Do you have aspirations of becoming a nurse practitioner or a nursing educator? As an RN, earning your bachelor’s degree in nursing is a crucial first step toward achieving your goals, especially if your dream job requires you to attend graduate school.
A BSN is a prerequisite for a master’s degree in nursing, a DNP or PhD. If you’re searching for nursing bachelor’s programs, be sure to seek out ones where you’ll learn both durable and clinical skills to help you think like a graduate-level nurse.
The UW-Milwaukee RN-to-BSN program through UW Flexible Option will not only help you get your four-year degree 100% online while working full-time, you’ll also learn important skills like critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and leadership. All of these skills are necessary for success in graduate school, where students are encouraged to critically analyze research to make decisions and improve policy.
Here’s how the UW Flexible Option RN-to-BSN program will prepare you for graduate school:
- Competency-Based Learning That Builds Self-Discipline. UW Flexible Option’s competency-based educational format rewards your ability to master concepts, not the amount of time you’ve spent in class. Because you can start any month and work at your own pace, you can tailor your learning experience to fit your life and your needs. You’ll also benefit from knowledge you’ve gained through prior coursework, military training, on-the-job training, or other experiences. This format will help you cultivate self-discipline and deep understanding of nursing subjects, which is crucial to succeed in the independent learning environment of graduate school.
- Critical Analysis and Decision-Making Skills. Courses such as NURS 446, Research and Evidence-Based Practice, equip you to critically analyze and integrate research—a core expectation in MSN, DNP, or PhD programs.
- Leadership and Critical Thinking Skills. In the nursing capstone, which requires students to undertake a quality improvement project in the workplace, you’ll learn how to create system-level change in your organization – another key foundation for successful graduate work. The capstone practicum, NURS 445, specifically teaches clinical skills along with problem-solving, critical thinking, understanding systems, and the role of research, while offering you a chance to work on projects that actually improve patient care in your workplace. This aligns with many nursing graduate programs that emphasize advocating for policies to improve patient outcomes.
- Strong Durable Skills, Including Advanced Communication and Professional Writing. NURS 407X, Foundations of Nursing Practice, will challenge your writing and communication skills. In this course, philosophical perspectives, theories, and standards are applied to the practice of professional nursing. You’ll also analyze factors influencing nursing and healthcare delivery. This writing emphasis course will prepare you for the intensive writing assignments you’ll complete in graduate school.
- Resilience, Adaptability, and Time Management Skills to Excel in Graduate School. Because UW Flexible Option has no set class times, you’ll be challenged to implement time management strategies to complete coursework while working full-time and juggling life’s many commitments. Learning how to pivot when necessary while managing a full course load and other responsibilities will give you the tools to succeed in a challenging graduate program.
Other benefits of completing a bachelor’s program include the ability to truly understand where you want to work in the healthcare field. Jeanette Williams, a graduate of the RN-to-BSN program, says her nursing coursework gave her the opportunity to change directions.
“When I started [the program], I was thinking about going into public health nursing,” she said “I took the public health class and decided it was absolutely not for me.”
Instead, she shifted her focus to mental health. While in her associate degree program, Jeanette was introduced to mental health topics and enjoyed the courses, but got the opportunity to dive deeper into the topic during NURS 448: Mental Health Nursing Across the Care Continuum, an elective course in the BSN program. Seeing the opportunities and increased needs in the mental health field, Jeanette planned on a psychiatry graduate program.
Are you looking for a flexible, online nursing bachelor’s degree program to give you the skills and knowledge necessary to enter a graduate program? Connect with an enrollment adviser today by emailing flex@uwex.wisconsin.edu.