Traditional Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program

The Idaho State University School of Nursing Traditional Nursing undergraduate degree is well-suited to students with no prior nursing experience who seek their first degree in nursing. This program is also well suited to students who are currently licensed practical nurses who seek their baccalaureate degrees. This program is four semesters in length and admits 80 students every year: 40 students for the Fall Semester and 40 students for the Spring Semester. Classes are taught primarily from the Pocatello campus through a hybrid-course model, integrating face-to-face and online formats into all courses. Clinical experiences are offered in the simulation lab and in a variety of off-campus settings, including community hospitals, community health facilities, service agencies, and schools.

The Traditional Nursing program provides learning opportunities for undergraduate students to prepare them for the role of the professional nurse in today's complex health care system and to take the National Council Licensure Examination Registered Nurse (NCLEX-RN) to secure licensure as a registered nurse.

The faculty in the School of Nursing subscribes to a common philosophy about human beings, nursing, and nursing education that encompasses both the undergraduate and graduate programs. Faculty strives to be leaders and visionaries in their roles as nurse educators, consumers, and advocates for consumers of health care, and health professionals.

Utilization of nursing knowledge is the major focus in the undergraduate curriculum in the development of beginning-level practitioners. The undergraduate program prepares graduates to meet the present and emergent community health concerns at local and global levels. Throughout the development of the professional role, students learn to view the recipients of nursing care as individuals, families, groups, or communities within cultural and environmental contexts. The population distribution and geographical nature of Idaho mandate that graduates be proficient in rural and frontier nursing.

Graduate education is built upon undergraduate education. Students are prepared to assume advanced practice roles by developing nursing knowledge through research, theory, and practice. At the graduate level, faculty and students contribute toward the application and elaboration of nursing theories to describe, explain, predict, and understand nursing phenomena. Graduate education facilitates learning environments where students can construct their own knowledge integration at an advanced level. Advanced practice nurses develop broad-based knowledge and experience to facilitate or deliver personalized, holistic health care to clients over the lifespan in a variety of settings with an emphasis on rural practice.