When you decide to make the jump into healthcare as a nurse, you will be bombarded with educational options, from campuses across Texas and the United States. It may seem like an impossible task to try and narrow them all down, but the most important factors your need to pay attention to are the quality of education, accreditation, time to graduate, and how your degree will serve you in the workplace.
You’ve already chosen to earn a BSN because you want as many employment options as you can earn, but what makes the Concordia University Texas Accelerated Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing track different? Our format is unique in a few ways, from the pace to the robust NCLEX preparation Concordia provides for its students.
1. The highest quality educators who understand the needs of nursing students
Concordia University Texas’ Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing track is designed to get people into new careers as quickly as possible. Our nurse educators are distinguished nurses who have helped us design the most realistic and efficient curriculum for our nursing program.
Kathy Lauchner, Dean, College of Nursing, has contributed to published peer-reviewed nursing research as recently as 2014 and spoken at many national and international nursing conferences. Our nurse educators understand the real-world needs of nursing students and the challenges they will face every day, and they teach with the real world in mind, not just passage of the NCLEX.
Concordia’s nursing educators are also acutely aware that the nation is experiencing an enormous nurse shortage. They understand how essential it is to send confident, well-prepared nurses into the field, and they in conjunction with Concordia’s immersive programming are helping to stem this shortage by enrolling more students three times a year. According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, the demand is only going to increase and is on track to grow 86% by 2020, creating a shortage of 71,000 nurses in Texas alone.
2. No waiting list to enroll
One of the biggest problems facing prospective nursing students is the dreaded waiting list. Traditional university nursing programs can only start students once or maybe twice per year. In high population states like California and Texas, wait lists can stretch back three or four years. You could get a traditional bachelor’s degree (including three summers off) in the time it would take you to start classes in some nursing schools with a waitlist.
Because Concordia University Texas’ ABSN track is designed to fit the growing needs of healthcare providers, we enroll three starts per year (January, May, and August) – meaning qualified students start classes when they are ready, not just when there is an opening for them. If prospective students have taken their life sciences and all other required prerequisites and passed with a 3.0 or higher, they can jump directly into the ABSN track and become a nurse in as few as 16 months.
If you have already taken more than 35 college credit hours or have another degree but are not sure if this credit would count toward your ABSN track, call 866.891.1371 or contact one of our admissions counselors to find out.
3. Our progressive, faith-based learning style
What sets Concordia’s ABSN track apart is that our students learn how to offer spiritual care as well as physical healthcare, with a progressive faith-based approach that teaches our students to provide comfort as well as healing.
Concordia University Texas is associated with The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, though students do not have to be a part of the Lutheran faith in order to study at Concordia University. A faith-based education can be valuable to those working in nursing in a variety of ways, from being able to create a positive rapport with your patients to enhancing a sense of purpose in serving others.
We base our curriculum on the teachings of Martin Luther, an Augustinian monk and the founder of the Lutheran church. The fundamentals of the Lutheran learning philosophy are as follows:
- Learning to question
- Embracing science and leveraging technology for good
- Discovering the gifts God has given you and sharing them in service to others
- A rigorous education for all
These principles guide our students in a spirit of curiosity and assistance to the community, and in turn, help our students become an even greater asset to the world around them.
4. High NCLEX passage rates
In 2016, 98% of our BSN graduates passed their NCLEX exam. The NCLEX review class will help students make a plan for studying and reviewing the coursework before sitting for the test. Students are also encouraged to take advantage of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing’s NCLEX review tools, especially the NCLEX test plans. Our nurse educators know intimately the rigors of this test and the pressure on ABSN students to pass it the first time, as students only get three attempts to pass the test in a calendar year.
An Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing track may be your greatest academic challenge yet, and Concordia Texas’s nursing educators continue to support you through the beginning of your career. They work hard to arm our students with all the knowledge they need to take their NCLEX with confidence.
5. Better information retention through our blended learning model
Concordia’s online coursework is engaging and entertaining, and it will change the way you think of computer-based learning. Technology allows us to create a much more immersive and engaging learning environment than sitting in a lecture hall with a textbook.
Because our nursing degree is accelerated, the online portion features interactive media and animations to help students understand how the information affects their patient care. In your simulation labs, you will put skills into practice taken from the lessons you learned, so that you’re really learning the art and science of nursing, not just memorizing facts. We designed our blended curriculum to meet state licensure and accreditation requirements, as well as to meet Concordia Texas’s exceptional standards for student performance.
Our accelerated students are engaged with our learning materials from the first class. This immersive educational style helps our students start their practicum experiences and their careers with confidence, as this learning style ensures that our nursing students actually learn and not just memorize for tests.
Ultimately, students choose Concordia Texas’ ABSN track because they want a high-quality nursing education without having to wait for admission four years in a traditional degree program. Our students are intelligent, diligent, and hard-working, and they want a real career change, right now. If that sounds like you, contact an admissions counselor today to take that first step. We are ready to help you succeed.