St. Joseph School of Nursing Program Review

St. Joseph School of Nursing at Our Lady of Fatima Hospital, is a part of St. Joseph Health Services of Rhode Island, an organization which includes Our Lady of Fatima Hospital in North Providence, St. Joseph Center for Health and Human Services, and Southern New England Rehabilitation Center. The school is an affiliate of CharterCARE Health Partners, which operates Roger Williams Medical Center and Our Lady of Fatima Hospital.

The St. Joseph School of Nursing (SJSN, SJSON), which has been in existence since 1899, is on the campus of Our Lady of Fatima Hospital. It offers a diploma in nursing program which is accredited by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC) and approved by the Rhode Island Board of Nurse Registration and Nursing Education.

Diploma in Nursing Program

St. Joseph School of Nursing’s Diploma in Nursing program takes three years to complete. Students begin in a fall semester, and study without a break through the following spring, summer, fall, and spring. Students do not take classes in the summer between the second year and the third year; they return in the fall and wrap up the diploma program in the spring. The program consists of nursing classes and clinical rotations, completed through St. Joseph School of Nursing, and science and general education classes completed through either Community College of Rhode Island or Rhode Island College. Students in the diploma program will receive thirty college credits for these general education classes, which they may transfer if they wish to earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree at a later date. St. Joseph School of Nursing has a strong emphasis on clinical training; students begin clinical rotations in the first semester of the program and continue throughout the remainder of the program. In total, a student can expect to spend nearly 2000 hours in a clinical setting over the course of the three years. After graduating from the program, a student is eligible to take the National Council Licensing Exam for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN). If successful (as 99 percent of St. Joseph School of Nursing graduates are), she may begin her career as a Registered Nurse (RN).

LPN to Diploma Program

A graduate of a practical nursing program who is a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) is eligible to skip the first year of nursing courses (fall, spring, and summer semesters). He must, however, complete all general education classes that diploma students normally take during the first year of the program. Apart from these, he can complete the diploma program in just four semesters.

Continuing Education Options

A graduate of St. Joseph School of Nursing diploma program may transition smoothly into Rhode Island College’s RN to BSN program. Alternatively, she can transfer into Salve Regina University’s BSN program. She has the option of choosing other RN to BSN programs, of course, but St. Joseph School of Nursing has signed articulation agreements with these two schools to allow for easy transfer of nursing credits. A graduate from the diploma program also has thirty credits, either from Community College of Rhode Island or from Rhode Island College, to transfer toward the general education requirements of any BSN program.

Contact:
St. Joseph School of Nursing
200 High Service Avenue,
North Providence, RI 02904