Simmons College Nursing Program Review

Simmons College (SC) is a private college founded in the late 1890’s. It has a rich history of being the first private college to offer women education in those years when discrimination against women’s education was prevalent. The college is known to have developed a non-discrimination policy against African- American female students in the early 1900’s.

Department of Nursing at Simmons College

Simmons College department of nursing offers comprehensive degrees in the nursing division starting with undergraduate programs to the highest-terminal nursing degrees. The nursing programs under this department have been approved and accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.  The programs are presented as:

Pre-licensure Programs

Bachelor of Science in Nursing

This program is designed for women students who fall under the ages of 18 and 23 years. It is a full time study plan that takes four-years to complete and as usual, students are then eligible to sit for the NCLEX-RN exam to become registered nurses.

Dix Scholar Program

This is designed for previous BA or BS holders from other non-nursing fields.  Normally the program takes two academic years to complete but there is a part time option which takes 3 years. It takes the form of accelerated study hence; lots of commitment must be accorded by the students.

RN to BSN program

This program takes in nurses who have prior experience in the nursing field either diploma or associate degree holders. The program is offered in part time and full time basis and follows the same curriculum as the one for the BSN and admission is via the Dix Scholars Program. Candidates must have an active RN license to be allowed into the program and Completion leads to the NCLEX-RN exam. It is also possible to get credit transfers into the program via the advanced LPN placement route.

Graduate School of Nursing

A number of master’s and doctorate degrees are available at Simmons:

Master of Science: RN to MS

The RN to MS program is a curriculum designed to cater for the needs of Diploma and Associate degree holders who want to become advanced practice nurses. The degree surpasses the need of taking a BSN to a Master in Science with a concentration in Family Nurse Practitioner. It normally takes 3 to 4 years to complete for fulltime and pastime students respectively.

Dual Degree program:  MS in Society, Human Development and Health

This is a collaborative degree between the Harvard school of public health and Simmons College. The dual degree program is a fulltime nursing program for BSN graduates that award students a MSN-primary health care from Simmons and a MS in Society, Human development and Health from Harvard.

Direct Entry MSN

The advanced nursing practice is meant for students who wish to get into the nursing career and are holders of other non- nursing bachelor’s degrees. At the end of the first portion, usually three semesters, students are able to sit for the NCLEX-RN exam to become RNs. Graduate studies must them continue immediately for the MSN with a concentration in Family Nurse Practitioner.  In total, students need to devote three years on a full time basis.

Five year BS-MSN in Nursing

This is a form of an accelerated nursing program that helps nurses become RNs at the BSN level with an immediate continuation for a MSN with a nurse practitioner track. It cuts down the six years usually needed for both programs by taking extra summer classes. However, students must attain a RN license before proceeding to the MSN component.

BSN to MS

It is designed for RNs who already have a BSN. It takes two years to complete for students taking a fulltime option and 3 to 4 years for part time student

Doctor of nursing practice

The doctoral program is offered in a blended format; online and short on-campus residency. The online portion takes the better part of the program with up-to 98 % of the degree being done online.  It is strictly allowed to advanced practice nurses who have had over 5000hrs of practice in the fields of NPs, Certified Nurse Midwife, Clinical Nurse Specialist and Nurse Anesthetist. The award is a Doctor of Nursing-Professional Practice Leadership.

Post-Master Certificate-Oncology Nurse Practitioner

The program takes a holistic approach of training nurse practitioners on oncology courses. The NPs are then awarded a certificate of completion in Advanced Graduate Oncology.

Contact:
Simmons College
300 The Fenway, Boston,
MA 022115