Calvin College Nursing Program Review

The Calvin College is a part of the Christian Reformed Church denomination of United States. It is deeply rooted into the teachings of the holy bible hence it is inevitable for students attending the college to miss out on being transformed into Christianity. The college was first founded as a seminary; offering theological teachings only back in the mid 1850s. Since then, Calvin College (CC) operated as a seminary center until 1900 when the college started to offer its fist pre-professional degrees.  The College then moved to Burton at Knollcrest campus where it stands today.

Nursing Department- Calvin College

The goal of the nursing department at Calvin College is to mould nurses who will uphold the Christian Reformed Church vision of serving God; which is serving the community. It trains nurses to be compassionate, faithful, just and having empathy. The teaching takes a holistic approach with the curriculum having a very high percent of liberal arts courses. There is only one undergraduate nursing program at Calvin College which is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education and approved by the Michigan Board of Nursing. The program is divided in a complex manner as explained below

The Nursing Program Details

The nursing program at Calvin College is a two-part training hierarchy whereby, students take foundational nursing courses and later furthering to the upper part to finish a four-year Bachelor of Science in nursing degree. On the first part of the nursing program, the nursing students take a total of nine nursing courses and 12 liberal arts core courses. It is also mandatory for the students to have a foreign language from as part of their high school transcripts.

The second part of the program requires students who have taken the first nursing courses and the liberal arts courses in the first program. The upper division is a sequential continuation of the first program. It is at this point where students engage in nursing courses and practicum lessons.  A total of thirteen nursing courses are required for the completion of the program. At this point students take only nursing major courses unlike the trend observed in other BSN programs.

The program takes a full time study mode for about four additional semesters totaling to 8 semesters for the two segments. Graduates of the program are awarded a Bachelor of Science in nursing degree and will consecutively be eligible to take the NCLEX-RN exam.

Transfer Students Information

Transfer students at Calvin College must receive two semesters of liberal arts courses before being eligible to join the rest of the students at the second segment level. However, students who are wishing to transfer to the program are only accepted if there is available space after Calvin College segment one students are all enrolled.

As complex as it seems, the nursing program at Calvin College is determined to bring out the most competent nurses who will serve their communities and highly participating in holistic nursing and giving Christian teachings in the process.

Contact:
Calvin College
3201 Burton SE, Grand Rapids,
MI 49546