AUBURN HILLS — Baker College of Auburn Hills officials have announced that a four-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing pre-licensure track will replace the existing Associate Degree in Nursing program.
Students choosing to pursue the pre-licensure BSN can take BSN prerequisite classes in advance of the core nursing courses, which will be offered beginning with the fall quarter of 2016.
“The move to the higher level degree was the result of extensive research and consultation with area health care professionals, including our clinical partners and advisory committee,” said Peter W. Karsten, Ph.D., CPA, Baker College of Auburn Hills president. “The trend of employers preferring nurses who have earned bachelor’s degrees is clear. This is definitely in the best interest of our graduates.”
Baker College’s pre-licensure BSN is an on-ground degree for all four years. It is a limited-enrollment program with no waiting list. The top 24 applicants will be accepted into the program twice a year — in the fall and spring quarters. The BSN is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.
Said Lesley Morgan, Ph.D., MBA, ARNP, dean of the School of Nursing for Baker College: “As a career-oriented college, we stay abreast of current employment trends in order to offer the most relevant education programs.”
The push for more nurses with BSNs is partly the result of hospitals pursuing credentialing through the Magnet Recognition Program offered by the American Nurses Credentialing Center. The program measures nursing care based on set criteria, one of which is the percentage of registered nurses with BSNs who are providing direct patient care.
Baker College of Auburn Hills Dean of Health Sciences Nara Mirijanian said that some hospitals are already giving hiring preference to BSN graduates or requiring candidates and employed nurses with an ADN to obtain a BSN within a specified time.
Mirijanian also noted a study on the future of nursing by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Institute of Medicine. It recommends that by 2020, 80 percent of hospital nurses should have BSNs.
“This transition to a BSN pre-licensure track will benefit our students and our community,” Mirijanian said. “Our graduates will be equipped for any entry-level registered nurse position, and the community will have health care provided by more knowledgeable professionals.”
Students currently enrolled in Baker College’s ADN program will be able to complete it at the Auburn Hills campus.
In 2014, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated the average annual salary for a registered nurse was $69,790. Nationally, employment of registered nurses is projected to grow 19 percent from 2012 to 2022, faster than the average for all occupations.
For more information about the Baker College School of Nursing, contact Nicole Chirco in the Baker College of Auburn Hills admissions office at nicole.chirco@baker.edu or (248) 340-0600, or visit www.baker.edu.