Alverno College Nursing Program Review

Alverno College (AC), established in 1887, is a Catholic liberabl arts college for women that was founded by the Sisters of St. Francis. The ollege offers undergraduate degrees, such as the Bachelor of Arts degree, Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degrees. The graduate programs at Alverno College include; Master of Arts, Master of Business Administration, Master of Science in Nursing and a Master of Science in Community Psychology. There are also certificate and licensure programs available at Alverno College. The current enrollment at Alverno College is almost 2800.

There are a variety of nursing programs available to individuals hoping to study at Alverno College. The nursing school at Alverno College, is one of the largest nursing schools in Wisconsin and has one of the highest nursing licensure (NCLEX) pass rates in the state. Graduate students interested in studying nursing at Alverno College can study a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree, which is intended for individuals who already hold a baccalaureate degree in nursing and are licensed Registered Nurses (RN).

The streams in the Master of Science in Nursing program include Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) and Clinical Nurse Specialist/Nurse Educator, who are interested in putting nursing theory into practice in the workplace. Undergraduate and graduate students of nursing at Alverno College had the opportunity in the Fall of 2011 to work with the human patient simulators in the skills lab at Alverno College in order to get a better grasp on clinical practice in the workplace.

The Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) at Alverno College requires individuals to complete in-class lectures and clinical practice in the workplace. Alverno College has affiliations with 60 clinical organizations and institutions and five of the eight semesters has a clinical component associated with it. In every semester of the junior and senior years of education, individuals will be required to complete clinical practice in specializations in nursing, including hospitals, hospices, community-based clinics and long-term care facilities, as well as a variety of other healthcare establishments. In the final semester of undergraduate studies at Alverno College, individuals will have to take part in a 16-hour-a-week clinical practice, where individuals will be working with a nursing professional.

While undergraduate education at Alverno College is only open to women, the graduate programs are open to both men and women. The Master of Science in Nursing program at Alverno College has two tracks; the Family Nurse Practitioner and the Clinical Nurse Specialist/Nurse Educator. The Family Nurse Practitioner program is for nurses who wish to work from all age groups in the population, from newborns to elderly people. The Clinical Nurse Specialist/Nurse Educator stream looks at nursing for the aging population. Individuals who graduate from the graduate programs in nursing at Alverno College work in a variety of healthcare settings, as well as working as nursing educators, as well as making clinical decisions and prescribing medication.

Both of the graduate level programs are composed of a combination of in-class and clinical practice hours. The Family Nurse Practitioner graduate degree at Alverno College is composed of 660 practicum hours, and after completing the Family Nurse Practitioner degree, individuals can apply to write the American Nurses Credentialing Center Family Nurse Practitioner certification examination. The Clinical Nurse Specialist/ Nurse Educator graduate degree at Alverno College is composed of 500 practice hours, and after completing the course, individuals can go on to apply to write the American Nurses Credentialing Center Clinical Nurse Specialist Exam in Adult Health.

Contact:
Alverno College
3400 South 43rd Street,
P.O. Box 343922,
Milwaukee, WI 53234-3922
Phone: (414) 382-6000