BSN@Home Program
Curriculum
The RN to BS program is built upon the foundation of an Associate Degree or a Diploma in Nursing and includes general education courses, courses supportive of nursing, and the upper-level nursing major. Through an articulation agreement with the Wisconsin Technical College System, graduates of programs in that system may have up to 60 credits from the associate degree in nursing applied to UW-Madison degree requirements. Prior nursing course work of Associate Degree students who do not meet the articulation criteria will be evaluated on an individual basis.
All registered nurse students analyze their own practice in order to plan how to expand their learning. The curriculum enables them to make maximum use of their unique educational and experiential background to select learning experiences that are relevant to their own educational goals. Within the broad curricular requirements and available resources, students are encouraged to make individual decisions about their program of study.
All registered nurses must complete CNP 306: Narrative Analysis of Nursing Practice. The course introduces students to knowledge and knowing embedded in clinical practice. Discussions focus on development of expertise in nursing practice, aspects of clinical judgment, caring practices, and impediments to caring. Students learn to critically analyze their nursing practice and they assess their nursing knowledge by writing a narrative analysis. This course is taught on campus in a non-traditional time-slot. Currently it is offered four full days, usually once per month during the semester.
CNP 519 is a capstone course for registered nurses and is based on the application of clinical decision-making in order to provide comprehensive nursing care to persons in hospital and/or community settings. Students will be expected to demonstrate a synthesis of knowledge from current and past learning experiences in a clinical practicum and parallel clinical seminar. CNP 519 is the only practicum required. The practicum involves flexible scheduling and is arranged near the student’s home.
Students are encouraged to enroll in CNP 306 no later than the second semester in the program. Other nursing courses can be taken in any order except CNP 306 and CNP 317 must be completed prior to CNP 519. The remaining nursing courses are taught via the Internet through the BSN@Home program.