Concordia University Chicago announced that it will begin offering an undergraduate Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program. All four years of the program will be taught exclusively on the Concordia-Chicago campus. This includes a new 4,500-square-foot Nursing Simulation Center, built specifically for the program.
“I am incredibly excited to begin offering this program to students who are called to the profession of nursing. These future BSNs will be catalysts of change in today’s health care environment,” says CUC nursing director Kristen Bayer, MSN, APN, FNP-C. “We have deliberately considered what is necessary for students to grow in confidence, and develop and refine their skills. Our program will remain at a ‘boutique’ size, so that each student receives one-on-one instruction and graduates practice-ready and willing to tackle what comes their way.”
Bayer brings a wealth of experience to the program, having previously led the nursing programs at Dominican and Resurrection Universities. She also has significant clinical experience working as a hospital-based RN in the emergency department and in labor and delivery, and as a family nurse practitioner specializing in women’s and adolescent health.
The University’s new nursing teaching facility is a bright and airy modern learning space dedicated to providing real-world nursing and medical-based learning opportunities that mirror those seen in the hospital setting. It features a skills attainment lab, multispecialty intensive care spaces, a health assessment learning center and a simulated home environment. Each space is complete with state-of-the-art, lifelike patient simulators, realistic practice models and hospital-grade equipment, to close the gap between coursework and hospital-based clinical rotations.
Concordia-Chicago has a long history of participating in the education of Chicago-area nurses, with more than 10,000 graduates since 1982. Previous nursing degrees were offered jointly with other area universities and academic medical centers, which provided a majority of the nursing-focused coursework. “The University’s rich partnership history, paired with the exceptional new facilities and outstanding faculty, has allowed us to develop this four-year program that will ensure a seamless learning experience for our students throughout their program,” says Bayer.
Applications for the Fall 2023 semester are now being accepted. Students interested in learning more about the program, touring the new simulation center and meeting the program director should visit CUChicago.edu/nursing.
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