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Contact: Jacob Kinser, program coordinator, Western Washington University RN-to-BSN program, (360) 650-6700; bsn.info@wwu.edu.

BELLINGHAM – Western Washington University will hold a series of upcoming information session for its new RN-to-BSN program.

Information sessions are scheduled for:

• 10 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 20 at PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center’s conference rooms five and six, near its main campus cafeteria.
• 4 p.m. Tuesday, March 12 at Whatcom Community College, Laidlaw Center Room 212;
• 9 a.m. Wednesday, March 20 at Skagit Valley College’s Mount Vernon campus, Angst Hall Room 144;

Program staff will also be attending Bellingham Technical College’s Healthcare and Business Career fair, 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., Monday, March 11 in Settlemyer Hall, Campus Center.

The program, which begins fall 2013, will allow registered nurses to complete their bachelor’s degrees in nursing (BSN).  The priority deadline for program applications is Monday, April 1. 

Information session participants will have the opportunity to meet Western’s BSN staff and faculty to help them better understand:

• How to apply for the program, tips and deadlines,
• Financial aid resources,
• Course requirements for admission.  

The new program, offered through Western’s Woodring College of Education, is designed for associate-degree and diploma-prepared nurses who have completed their pre-licensure registered nurse (RN) studies. It will provide RNs in Whatcom, Skagit and Island counties the opportunity to continue their professional education to the bachelor’s degree level, along with structure to support students’ ability to balance school with busy work, family and personal lives.  Classes are scheduled to meet one day per week on Western’s campus.

A number of studies link better patient outcomes in facilities having greater percentages of more highly prepared nurses with bachelor’s degrees. The 2011 Institute of Medicine “Report on the Future of Medicine” recommends that 80 percent of the national RN work force hold BSNs by 2020.

Statewide estimates show that only 51 percent of the state’s nursing work force is baccalaureate-prepared. The figure for Whatcom, Skagit and Island counties is even lower, at 45 percent.

Western’s innovative RN-to-BSN program responds to these local, state and national recommendations to increase the proportion of BSN-prepared nurses through seamless academic progression between associate degree and BSN-completion programs.

For more information, please visit , email bsn.info@wwu.edu or call (360) 650-6700.