
• Apply analytical skills and translational science methodologies to practice-focused scholarship
• Provide leadership in inter-professional collaborative teams to improve health outcomes for individuals, populations, systems, and the crafting of policy
• Demonstrate high levels of skills in health promotion and disease prevention strategies for individuals, populations, and systems
• Develop skill in the analysis and shaping of health policy
• Demonstrate skill in the application of ethical decision-making frameworks to resolve ethical dilemmas in health care