Nursing, Bronson School of

Lisa Singleterry, Director
Main Office: 3466 CHHS (Oakland Campus)
Telephone: (269) 387-8150
Fax: (269) 387-8170

Elissa Allen
Karen Bergman
Kristi Block
Samantha Collett
Joanne DeWit
Katharine Gross
Angela Groves
Susan Houtrouw
Wendy Kershner
Natalie Kuhn
Kelley Pattison
Maria Roche-Dean
Jaime Rohr
Dawn Smith
Brenda Srof
Cheryl VanderPloeg
Sally Vliem
Pamela Wadsworth

The Western Michigan University Bronson School of Nursing (WMU BSON) opened in 1994, the result of several years of planning and collaboration by University and community leaders. The school was founded based on the need for baccalaureate prepared nursing professionals as articulated by local and national nursing leaders.

The WMU Bronson School of Nursing offers a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (B.S.N.). The prelicensure track provides the nursing degree for individuals who are entering the nursing profession, while the RN-BSN program offers an avenue to the degree for the registered nurse who graduated from a diploma or associate degree program in nursing. The RN-BSN program curriculum is offered as an online sequence of courses.

The WMU Bronson School of Nursing curriculum is designed to prepare nurse generalists who comprehend the discipline and the profession of nursing and who are competent to provide, coordinate, and evaluate patient care in the multiple social contexts in which health care is delivered. The graduate of the program will deliver nursing care to individuals, groups, and communities.

The WMU Bronson School of Nursing seeks to prepare thoughtful, professional nurses who possess the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to deliver quality health care in this century. The faculty believe that the long-standing social contract between nursing and society conveys an understanding that communities need direct nursing services, that nurses develop partnerships with clients and other health care providers to promote holistic health care, and that caring is intrinsic to nursing. The curriculum integrates knowledge from liberal arts, sciences, and the discipline of nursing. The program emphasizes the development of knowledge, skills, and attitudes essential for the scope of clinical judgment that distinguishes the practice of a professional nurse. Concepts of patterning, holism, caring, service to vulnerable groups, and partnership are emphasized.

Accreditation
The Michigan Board of Nursing is the regulatory body that grants provisional and full approval of nursing education programs in the State of Michigan. Full approval of the WMU Bronson School of Nursing undergraduate program was granted in July 2002.

The Western Michigan University Bronson School of Nursing undergraduate program is accredited through 2027 by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), 655 K Street NW, Suite 750, Washington, DC 20001, 202-887-6791. The CCNE is an autonomous accrediting agency. As a “specialized professional accrediting agency, CCNE ensures the quality and integrity of baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs” (CCNE document).

Graduates of the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (B.S.N.) are eligible to take the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN®) administered by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc. (NCSBN®).

The Bronson School of Nursing undergraduate program has also received endorsement from the American Holistic Nurses Certification Corporation, which is the credentialing body for holistic nursing. This endorsement enables graduates of the program to be exempt from prerequisites should they choose to sit for the National Certification Examination in Holistic Nursing.

The Undergraduate Pre-Licensure Professional Nursing Program
This program, with two curriculum tracks, leads to the completion of a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN).

The Prelicensure track is offered for individuals who do not hold a Registered Nurse license. Admission to this track occurs through:

Direct admission to professional nursing curriculum, or
Applying to the degree program through the use of our holistic admission process, which includes completing an application in Nursing CAS and completing program prerequisites. High school students admitted to WMU who indicate nursing as their intended major will be advised to begin the required “pre-nursing” curriculum in the fall semester of their freshman year. Current WMU students, transfer students, and second-degree students who change their intended major to nursing should make an appointment with an advisor in CHHS prior to beginning the “pre-nursing” curriculum.

The RN-BSN Program has been specifically designed for ADN or Diploma-prepared Registered Nurses who wish to earn a BSN degree. Admission to this track occurs through:

Declaring “Nursing: RN to BSN” as intended major on WMU application and then applying to the RN-BSN program once admitted to the University.
ADN or Diploma-prepared Registered Nurses who are interested in earning a BSN should make an advising appointment with the RN-BSN advisor prior to applying to the University.
Individuals will be admitted to the RN-BSN program as long as they have achieved a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 (on a four-point scale) in the nursing associate degree or nursing diploma program from which they graduated, hold or receive a current registered nurse license no later than three months after beginning the program, and have completed the program pre-requisites outlined later in this document.