Sul Ross offers a Bachelor of Science in Nursing as well as an RN to BSN completion program for nurses who have completed the pre-license level and subsequent RN licensure.
The Bachelor of Science in Nursing program serves the Big Bend Region and is designed to prepare nursing professionals who are ready to lead for a better and healthier future of members of the communities in the rural border regions of Texas. The outcomes of pre-licensure BSN track are directed toward developing professional nursing knowledge and skills, with a focus on holistic, patient-centered care, and promoting health and well-being to individuals in remote, rural border communities. The nursing program is an integrated, concept-based curriculum that is delivered through in-person, online-learning, simulation laboratories and clinical learning environments within the remote rural Texas-Mexico border region. This unique program focuses on the development of competent entry level nursing care consistent with evidence-informed clinical decision-making practice; the health of individuals, families, communities and populations; legal and ethical issues in health care; the assumption of leadership and management roles; and desire and curiosity for life-long learning. The BSN program’s learning activities and projects are designed to provide a strong foundation for professional nursing practice and future, professional endeavors. Classroom, on-line, laboratory, and clinically based learning experiences engage and stimulate students to accomplish course and program objectives outcomes. Students engage in a variety of clinical learning experiences with patients in hospitals, clinics, primary-care-provider offices, home health agencies, and varied community health facilities. A well-equipped skills and simulation laboratory provide the opportunity for nursing students to develop required nursing and patient interaction skills prior to engaging in clinical learning opportunities with patients. State and national standards are reflected in learning activities for each course. Graduates are prepared to be generalists who will demonstrate the entry level professional nursing skills.
The RN to BSN completion program is designed to prepare nursing graduates who will demonstrate the highest of professional nursing skills. It will allow nurses who have completed the pre-license level and subsequent RN licensure to advance their professional qualifications while continuing to live and work within or outside of the region. This on-line program focuses on access to and use of evidence in clinical decision making; the delivery of expert nursing care consistent with evidence-based practice; the health of individuals, families, communities and populations; legal and ethical issues in health care; and the assumption of increasing leadership and management roles. The curriculum is designed to provide flexibility in student progression. Requirements can be completed in one year while students are working full- or part-time. Courses scheduled during the fall and spring semesters are eight weeks in length, thus allowing students to take four courses in a long semester, if desired. Summer courses remain at ten-weeks, which extend over the two five-week semesters. BSN education provides increased employment opportunities and a natural progression to graduate school and expanded roles in education, administration, and advanced practice, including nurse practitioner (NP), clinical nurse specialist (CNS), nurse midwifery (CNM), clinical nurse leader (CNL), and certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA).