Department Description

Mission: Congruent with the Mission of Saint Mary’s College, the Department of Nursing Science is a learning community comprised of students, faculty, staff, and healthcare professionals. The community supports each other in preparing competent, empowered professional nurses at all levels, assuming leadership roles, promoting health and healing for diverse persons, communities, and healthcare systems. The learning community fosters scholarship, clinical judgment in nursing practice, spiritual inclusion and ethical decision-making, lifelong learning, and an obligation to social responsibility and service. 

Philosophy: Congruent with the core values of Saint Mary’s College, the Department of Nursing Science empowers lifelong learners to actively engage in the process of personal and professional transformation through these values:

• Learning

• Community

• Faith/Spirituality

• Justice

• Diversity and Inclusion

• Leadership with Integrity

The curriculum includes four years of study designed to provide the student with a found­a­tion in the liberal arts as well as the knowledge and skills needed to function as a professional nurse upon graduation. Liberal arts courses are prerequisite to or concurrent with the pro­­fessional studies and are arranged so that these two components are mutually supportive.

The nursing program is accredited by Indiana State Board of Nursing (ISBN) and The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). The curriculum adopts the educational guidelines set forth by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing and the Essentials of Baccalaureate Education for Professional Nursing Practice. Graduates earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree and have the educational background required to apply for graduate programs in nursing.

Intended nursing students petition for admission to the nursing major during the fall of the sophomore year. (See criteria for acceptance below.) Transfer students will be evaluated on an individual basis. Students who wish to transfer from other nursing programs must meet the standards required for regularly enrolled students.

Upon successful completion of the degree requirements, the student is eligible to apply for the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN) for licensure as a registered professional nurse. Students may choose to take the examination for registration in any state or territory in the U.S.

Nursing students are required to adhere to all policies and procedures as published in this Bulletin as well as those stated in the official Department of Nursing Science Student Handbook.

In order to maintain the quality and integrity of the nursing program, the Department of Nursing Science reserves the right to update and/or revise departmental policy.

Study Abroad

Saint Mary’s has a long history of providing quality international programs as an essential part of our educational mission—forming women leaders who will make a difference in the world. As this world becomes increasingly interdependent, the College offers an expanding range of semester, year, semester break, and summer study and service programs in a wide variety of countries, and encourages students to take advantage of them. Learn more about the various Study Abroad opportunities.

Students may study abroad during the fall semester of sophomore year (or during the summer). Those who intend to study abroad in the fall must take Pathophysiology and Microbiology in the summer prior to departure (exceptions are Cyprus and Puerto Rico which offer those courses on site). Students should meet with a Nursing advisor to discuss options.

Governmental Requirements for Some Professions

Some professions (e.g. nursing, teaching, social work, speech therapy, accounting, etc.) require specific requirements for licensure and/or hiring (e.g. acceptable criminal background check, sex offender check, drug and alcohol testing, citizenship or permanent resident status documentation, valid immigration status for non­US citizens, valid social security number, etc.). Such requirements may also apply to required clinical and fieldwork, or other out­of­class room experience necessary to complete degree requirements in the majors related to these professions. These requirements are determined by laws and regulations at both the state and federal levels and are subject to change. Saint Mary’s College strongly urges all admitted and current students to research and understand the appropriate requirements for their intended course of study and profession. Compliance with these requirements is the responsibility of the student and the graduate. You should become informed and continue to monitor such requirements as laws and other legal requirements are subject to change.

Programs

Continue at Saint Mary’s

• Nursing, Doctor of Nursing Practice
• Nursing, Master of Science
• Geriatric Neuropsychiatry Certificate

BSN Program Requirements

All students,whether classified as direct-admit nursing majors or intended nursing majors, must meet the following criteria to progress into NURS courses in the second semester of the sophomore year. Only students formally admitted to the nursing major may enroll in NURS-designated courses.

• A minimum cumulative GPA of 2.8

• A minimum prerequisite science GPA of 2.8

The science GPA includes final grades from the following prerequisite courses:

• BIO 141 – Human Anatomy and Physiology I (must earn grade C or higher)

• BIO 142 – Human Anatomy and Physiology II (must earn grade C or higher)

• BIO 216 – Introduction to Microbiology

• BIO 224 – Introduction to Pathophysiology

• CHEM 118 – Integrated General, Organic, and Biochemistry

Repeated Courses Policy

To be eligible for admission or progression into the nursing (NURS) major, students must first complete all science prerequisite courses at Saint Mary’s College on their initial attempt. Completion means that the student enrolled in the course and received a letter grade. A course is not considered completed at Saint Mary’s if the student withdraws from the course. This policy does not apply to transfer students, who are evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

Students must earn a grade of C or higher in both BIO 141: Human Anatomy and Physiology I and BIO 142: Human Anatomy and Physiology II in order to progress into NURS courses beginning in the second semester of the sophomore year.

To raise their prerequisite science GPA for progression, students may retake a maximum of two (2) science prerequisite courses in which they earned a grade below B (which is equivalent to a 3.0 GPA).

If a student chooses to retake a prerequisite science course at another institution, they must receive prior approval from the Chair of the Biology or Chemistry Department and the Office of Student Academic Services. In these cases, both the original and the retake grade will be used to calculate the prerequisite science GPA to determine progression into NURS courses. However, grades eaned at other institutions do not affect the overall GPA at Saint Mary’s College. Instead, both course grades will be manually calculated only for the purpose of determining the student’s prerequisite science GPA for nursing major progression.

The Department of Nursing Science does not round cumulative or prerequisite GPAs for admission or progression purposes. In alignment with institutional policy, credit hours cannot be earned more than once for a repeated course.

Students planning to study abroad during the fall semester of the sophomore year must complete BIO 224 and BIO 216 during the summer prior to departure unless they are participating in approved programs in Cyprus or Puerto Rico, where those courses are offered and accepted for transfer by the Biology Department. Summer science courses are reserved for students studying abroad, retaking a course, or intending to apply to the MSN program. All other prerequisite science courses must be completed at Saint Mary’s College during the academic year.

Department Chair

Patricia Keresztes, Director, Director, MSN Program
Regina 1008
574-284-4669

Cibele  Webb, Director of BSN Program
Regina 1013
574-284-4690

Scarlet Spain, Director of DNP Program
Regina 1010
574-284-4681

Faculty

J. Bump,  R. Becker, L. Caponigro,  A. Fullenkamp, B. Harrison, P. Keresztes, J. Mack, N. Mentag, M. Nwanganga,  L. Pajakowski, J. Riggs, K. Rohatgi, R. Schutze, K. Sollmann, S. Spain,  J. Stroupe, M. Veldman, C. Webb

Student Learning Outcomes

Based on the mission and philosophy of Saint Mary's College Department of Nursing Science, the program outcomes for the graduate of the BSN program are:

• Apply knowledge gained from a foundation in liberal arts, scientific, and social sciences to disciplinary nursing knowledge and clinical judgment that informs the provision of nursing care using the nursing process.
• Provide holistic, safe, inclusive, just, evidence-based, person-centered care that integrates a scientific foundation and disciplinary knowledge in accordance with professional nursing practice standards.
• Advocate for health promotion, disease prevention, and health equity to individuals, families, groups, and communities using resources from public health, community partners, and healthcare systems.
• Incorporate scholarly inquiry and research into evidence-based clinical nursing practice.
• Utilize principles of quality and safety to enhance outcomes and minimize harm to patients and providers through individual performance and system effectiveness.
• Demonstrate communication skills and collaboration strategies that promote an interprofessional team approach in the delivery of quality patient care to strengthen outcomes.
• Employ resources within complex health systems for the coordination and provision of safe and equitable care to diverse populations.
• Use informatics and patient care technologies in the delivery of safe and quality patient care.
• Demonstrate professional behaviors and accountability within the legal and ethical standards of nursing practice.
• Engage in the process of self-reflection and lifelong learning to influence leadership development, self-care, and resiliency behaviors.  

Nursing Courses

Four Year Plan in Bachelor of Science in Nursing

This is a sample four year plan for the Nursing major. Please contact April Lane (alane@saintmarys.edu) or Kalie Pead (kpead@saintmarys.edu)  for individual advising.

Students planning to study abroad during the fall semester of the sophomore year must complete BIO 224 and BIO 216 during the summer prior to departure unless they are participating in approved programs in Cyprus or Puerto Rico, where those courses are offered and accepted for transfer by the Biology Department.  Summer science courses are reserved for students studying abroad, retaking a course, or intending to apply to the MSN program. All other prerequisite science courses must be completed at Saint Mary’s College during the academic year.

The nursing prerequisites in bold must be taken in this order.  Criteria for acceptance into the nursing major at the end of the first semester sophomore year include a cumulative grade point average of 2.8 and a minimum 2.8 cumulative grade point average in the science prerequisites. 

• BIO 141
• BIO 142
• CHEM 118
• BIO 216
• BIO 224
• CHEM 118
• CHEM 118

¹

Students should complete MATH 104 or higher by the end of the first year

⁴

Nursing majors must take MATH 214 and SW 235 prior to junior year as supporting courses.  

⁵

Two other supporting courses are required: PSYC 156 or 157,  and an approved sociology class, both of which may be taken anytime. 

•  Both direct admit and intended nursing students must have a 2.8 cumulative GPA and a 2.8 prerequisite science GPA (courses highlighted in blue above) by the end of fall, sophomore year, to continue into their nursing courses.
• Students must average 16 credit hours a semester (32 credit hours per year) in order to graduate in 4 years with no summer school. This may require electives in addition to the courses on this four year plan.