Nursing, BSN

Program Description

The Three-Year Cooperative Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing (BSN) at New England College (NEC) offers an innovative option for higher education, enabling students to build a resume and credential simultaneously. The nursing program attracts students interested in a professional registered nursing career to NEC due to the opportunity to juxtapose preceptor-style learning with liberal arts studies in the classroom. These students appreciate the opportunity to offset the cost of higher education by working as they learn. With this program, NEC serves an industry need for economic and workforce development as graduates fill critical nursing roles across the state. New Hampshire’s robust network of healthcare organizations provide a destination for students from across the region, state, nation, and world.

Program Admission

NEC Nursing completes a holistic admission review for every applicant. In addition to NEC’s general application requirements, nursing applicants must complete the following admission requirements:

• Official high school or transfer transcript
• Personal essay
• Two academic and/or professional letters of recommendation

In addition to NEC’s general application and nursing admission requirements and to progress throughout the program, applicants must at their own expense:

• Hold or obtain a New Hampshire LNA license before the first cooperative experience.
• Be and remain eligible for employment as an LNA at a partner institution.
• Complete a criminal background check before the first cooperative experience.

NEC Nursing Mission Statement

The mission of the Three-Year Baccalaureate of Science in Nursing (BSN) Cooperative Program at NEC is to provide students with an innovative, accessible, affordable, experiential, and supportive learning community that challenges individuals to transform themselves and the care environments they serve.

NEC Nursing Philosophy

The NEC Nursing faculty/staff believe our Three-Year Baccalaureate of Science in Nursing (BSN) Cooperative Program transcends the traditional model of undergraduate nursing education by offering the student a forward-thinking approach. Based on the Liberal Arts and an innovative experiential learning framework, our concept- and competency-based nursing curriculum seamlessly aligns with 21st Century practice needs. As Nursing Faculty, we believe our program prepares graduates to navigate the complexity of healthcare challenges today and into the future. In addition, nursing faculty are committed to mentoring and teaching the following New England College values:

• Value 1: Imaginative, innovative, and creative approaches to all endeavors
• Value 2: Respect for self in the development of personal, social, physical, and intellectual abilities
• Value 3: Caring and collaborative relationships among members of our community
• Value 4: Respect for the varied qualities of individuals, communities, and the world
• Value 5: An appreciation of beauty and elegance in the search for truth
• Value 6: Inquiry into and the pursuit of social justice
• Value 7: Ethical and responsible citizenship, including service to the community 
• Value 8: The pursuit of ecological sustainability
• Value 9: Continuous learning and a lifetime of personal achievement

Program Goals

Through the delivery of an integrative curriculum, this program’s purpose is to assist the student-learner to:

1. Critically think, clinically reason, and apply scientific problem-solving methods to demonstrate clinical judgment in simple and complex healthcare situations.
2. Intervene therapeutically by combining knowledge, skills, and professional dispositions in a holistic, socially just, person-centered, ethical, and compassionate manner.
3. Provide safe, high-quality, cost-effective care and translate and apply evidence at the point of care and throughout care systems.
4. Communicate effectively using verbal, non-verbal, written, informatics, and technology skills to foster healthy interprofessional partnerships throughout care systems.
5. Value diversity as a member of society, the profession, and care systems; and advocate and lobby for inclusive and equitable access to healthcare.
6. Comport themself as professionals and leaders within an individual practice setting, system, society, and the nursing profession.

Program Learning Outcomes

The goals mentioned above relate to the identified program and student learning outcomes, based on the Essentials documents (AACN 2008 and AACN, 2021) and Nurse of the Future Competencies (Sroczynski, 2016) measured through classroom assessment methods and clinical performance. As a result of the completion of the nursing program, the New England College nursing graduate can: 

• PLO1: Synthesize knowledge from nursing, the arts, humanities, and the natural, physical, and social sciences into professional nursing practice across the lifespan and care continuum. (AACN 2008 Essentials: (I) Liberal Education for Baccalaureate Generalist Nursing Practice, (IX) Baccalaureate Generalist Nursing Practice; AACN 2021 Essentials: (1) Knowledge of Nursing Practice; NOF: Patient-Centered Care)
• PLO2: Provide holistic, individualized, just, respectful, compassionate, coordinated, evidence-based, and developmentally appropriate nursing care across the lifespan and care continuum. (AACN 2008 Essentials: (IX) Baccalaureate Generalist Nursing Practice, AACN 2021 Essentials: (2) Person-Centered Care; NOF: Patient-Centered Care and Communication)
• PLO3: Serve in partnerships to advocate for improving the health status of a defined population through health promotion, illness prevention, and emergency preparedness measures. (AACN 2008 Essentials: (VII) Clinical Prevention and Population Health; AACN 2021 Essentials: (3) Population Health; NOF: Teamwork and Collaboration)
• PLO4: Use clinical expertise and the individual’s preferences, experience, and values to identify, evaluate, and apply the best current evidence into clinical decision-making. (AACN 2008 Essentials: (III) Scholarship for Evidence-Based Practice; AACN 2021 Essentials: (4) Scholarship for the Nursing Discipline; NOF: Evidence-Based Practice)
• PLO5: Apply quality improvement principles and contribute to a culture of patient, provider, and work environment safety. (AACN 2008 Essentials: (II) Basic Organizational and Systems Leadership for Quality Care and Patient Safety, (VI) Interprofessional Communication and Collaboration for Improving Patient Health Outcomes; AACN 2021 Essentials: (5) Quality and Safety; NOF:  Quality Improvement and Safety)
• PLO6: Engage in team-based person-centered care partnerships across the care continuum to optimize care, enhance the healthcare experience, and strengthen outcomes. (AACN 2008 Essentials: (VI) Interprofessional Communication and Collaboration for Improving Patient Health Outcomes; AACN 2021 Essentials: (6) Interprofessional Partnerships; NOF: Teamwork and Collaboration)
• PLO7: Effectively and proactively coordinates unit-based human and fiscal resources to provide safe, quality, and equitable care across the lifespan and care continuum. (AACN 2008 Essentials: (II) Basic Organizational and Systems Leadership for Quality Care and Patient Safety, (V) Health Care Policy, Finance, and Regulatory Environments; AACN 2201 Essentials: (7) Systems-Based Practice; NOF: Systems-Based Practice, Leadership)
• PLO8: Use information and technology to analyze and synthesize information to manage and improve the provision of safe, high quality, and efficient care across the lifespan and care continuum. (AACN 2008 Essentials: (IV) Information Management and Application of Patient Care Technologies; AACN 2021 Essentials: (8) Informatics and Healthcare Technologies; NOF: Information and Technology, Communication)
• PLO9: Demonstrate accountability for the provision of standard-based nursing care across the lifespan and care continuum, consistent with ethical, moral, altruistic, legal, regulatory, and humanistic ideologies. (AACN 2008 Essentials: (VIII) Professionalism and Professional Values; AACN 2021 Essentials: (9) Professionalism; NOF: Professionalism)
• PLO10: Model personal health behaviors, demonstrate professional curiosity, and advocate for individuals across the lifespan and care continuum. (AACN 2008 Essentials: (II) Basic Organizational and Systems Leadership for Quality Care and Patient Safety, (VIII) Professionalism and Professional Values; AACN 2021 Essentials: (10) Personal, Professional, and Leadership Development; NOF: Professionalism, Leadership)