Nursing Degrees Online

BSN Program Information

The Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing’s undergraduate program educates and graduates competent and caring nursing professionals. The academic program teaches the skills required for nursing and helps students develop the abilities to think critically, to analyze complex situations, to make sound clinical decisions and to deliver safe nursing care.

The program is a four year direct entry bachelor’s degree program designed to effectively teach students the required skills and knowledge to become a Registered Nurse.

Clinical Simulation Learning Laboratory

The Clinical Simulation Learning Laboratory (CSLL) gives students the opportunity to learn basic clinical skills in a comfortable, non-threatening environment prior to entering patient care settings. Faculty and experienced laboratory instructors use state-of-the-art video and computer teaching tools to assist in developing nursing knowledge.

Clinical Rotations

With the solid foundation of theory and clinical skills learned in the classroom and the CSLL, students complete eight clinical rotations in a variety of settings that include:
Loyola University Health System, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Evanston Northwestern Healthcare, Rush North Shore Medical Center, Children’s Memorial Hospital, Mac Neal Health Network, Advocate Lutheran General Hospital.
Selected long-term care facilities and senior centers.
School-based health centers such as Proviso East High School.
Psychiatric settings and other medical facilities.

Students begin clinical rotations during the final three weeks of the GNUR 208 L course. The three day rotation is designed to get students acclimated to working in a clinical setting. It is also an opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills learned in the classroom and GNUR 208 L to real life settings.

After the initial clinical experience, students will begin attending clinical rotations twice weekly. Rotations are generally scheduled on Tuesdays and Thursdays and can occur in the morning or the evening. Morning clinical rotations occur from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. and evening clinical rotations occur from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. Please note that listed scheduling information is typical but is subject to change.

Clinical Role Transition (CRT)

Clinical Role Transition is the final clinical rotation and is considered to be the capstone course of the program. CRT provides an intensive clinical experience with students assuming the role of a beginning nurse under the guidance of a professional mentor.

CRT occurs during the final seven weeks of the program. Students are expected to successfully complete a 160 clock hour clinical rotation prior to graduation.

Clinical Assignments

Clinical placements are assigned by the School of Nursing at random. Each student will receive a clinical placement/s based on their current theory course. Clinical groups are fluid and often change from semester to semester. Students should not expect to remain in the same clinical group.

Clinical Transportation

Students are responsible for transportation to and from clinical sites. At present, shuttle service is provided to and from the Loyola Medical Center only.

Course Scheduling and Registration

The sequence of courses in nursing is offered in a full-time day program. Course scheduling depends on many factors and is subject to change. Theory courses are scheduled on Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays between the hours of 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. and are conducted at the Lake Shore Campus. Clinical rotations are scheduled from 7 a.m.-2 p.m. or 2 p.m.-9 p.m.

NCLEX Exam/Preparation

ATI Testing

Undergraduate nursing students are required to take standardized tests to help prepare for computer-based tests, such as the NCLEX. Students begin taking ATI testing during the fall semester freshman year and continue throughout the duration of the program.

Each test covers a relevant content area learned in the undergraduate curriculum. To pass the exams, students must achieve a score at or above the 50th program percentile rank, as shown on their score report. If the student does not reach the test’s passing threshold, they must take an online remediation test on their own time. The online remediation test must be passed with 90% of the questions correct by a specified due date in order to receive credit. Tests include:
Test of Essential Academic Skills - Taken at the beginning of the program, this test measures the student’s preparedness for a nursing education.
Critical Thinking Entrance - Taken at the beginning of the program, this test measures the student’s critical thinking ability.
Self Assessment - Taken at the beginning of the program, this test measures how the student learns and processes information.
Fundamentals of Nursing - Taken at the end of GNUR 208, this test covers basic general nursing skills.
Maternal Newborn - Taken at the end of MCN 273.
Mental Health - Taken at the end of CMAN 272.
Pharmacology - Taken at the end of the Spring Semester of each program start year.
Nursing Care of Children - Taken at the end of MCN 374.
Adult Medical Surgical - Taken at the end of MSN 378.

NCLEX

After completing the BSN program, students are eligible to complete the NCLEX examination to obtain the RN license. Loyola alumni currently enjoy a 97% pass rate on the exam.

Study Abroad

Opportunities for international studies and experiences are available during a student’s sophomore year in Rome and senior year in England and Belize.

Belize
The Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing provides students the opportunity to travel to Belize as part of their educational experience. To date, more than 70 B.S.N., M.S.N. and Ph.D. students and faculty have shared in this truly international nursing experience.

The course consists of a didactic component prior to the clinical component which is a two-week field experience in the Corozal District of Belize. This course offers the best of collaborative efforts from both the students and faculty of the School of Nursing and the Corozal Health District. Educational experiences include inservices and workshops for health care personnel as well as health education classes conducted for adults/parents/students/children in the villages and schools of the district.

The service and care provided is distributed amongst the village schools, clinics and district hospital and includes numerous activities including vision testing and screening for the presence of; lice, hypertension, diabetes and cancer. In addition, donated medications, equipment, journals and textbooks are also provided. Our students have the opportunity to experience first hand another culture, a different model of health care/delivery system and the difference they can make in serving others. Many students have gone on to further their education as nurse practitioners and midwives as a result of this experience while others value the people they met, cared for and learned from.

Rome Center
Loyola University Chicago Rome Center of Liberal Arts offers a unique opportunity for students to study nursing in the most beautiful city in the world. Loyola’s Rome Center is located approximately two miles from Vatican City, home of St. Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican museums and the Sistine Chapel.

Nursing students are able to complete many of their core requirements while at the Rome Center and in doing so, enjoy exciting learning opportunities such as on-site art classes at famous Italian churches and museums, architecture discussions at the Coliseum, or explorations of history and politics while standing in the Roman Forum. Nursing theory classes are taught right in the Rome Center with clinical sites at homeless shelters, hospitals, refugee centers and the Loyola Student Health Center.

England
Since 1989, Loyola University Chicago nursing students have had the opportunity to spend four weeks in England enrolled in the required Community Health Nursing (CHN 380) course. Through a contractual agreement with the British National Health Service, Surrey Primary Care Trust all the students have the opportunity to make home visits with British District Nurses and Health Visitors, work in local health centers known as “surgeries”, and visit community health agencies, such as a pediatric hospice and a rehabilitation center. The students live in Guildford, Surrey, and a town of approximately 160,000 people, located 35 miles southwest of London. The community health nursing experience includes travel to London to visit museums and sites that are significant in the history of nursing and public health. During the weekends, students are free to travel to other countries or to other parts of England, such as the nearby cities of Oxford and Winchester, or nearby sites, such as Stonehenge and Bath. Students who participate in this course are able to experience the British health care delivery system, to gain an understanding of international health-care issues, and to develop international friendships that often endure long beyond their coursework at Loyola.

For more information, please e-mail Dr. Karen Egenes at kegenes@luc.edu.

Service Learning

Christo Rey Nursing Center

The School of Nursing is involved in a very exciting community-based project in the Pilsen/Little Village area in Chicago. School-based health centers, which include primary care and health education, have been established at Cristo Rey High School and St. Procopius Elementary School. Both schools are located in the thriving “Little Mexico” neighborhood of Chicago and serve primarily Mexican-American children and their families. The school-based clinic is staffed by the School of Nursing faculty and a pediatric nurse practitioner. There are many exciting opportunities for Loyola’s faculty and nursing students to be involved in this exciting project. Undergraduate and graduate nursing and nutrition students have taught health education classes, staffed annual health fairs and completed graduate pediatric clinical rotations at the schools. There are many opportunities for creative ideas for learning.

Homeless Clinic

Chicago Health Outreach (C.H.O.) is a health program for homeless and immigrant people, affiliated with the Heartland Alliance for Human Needs and Human Rights. In addition to a primary care clinic, teams from C.H.O. go out to various North Side shelters to provide care. Nurse practitioner students have exciting and challenging clinical experiences at C.H.O. In addition, nurse practitioner staff precept our students for clinical experiences.

Loyola University Nursing Center

The Loyola University Nursing Center has served the communities surrounding Loyola’s Lake Shore Campus since 1981. This nurse managed center, sponsored by the Niehoff School of Nursing, was developed in response to health-related needs identified by parish priests, faculty and students working in these communities.

Senior level nursing students enrolled in their community-health nursing practicum provide over 1000 home visits annually to individuals and families, including visits to elderly clients for the supervision of chronic health problems and to mothers with newborn infants. Students also conduct health screenings throughout the community and health education within private and public grammar schools. The center receives its entire support from Loyola, enabling services to be provided at no charge to the community.

Proviso East School-Based Health Center

The Proviso East school-based health center is a partnership between Proviso East High School, Niehoff School of Nursing, Loyola University Health System and the Cook County Department of Public Health. The goal of the health center is to improve the physical and emotional health of Proviso East students and to teach them life-long positive health behaviors. In 2000 the School of Nursing was awarded over $2.3 million in grants for this project in Maywood, Ill. For more information, please visit the health center’s Website.

For a more detailed description of the undergraduate nursing program, please refer to the following listings of course offerings and degree requirements.