Registered nurses choosing to complete a bachelor’s degree need a program that prepares them to take leadership roles within their organizations. To address this need, U.S. News & World Report-ranked Jacksonville University (JU) is launching a new curriculum for its online RN to BSN degree program. The new nursing courses, with updates being made to the School of Nursing philosophy and program outcomes as well, were driven by JU’s commitment to meeting the highest quality standards in higher education.

The curriculum – which includes 10 new courses such as Evidence-Based Nursing – aims to equip nurses in JU’s online RN to BSN degree program with best practices in patient care and leadership skills important to their careers in the dynamically changing healthcare environment. Each of the new courses are presented 100% online with multimedia video-based lectures powered through University Alliance, and all new course content is based on guidelines of essential curriculum subjects published in the American Association of Colleges of Nursing’s (AACN) The Essentials of Baccalaureate Education for Professional Nursing Practice.

As recommended by the AACN, JU’s new course in health information technology, called Information Management in Healthcare, provides a foundation in technical skills, including computer operation, patient care interventions and patient care technologies such as monitors and data gathering devices. Students can also expect to gain a thorough understanding of confidentiality issues as they relate to information management, and of the importance of computer and information literacy to the future of nursing. With federal electronic health records mandates for Medicare patients being enforced in 2015, graduates of Jacksonville University will be well-versed in working with computer-based information systems.

Other new courses include Professional Nursing, an exploration of concepts and issues that shape the development of the competent and caring professional nurse, and Nursing Leadership and Healthcare Policy, which provides the practicing nurse with theory and concepts needed to successfully assume leadership and management positions in the healthcare environment.

The first two courses will be offered to students in the Fall II, 2011 session, beginning on October 17, 2011. New students who start the degree program will immediately be immersed in the new courses. Current RN to BSN students will have the option of transferring to the new curriculum. RNs interested in applying to JU can take advantage of rolling admissions throughout the year.

About Jacksonville University
Founded more than 75 years ago in Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville University (JU) has more than 20,000 alumni. Recognized as one of the nation's foremost teaching institutions, JU offers one of the largest online RN to BSN degree programs in the country. To meet the needs of those seeking the advanced opportunities of a postgraduate education, JU also offers a convenient online Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree. JU is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and is repeatedly named as one of America's best colleges by U.S. News & World Report. The School of Nursing holds accreditation from the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).

About University Alliance Online
The University Alliance (UA) facilitates the promotion and online delivery of associate’s, bachelor’s and master’s degrees as well as professional certificate programs from the nation’s leading traditional universities and institutions. Powered by UA’s technology and support services, its university partners have surpassed 450,000 online enrollments – making UA the largest facilitator of e-learning in the country. University partners include Villanova University, the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business, Tulane University’s Freeman School of Business, the University of San Francisco, the University of Vermont, Florida Institute of Technology, The University of Scranton, Jacksonville University and Dominican University.