Nursing

Faculty: Rubenstein, Chair and Director of Nursing; Vasel, Assistant Director of Nursing; Harding, Lucas, McClure, McGuire, Turner, Wiley.

The Department of Nursing offers a pre-licensure bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) major. The program is approved by the Virginia Board of Nursing and accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). Upon successful completion of the BSN degree requirements, a graduate is eligible to apply to the Virginia Board of Nursing for registered nurse (RN) licensure and to take the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN®). 

Mission and Core Values

Mission

To provide a transformative education grounded in the liberal arts to develop resilient nurse leaders prepared to practice innovatively within a dynamic healthcare environment.

Core Values

The educational and clinical practice experiences within the Nursing Department are centered on the core values to achieve the mission.

• Integrity – fostering open communication and honesty while conducting one’s self according to the highest ethical standards;
• Inclusivity – Embracing the unique attributes and contributions of each person regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, political beliefs, spiritual perspectives, or other ideologies;
• Caring – fostering health, healing, and hope in response to the human condition;
• Civility – treating every person with dignity, honor, and respect;
• Excellence – demonstrating exemplar quality in education, scholarship, evidence-based clinical practice, and service.

BSN Student Learning Outcomes

Graduates of the BSN program at Randolph-Macon will:

• Integrate concepts from their liberal arts education, including critical thinking, effective communication, strength of character, and cultural humility, into their practice as a nurse;
• Demonstrate nursing leadership to enhance patient outcomes, influence health policy, analyze regulatory and financial systems, consider social and political influences, and advance the nursing profession;
• Integrate evidence-based research, quality improvement, and risk management data to inform practice, make clinical judgments, and positively impact patient outcomes and population health;
• Apply principles of health informatics and information technology when navigating complex healthcare systems to coordinate patient care;
• Use clinical reasoning and judgment to provide safe, patient-centered, ethical nursing care across the continuum for individuals, families, communities, and populations to promote health and reduce disparities;
• Demonstrate professional behaviors and values to model the core attributes of the nursing profession and pursue practice excellence.

Nursing Program Admission

Students are admitted to the BSN program as entering freshman and transfers (cohort space permitting). All nursing applications must be submitted by the posted deadlines on the Randolph-Macon website for nursing admission review. Prospective senior high school students apply to Randolph-Macon College and complete the nursing program application by the specified deadlines. Freshman nursing applications that do not meet nursing program minimum admission criteria and/or do not apply by the specified deadlines will not be reviewed for nursing program consideration. 

Transfer students, both current RMC students and external transfer applicants, meeting minimum admission criteria may apply for available cohort space(s) during the freshman or spring semester. Transfer applicant minimum admission criteria are outlined below. Applicant transcripts are analyzed by RMC to determine qualification for freshman or sophomore cohort entry.

Admission decisions are competitive. Freshman applicants placed on the waiting list for the BSN program are not guaranteed a position in the class as transfer applicants. There is no guarantee that the transfer admission option will be available if the cohort meets or exceeds student capacity.

Nursing Program Minimum Admission Criteria

To be considered for the BSN program, applicants must meet the following criteria:

Freshman applicants

• Admission to Randolph-Macon College;
• Minimum 3.25 weighted cumulative high school GPA;
• Ability to meet the BSN Core Performance Standards.

Transfers

To be considered for the BSN program’s freshman cohort, transfer applicants must meet the following criteria¹:

• Admission acceptance to RMC
• Enrollment in or completion of BIO 121 with C- or higher (for current RMC students)
• Applies to spring application cycle only: Completion of (with C or higher) or enrollment in BIO 123 (or equivalent)
• High school cumulative GPA is 3.5 or higher (if no college/university GPA earned to date) OR current college/university cumulative GPA is 2.5 or higher
• Ability to meet the BSN Core Performance Standards
• BSN program interview

To be considered for the BSN program’s sophomore cohort, transfer applicants must meet the following criteria¹:

• Admission acceptance to RMC
• Completion of RMC BIOL 251, BIOL 252, and/or BIOL 311 course equivalents with a C or higher
• Current college/university cumulative GPA is 2.8 or higher
• Ability to meet the BSN Core Performance Standards
• BSN program interview

¹

If prior/current enrollment in a nursing program, a letter of good standing from the director of the nursing program is required.

BSN Core Performance Standards for Admission and Progression

Randolph-Macon’s nursing program has a responsibility to educate competent nurses to care for their patients (persons, families, and/or communities) with critical judgment, broadly based knowledge, and well-honed technical skills. The Randolph-Macon BSN program has academic as well as core performance standards that must be met in order to successfully progress in and graduate from the program.

Students admitted to the nursing program must be able to meet the BSN core performance standards for admission and progression. These core performance standards reflect a sample of the performance abilities and characteristics that are necessary for safe, quality care of patients. These examples in the subsequent table are not all-inclusive. These performance standards include skills and abilities in the following nursing practice competencies: communication; professional attitudes and behaviors; psychomotor; data gathering and interpretation; and clinical judgment. Students must be able to meet all minimum core performance standards with or without reasonable accommodations to be considered safe in clinical placements and for successful progression and completion of the BSN degree requirements at the college.

Nursing Interprofessional

Nursing