Nursing

Department Website: Nursing

Introduction

Grounded in Jesuit and Nursing values, the pre-licensure BSN program offered by the Department of Nursing prepares students to be able to practice as registered nurses in a variety of settings. Students learn to promote health, to care for patients with acute and chronic illnesses, and to support patients and their families at the end of life. The BSN program builds on the curricular themes of servant leadership, social justice, community, and reflective practice. The concept of Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS) serves as the organizing framework for the curriculum. One application of this concept is that students initially care for individuals with more predictable healthcare needs. As they progress in the program, they learn to care for individuals, families, and populations with increasingly more complex healthcare needs in highly complex organizational settings.

Program Overview

Students are admitted to the pre-licensure BSN program as freshmen. At the time they submit their applications to Gonzaga University, nursing applicants must indicate "Nursing" as their first academic interest on the Common Application. Nursing applicants are also required to complete "Section V" of the Common Application Gonzaga Student Supplement. Those not admitted into nursing as freshmen may not become a nursing major at Gonzaga. As freshman nursing majors, students begin the process of completing the GU core requirements and the nursing pre-requisite courses.

Due to constraints on availability of clinical placements, it may take nine semesters to complete the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program. The Nursing faculty tries to accommodate student requests to complete the program in eight semesters, but the eight-semester time frame is not guaranteed. Students apply for their preferred time frame (Spring or Fall start) placement during the second semester of their freshman year and are notified of their placement by the end of that same academic year. If demand for completion in eight semesters exceeds available clinical placements and/or limits on class sizes, students will be placed based by their ranked grade point average in the nursing pre-requisite courses and progression in the program. Students who are major-ready by the end of their sophomore year but are placed in the nine-semester time frame for the program may take a leave of absence in the fall semester of their junior year. The nine-semester time frame is supported by financial aid in the same way as the eight-semester option, and it provides students with opportunities to pursue a minor or to participate in a study abroad program.

Once students begin their upper division nursing courses, they also complete a series of practicum courses that introduce them to professional nursing practice in a variety of healthcare settings. The program also prepares students to take the National Council Licensing Examination (NCLEX) after graduation, which is a requirement for licensure as a registered nurse.

Admission Requirements

Admission to the pre-licensure BSN program is competitive and selective. Students are admitted to the pre-licensure BSN program as freshmen.  The decision to admit a student to the BSN program as a freshman is based on consideration of the student's overall portfolio including:

  1. Cumulative GPA and grade trends
  2. Four years of math and science courses
  3. SAT/ACT scores
  4. Work or volunteer experience in healthcare
  5. One academic letter of recommendation
  6. Written essay as well as responses to short answer questions on the application

Information regarding admission to Gonzaga's Nursing Program will follow notification of acceptance to the University by approximately one month.

During their first two years at Gonzaga, students need to maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better and achieve a minimum grade of "C" (2.0) in all nursing prerequisite courses and their respective labs. If a student receives less than the required minimum grade of “C” in any of the nursing prerequisite courses taken at Gonzaga or taken at any other college/university as a substitution, the student is allowed a single retake in two (2) of these courses. Continuation to the upper division BSN program is contingent upon maintaining a cumulative GPA of 3.0 and successful completion of nursing prerequisite courses.