Founded in 1890, the University of Saint Francis is located on a
beautiful 108-acre campus on the edge of Fort Wayne featuring
Mirror Lake at its heart along with the historic Bass Mansion,
and the state-of-the-art Doermer Family Center for Health Science
Education.
Approximately 2,100 graduate and undergraduate students enjoy the
benefits of individual attention from dedicated faculty with a
student faculty ratio of 12-to-1. The quality of education
enables the university to claim an overall job placement record
of over 90 percent. More than 95 percent of students receive some
form of financial aid.
The Department of Nursing exists to prepare undergraduate and
graduate students for careers in professional nursing practice.
The faculty of the Department of Nursing facilitate learning and
personal and professional development in an environment that
reflects the university's Franciscan values and encourages
life-long learning.
Associate of Science in Nursing (ASN)
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The ASN program is available as a 2-year licensed practical nurse
to RN articulation program (LPN-ASN). The ASN prepares students
for a basic role as providers of care, managers of care and as
members of the discipline of nursing, utilizing numerous technical
skills and nursing concepts.
ASN Program Goals
The graduate is prepared for entry-level nursing practice in
clinically oriented environments. Each graduate will be able to:
- Value caring behaviors that assist individuals and groups to
achieve optimal health.
- Communicate effectively to establish helping relationships
with clients and to maintain collaborative working relationships
with members of the health care team.
- Use the nursing process as a critical thinking framework
within structured health care settings for the provision of
individualized nursing care.
- Demonstrate a commitment to professional growth and ongoing
learning.
- Integrate related concepts from the physical, social and
behavioral sciences and humanities with nursing knowledge and
practice.
- Demonstrate the roles of provider of care, manager of care
and member of the nursing profession.
Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)
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The BSN degree builds on the liberal arts tradition of the
university to prepare nurse generalists who are able to practice
in the community, fulfill leadership roles and utilize research.
The BSN is available as a 4-year entry-level track (Generic BSN).
BSN Program Goals
At the completion of the program, graduates will be prepared as
nurse generalists and will be able to:
- Integrate the concept of holistic person and a
multi-dimensional definition of health into nursing practice.
- Integrate critical thinking into nursing care for individual
clients, families, groups and communities across the lifespan in
a variety of settings.
- Synthesize knowledge from humanities, social and behavioral
sciences, and life and physical sciences with nursing theory and
practice.
- Foster a caring presence through modifying communication
techniques and establishing therapeutic relationships with
individuals, families, groups and communities.
- Collaborate with members of the health team to promote
clients' health and welfare.
- Assume a leadership role in directing nursing activities and
initiating change to improve health care delivery within an
increasingly technological and diverse world.
- Demonstrate legal and ethical responsibility and
accountability for professional nursing care.
- Implement a plan for professional growth and development as a
member of the nursing profession.
- Evaluate the applicability of research findings to validate
and improve nursing practice.
Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)
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The Master of Science in Nursing builds upon the baccalaureate
curriculum to prepare students for advanced practice by promoting
the development of advanced knowledge and therapeutic nursing
interventions, theory evaluation and research applications.
Graduate students use critical thinking, creativity and problem
solving skills that require in-depth nursing knowledge. They are
also prepared to coordinate health care programs within complex
systems in an era of health care reform.
The MSN program encompasses two tracks: Family Nurse
Practitioner and Community Health and Education. The
Family Nurse Practitioner track prepares professional nurses to
function in advanced practice roles in primary care settings in
order to provide holistic, comprehensive nursing care. The demand
for advanced practice nurses (Community Health and Education) who
are able to provide health care to aggregates, has grown in
response to community-based care and increased public awareness
of health promotion efforts. Advanced practice nurses work in
specific nursing arenas such as:
- Education
- Acute care
- Administration
- Community health
- Parish nursing
- Occupational health
An RN-to-MSN Transitional Sequence is also available, allowing
ASN and diploma prepared nurses to enter the master in nursing
program after completing transition course work.
The program is designed for part-time or full-time study.
Part-time students complete their degree requirements in three
years. Full-time students complete degree requirements in two
years.
Classes are offered in a hybrid format. Students are expected to
be on campus at scheduled times throughout the semester. All MSN
courses are web-assisted and online class work occurs with this
hybrid format.
