CLINTON TOWNSHIP — Baker College of Clinton Township officials have announced that a four-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing program will replace the existing Associate Degree in Nursing program beginning 2014 fall quarter.
Students choosing to pursue this new BSN can begin prior to 2014 fall quarter by taking prerequisite classes.
“The move to the higher level degree was the result of extensive research and consultation with area health care professionals, including our clinical partners and advisory committee,” said Donald R. Torline, Baker College of Clinton Township president. “The trend of employers preferring nurses who have earned bachelor’s degrees is clear. This is definitely in the best interests of our graduates.”
Clinton Township is one of three Baker College campuses that will transition its nursing program to a BSN beginning 2014 fall quarter. The other campuses are in Cadillac and Muskegon.
“This is an exciting time for the Baker College School of Nursing,” said Lesley Morgan, dean of the School of Nursing for Baker College system. “As a career-oriented college, we always want to be in line with the current trends in nursing education.”
The push for more nurses with BSNs is partly the result of hospitals pursuing credentialing through the Magnet Recognition Program offered by the American Nurses Credentialing Center. The program measures nursing care based on set criteria, one of which is the percentage of registered nurses with BSNs who are providing direct patient care.
Baker College of Clinton Township Nursing Program Director Karen Grobson said that some hospitals are already giving hiring preference to BSN graduates or requiring candidates and employed nurses with ADNs to obtain a BSN degree within a specified time.
Grobson also noted a recent major study on the future of nursing by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Institute of Medicine to increase the proportions of nurses with a BSN degree to 80 percent by 2020.
“This transition to a BSN program will benefit our students and our community,” Grobson said. “Our graduates will be equipped for any entry-level RN position.”
Baker’s new BSN is an on-ground degree for all four years. It is a limited-enrollment program with no waiting list. The top 80 applicants will be accepted annually; 40 in the spring quarter and 40 in the winter quarter.
Students currently enrolled in Baker’s ADN program will be able to complete it at the Clinton Township campus. If those students wish to pursue a BSN, they may do so through a post-licensure program offered by Baker College Online.
In May 2012, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated the average annual salary for a registered nurse was $67,930, with the lower 10 percent earning $45,040 and the top 10 percent earning $94,720.
For more information about the nursing program at Baker College of Clinton Township, contact the admission office at 586-791-3000 or Annette.Looser@baker.edu.
