Limestone University Adding BSN Pre-Licensure Nursing Program

Limestone University has announced that it will begin in the fall of 2022 to accept students into its new Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) Pre-Licensure program.

The new program, recently approved by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, will provide the educational foundation for students to be ready to work as a registered nurse in their own communities following successful licensure, which is especially important in the coming decade as more than one million nurses are currently aged 50 or older and are nearing retirement.

Eligible students will apply in the spring of 2024 to progress into the inaugural clinical cohort beginning in the fall of 2024.

Limestone’s BSN Pre-Licensure program will prepare students to sit for the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX).

“We are so excited about creating a BSN pre-licensure program at Limestone,” said the University’s Director of Nursing Dr. Amber Williams. “There has been so much hard work going on behind the scenes in our Nursing & Health Sciences Program and campus-wide to make this a reality. The new program will serve a critical need for nurses locally. The nursing shortage has been intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic, and there is a crucial need to make nursing education more accessible. That is especially true in rural areas across the Carolinas and around the nation. The vision of our Nursing Program is to meet the needs of our communities and the nursing profession by providing a quality innovative higher education experience.”

The original nursing program at Limestone, the online Registered Nurse to Bachelor of Science in Nursing (RN-to-BSN), began in 2019 and graduated its first cohort in May of this year. Limestone also currently offers a Master of Business Administration with a Healthcare Administration concentration and a Master of Science in Health Informatics.

The University’s new BSN Pre-Licensure program will train students to become nurses through didactic coursework and clinical practice. Traditional undergraduate application and acceptance to Limestone University is the only requirement for the admission into BSN program.

According to Williams, the BSN nurse is well-prepared to meet the demands of today’s dynamic and complex healthcare environment by demonstrating superior skills in critical thinking, information management, leadership, management, health promotion, communication, assessment, cultural sensitivity, resourcefulness, knowledge application, and scientific reasoning. BSN nurses are able to work in a variety of settings including schools, the military, or public health; and in expanded roles including management, health educators, case managers, care coordinators, or patient navigators.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job outlook for registered nurses is projected to grow nine percent over the next 10 years, which could translate to as many as 194,500 openings projected each year, on average, over the decade.

Earlier this year, it was announced that Limestone’s RN-to-BSN program had earned its accreditation by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.

Limestone’s RN-to-BSN program is designed to empower students to take on professional roles in nursing in a wide variety of settings. It allows already licensed nurses to continue their education and complete their undergraduate degrees.

To learn more about the University’s BSN Prelicensure program, or any of its other Nursing programs, visit HERE.