RN to BSN Program
Now accepting applications for the BSN May 2020 start
Limited time Tuition Reduction is available for the Summer Session! Email for more information.
Online RN to BSN Program
Earning your RN to BSN degree at Houston Baptist University will allow you to master the skills and knowledge necessary to take on new and expanded leadership roles as a nurse.
Offered through the School of Nursing and Allied Health, Houston Baptist University’s online RN to BSN program allows registered nurses to earn their BSN without having to travel to class. The flexible RN to BSN curriculum is designed to expand your knowledge and skills beyond the clinical aspects of nursing, leading you to a more impactful role as a leader within the healthcare community.
This 100% online, no lecture program prepares graduates for employability by offering an industry-aligned, competency-based curriculum that utilizes user friendly technology and emphasizes weekly one-on-one instructor-student coaching.
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RN to BSN Program Features
Online Nursing Degree Curriculum
Houston Baptist University’s online RN to BSN Program allows you to efficiently complete your bachelor’s degree, most often in one to two years. The program is a combination of 8 upper level nursing courses and a set of foundational general education courses. You will reach 120 total undergraduate credits through the combination of the online RN to BSN program, your previously completed ADN (Associates Degree in Nursing), and any other undergraduate credits earned prior to enrolling. Below is an outline of the online RN to BSN program. HBU admissions will help you maximize your transfer credits and chart your course, so call us today to get started mapping your course to BSN completion.
ONLINE RN to BSN PROGRAM – 8 COURSES (27 CREDITS)
Students analyze the trends that influence the health care system and methods of health care delivery in the United States. Students will learn to apply scientific methods and epidemiologic concepts to promote health in individuals, families, groups, and communities based on national objectives. Students will be expected to use communication skills and education theory to plan and present health information on public health care organizations and health care provider roles. Students will be expected to demonstrate an understanding of the transition of practice from the ADN to BSN level. This is a two credit hour course.
This course focuses on pharmacological principles and drug classifications. Students will practice self-management strategies and care provider considerations, including legal, ethical, and other social factors. It is also designed to provide the student the opportunity to comprehend pharmacological concepts and to be aware of the clinical applications of drugs in order to ensure optimal care of patients. This is a three credit hour course.
Assessment of individuals across the lifespan is taught within the context of growth and development. The student should be able to differentiate between normal findings, normal variations, and abnormal findings in individuals when performing comprehensive holistic examinations of individuals within the dimensions of health in a variety of settings. Assessment, the first step of the nursing process, is the foundation for a systematic approach to care of the individual. The student will be able to organize and analyze data for health promotion at the appropriate BSN level. This is a three credit hour course.
Students describe the pathology of health conditions and use concepts of pathophysiology for applying caring/healing practices to designing health care plans for promoting fullness in living across the lifespan. The manifestations of pathology form a basis for health assessment. Synthesis of pathophysiology with levels of health promotion and prevention provides rationale for case management priorities. This is a four credit hour course.
Students apply concepts of epidemiology to determine the factors that contribute to vulnerability in individuals, families, groups, communities, and populations. Students will examine (a) health norms for the population strata based on age, gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status in order to determine the major health problems and surveillance issues for the population strata and (b) research methodologies/approaches/models that are employed to improve health outcomes for vulnerable populations. Students will also be expected to use communication skills and education theory to plan and present health information to promote health of a population. Critical thinking and mathematical skills will be developed in using a statistical approach to assessing and evaluating health outcomes. Concepts of health promotion and disease prevention serve as a basis for analyzing recommendations for health programming for the population strata. This is a three credit hour course.
This course focuses on professional issues in nursing, the research process, and applying the research process to clinical practice. Students address clinical practice quality improvement issues via research methods appropriate for the baccalaureate prepared nurse. Upon successful completion of the course, students are expected to be able to address current issues in nursing and health care delivery and relate philosophical perspectives to nursing theories, research and practice. In addition, students should be able to analyze and resolve ethical dilemmas in health care situations by applying critical thinking skills and ethical theories and principles. Students should also be able to apply research findings to Performance Improvement in health care delivery system. This is a three credit hour course.
This course is one of four courses for the Baccalaureate Nursing program that focus on care of groups, populations, and communities. Students analyze historical trends and characteristics and factors that have impacted community health nursing and contributed to community health issues. Students compare and contrast the professional nursing roles in the community and apply theories, models, and principles to community health nursing practice. Opportunities are provided to use systematic approaches to identify health needs to groups and populations and promote health in the community. This is a four credit hour course.
This course focuses on professional issues in nursing, nursing management, and the use of research in clinical practice as well as the study of health administration and leadership from the nurse’s perspective. Students apply leadership and management behaviors and skills to provide care for a group of patients, and promote positive consumer relationships, and analyze effectiveness and efficiency of care delivery systems promoting positive health outcomes. This is a didactic and clinical course that encourages critical thinking and collaborative, collegial communication in addressing health administration challenges. The course is five credit hours, including 90 clinical contact hours.
General Education Curriculum
Students of the online RN to BSN program must take 30 credit hours or more from Houston Baptist University to complete their degree. Once a student has matriculated as an HBU student, no more than 18 credit hours may be taken at another institution and this work may not be taken at a two-year institution once the student has accumulated 64 semester hours of post-secondary credit.
General Education (Transfer Credits Determine Actual Courses Required)
This course provides a comparative analysis of various modes of expression in all of the visual arts through description and evaluation. Emphasis is made upon historical movements, language, media, and stylistic identity. The survey is designed to prompt the student to see art as a personal experience and to respond more sensitively to the visual arts in a cultural context. This is a three credit hour course (can be substituted for MUSI 1331 Music Appreciation).
This course improves communication skills in a variety of contexts and develops an understanding and appreciation of the importance of public rhetoric in a democratic society. Since ancient Greek and Roman times, rhetoric has been taught both as the foundation of a liberal arts education and as an essential skill of democratic citizenship. This is a three credit hour course.
A foundational course designed to familiarize the student with the meaning and relevance of philosophy through a study of its main problems and the principal theories that have been proposed as solutions to them. This is a three credit hour course.
An introductory course dealing with the major content areas in psychology. Topics may include heredity and environment, emotions and motivation, perception, learning, personality, and intelligence. This is a three credit hour course.
A reading course in the literary heritage of western civilization. This course includes readings from the Greeks, the Romans, and the Middle Ages. This is a three credit hour course (can be substituted for ENGL 2325 Great Works of Literature II).
This course teaches the fundamentals of college reading, thinking, and writing from a classical, Christian perspective. Writing for Wisdom grounds students in a deep understanding of and appreciation for proper standards of written English including mechanical skills and forms while using writing as a vehicle for intellectual, emotional, ethical, and spiritual wrestling. It moves past the kinds of fashionable current event topics normally assigned in freshmen composition classes. Rather, students engage in wider issues and questions: Who am I? Why am I here? What is my purpose? How do I know I am of value? Finally, through a close study of a series of classical works from our Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian heritage, students will explore their status as citizens of a deliberative democracy and seek to define, and manifest in their lives, the nature of the Good, the True, and the Beautiful. This is a three credit hour course.
Transfer credits from ADN programs that can be used to satisfy the natural science requirement include Anatomy and Physiology or an Introduction to Chemistry course. This is a four credit hour course.
This course continues the study of composition and rhetoric introduced in English 1320: Writing for Wisdom I. Students will gain an understanding of why reading literature is deeply important for Christians, learn the conventions of such literary genres as poems, stories, novels, and plays, study methods of literary analysis, interpret literature from a Biblical perspective through the exploration of Biblical archetypes, typology, language constructions, and metaphor in classic works of English literature, and learn to write well-constructed and well-written arguments about literature and life in standard English including the use of research in MLA format and the writing of a fully developed research paper. This is a three credit hour course.
A survey of Western Civilization from the Ancient World to the end of the Middle Ages in Europe. This is a three credit hour course.
A survey of American history from its origins to the close of Reconstruction. This is a three credit hour course (can be substituted for HIST 2323 U.S. History from 1877 or HIST 2312 Western Civilization II).
A survey of the structure and operation of the national and Texas governments. This is a three credit hour course.
Mathematical topics needed for the critical evaluation of quantitative information and arguments, including set theory, counting, logic, and the critical appraisal of graphs and tables, including the use of some simple mathematical models, and an introduction to probability and statistics. Additional topics may be selected from finance, graph theory, number theory, geometry, and matrix theory. This is a three credit hour course (can be substituted for other higher-level math courses, see HBU course catalog for options).
The course provides an introduction to descriptive and inferential statistics, correlation, probability, and regression – with applications in behavioral sciences. This is a three credit hour course.
A course designed to engage in introductory students in Old Testament, New Testament, and Christian Doctrine. The intent of this course is to allow the student to understand the basic story of Scripture and foundational Christian beliefs.