Dec 12, 2024  
2024-2025 Catalog 
    
2024-2025 Catalog

Nursing, Accelerated BSN Option, B.S.N.*


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Program of Study


The purpose of the nursing profession is to help patients/clients achieve health goals. Nurses provide health care for individuals, families and communities by performing supportive, preventive, therapeutic, and restorative interventions. Nurses are employed in institutional and community-based healthcare settings. They can provide health-related interventions through independent action or as a collaborating member of a healthcare team.

The nursing curriculum at Cal State San Marcos is built on a self-care model. This model assumes that people are usually capable of providing their own needs related to health. Sometimes people cannot take care of themselves because of injury, disease, or insufficient health-related knowledge. Nursing care helps such people recover their self-care abilities through health promotion, health maintenance and health restoration.

The Nursing program at CSUSM places strong emphasis on delivering skillful, culturally sensitive nursing care. Each student will be proficient in a language-other-than-English and be aware of culturally driven healthcare practices. Students will be able to provide nursing care to diverse individuals and communities. Students take advantage of clinical experiences in a variety of acute care and community settings, and are able to provide nursing case management interventions for a variety of vulnerable populations.

The Nursing Program at CSUSM prepares students for multiple career tracks within the profession. Students who complete the undergraduate program will have knowledge and skills for general nursing practice, will be well prepared for entry into graduate level nursing programs, and will be qualified to assume leadership roles in healthcare organizations, clinics, and community agencies.

The baccalaureate degree program is designed with three different options.

  • Students who have had no previous nursing education follow the traditional BSN (TBSN) option. This is a four-year, full-time course of study that includes two summer sessions.
  • Students who have completed an undergraduate degree in another discipline but who wish a second degree in Nursing complete the accelerated BSN (ABSN) option, offered through Extended Learning. This is a five-semester program including summer semesters.
  • The ADN/RN-to-BSN program is designed for either Registered Nurses with an Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) or ADN students enrolled at a community college who begin their BSN course work prior to earning their ADN.
    *The ADN/RN-to-BSN program is a fully online asynchronous course of study offered through Extended Learning.

Program Approval


The pre-licensure Nursing programs (TBSN and ABSN) have been approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing (BRN).

Program Accreditation


The baccalaureate degree program in Nursing at CSUSM is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (http://www.ccneaccreditation.org).

Program Student Learning Outcomes


Students who graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing will be able to:

  1. Apply the nursing process through critical thinking and professional nursing judgment to provide and evaluate nursing care in acute and long-term care, and community settings.
  2. Utilize the research process, its application to the discipline of nursing and its essential relationship to evidence-based nursing practice.
  3. Function within the specific professional nursing roles to provide care, coordinate care, deliver health education, and advocate for individuals, families, groups, and communities.

Special Requirements for the Bachelor of Science in Nursing


Students in the Nursing program must carry their own health insurance, pass a physical health examination, and be in compliance with immunizations consistent with the requirements of the School of Nursing and the healthcare agencies in which they are placed for clinical experiences.

Students are required to complete a background check including statewide, county, and federal screening before placement in a healthcare agency for clinical assignments. Background checks are also required for persons seeking a nursing license in the state of California. Students who have reason to believe that a background check would reveal a prior misdemeanor or felony conviction should seek to have these matters expunged from their record if possible and/or seek another career path.

Students will be expected to perform or with reasonable accommodations, demonstrate proficiency in specific core performance standards in the following five categories:

  1. Critical thinking ability sufficient for clinical judgment.
  2. Interpersonal abilities sufficient to interact with individuals, families, and groups.
  3. Communication abilities sufficient for verbal and written interaction.
  4. Physical ability to move from place to place, demonstrated manual dexterity, and eye-hand coordination.
  5. Demonstrated auditory, visual, tactile, and olfactory ability sufficient to assess and monitor patients safely.

Representatives in the Office of Disability Support Services, assist students who seek accommodations to enable students to meet these standards.

To remain in the Nursing program:

  1. Students in the nursing major must maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.0.
  2. All courses used for the major and preparation for the major must be completed with a grade of C (2.0) or higher.
  3. If a student does not meet these requirements, a course may be repeated once with consent of the re-enrollment committee, but only on a space-available basis.
  4. Only one Nursing course repeat is permitted to continue in the program.
  5. Students in the Nursing major must maintain good academic standing. Students on academic probation are not permitted to enroll in a Nursing course until the probation has been removed.
  6. The same core performance standards required for admission to the Nursing major will be required for continuation.

Professional Licensure and Certification,


Notice to Students about Professional Licensure and Certification, please access https://www.csusm.edu/nursing/aboutus/accreditation.html for more information.

Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN)


Admission requirements for the ABSN program are:

  • Bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution, or U.S. equivalent for degree coursework completed outside of the U.S.
  • GPA of 2.5 in the last 60 semester units of completed courses.
  • Pass the TEAS exam version six with a minimum 71.0 percent composite score.
  • Minimum 2.75 GPA in the pre-Nursing core.
  • Completion of courses listed in the catalog as preparation for the major (41 units) including pre-Nursing core (29 units) and other supporting coursework (12 units) required of other BSN students.

*The ABSN option is offered through Extended Learning and students are admitted to the self-support special sessions. Students will pay extended education fees for this option.

Since students seeking this option are second degree students, many if not all general education units may have already been completed. Students must complete all Graduation Requirements  to receive a second degree. Students must also meet all preparation for the Nursing major courses or their equivalent (41 units). The major requirements include 61 Nursing units.

Preparation for the Major (41 Units)


Major Requirements (61 Units)


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