Nursing Program Curriculum
Program Overview
The Nursing Program offers a three-year Dual-Enrollment Program in collaboration with Alvernia University. With dual-enrollment admission, students will be simultaneously enrolled in the hospital-based Nursing Program offered at Reading Hospital's School of Health Sciences and Alvernia University’s Associate of Science degree. Dual enrollment is structured to provide a seamless career mobility pathway while providing our graduates with the knowledge, skills, and credentials to sit for the national licensure examination. Qualified graduates will be eligible to receive the following credentials:
- Diploma in Nursing
- Associate of Science Degree in Applied Health from Alvernia University
The three-year Dual Enrollment Program is designed to provide theoretical knowledge and hands-on application through the human life span. Classes and clinical experiences are held Monday through Friday between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Evening clinical preparation may be required throughout the course of study. The liberal arts courses are taught by the Alvernia University faculty. These courses provide students with a well-rounded background as well as meet the requirements for the Associate of Science degree from Alvernia University. The collaboration with Alvernia University enables Nursing Program graduates to qualify for their RN-BSN completion program
Classes and clinical experiences are scheduled Monday through Friday and range from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. You will be expected to carry out scheduled learning activities that will occur Monday through Friday. Your time commitment includes an official class schedule Monday through Friday as well as preparation time for clinical learning experiences. Special class, clinical, and conference experiences may occur during the day (Monday through Friday).
The graduate is qualified to submit an application for licensure in the state of his/her choice and to apply to take the National Council Licensure Examination to officially receive the title of Registered Nurse. Upon completion of the program, graduates may apply for advanced placement in a college or university that offers an upper-division program leading to a baccalaureate degree in nursing.
*At this time, the Evening/Weekend track option has been discontinued, at least temporarily. We will not be admitting new students in the Evening/Weekend track at this time.
NRS Curriculum
Our curriculum is approved by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) and the Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing.
Our curriculum is designed to provide theoretical knowledge and hands-on application throughout the human life span. Our classes evolve from the concepts of normal to abnormal and simple to complex theory. The unifying threads of our curriculum are:
Nursing Process, Decision Making, Critical Thinking, Holism, Ethical/Legal Issues, Healthcare Issues, Community, Knowledge, Teaching/Learning, Professional Relationships
Complete Credit Breakdown
- BSN total: 123 credits - Alvernia University
- 50 Nursing credits - Dual Enrollment level - RHSHS
- 39 Liberal Arts Core credits - Dual Enrollment level - RHSHS
- 25 Nursing credits – BSN level - Alvernia University
- 9 Liberal Arts Core credits – BSN level - Alvernia University
Credit Hours
Credit assigned to nursing courses does not constitute "college credit" and does not imply nursing courses earn the equivalent of college credit. The term "credit" assigned to nursing courses is for grading and/or financial aid purposes only; and only an authorized, degree-granting institution in which a student enrolls may determine whether the completed nursing course may be accepted for "college credit." It does not refer to academic credits or to the awarding of college credit and degrees.
The Nursing Program defines a credit hour as a unit of measure that places a value on the level of instruction and time requirements for a nursing course and is responsible for determining the credit hours awarded for the nursing courses offered in the program of study.
Nursing Tuition
