Hesston to offer Bachelor of Science in Nursing

By Austin Braddock – Horizon News Editor

Photo by Eleya Raim
Greg Schroeder walks nursing students through a medical simulation. Photo by Eleya Raim

Next year, Hesston will offers a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree as an another option with the regular Associate Degree of Nursing (ADN).  With the new BSN program and the continuation of the ADN program, Hesston becomes the first college or university in Kansas to offer both degrees in nursing.

The BSN program is a four-year program providing students with a higher degree in nursing. The need for the BSN program is due to changes in the health care industry, according to Bonnie Sowers, academic assistant in the nursing department. In addition, more students are pursuing four-year degrees in nursing. Hesston College needed to respond to that demand, Sowers said.

The Kansas State Board of Nursing visited campus in February to decided whether or not to allow Hesston to have a BSN program.  The BSN program was approved unanimously by the state board on March 25.

In 2013, the nursing faculty worked hard on the program and curriculum so it could pass the state inspections. By the fall of 2016, Hesston nursing faculty hope to have an online BSN program.

The program will allow for a broader range of nursing levels, resulting in more options for incoming nursing students to receive high quality teaching and experience from being in the class room to doing clinicals. Currently the nursing program is all ready accepting students for next year’s BSN program.

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