Lynchburg College announces new nursing program

Lynchburg College plans to address the region’s nursing shortage this fall by launching a program allowing registered nurses to pursue a master’s degree without having first completed their bachelor’s — the first program of its kind in central Virginia.

The R.N. to M.S.N Pathway program, announced by college officials this week, is designed to expand the area’s educational opportunities and, ultimately, improve patient care.

LC joins 173 colleges and universities nationwide offering this expedited route to a Master of Science in Nursing (M.S.N.), said Jean St. Clair, director of the M.S.N. program.

“It allows nurses who are registered nurses but who do not have a bachelor’s to advance their education,” she said.

The program reflects a growing emphasis on advanced degrees within the nursing profession.

The Magnet system — a national accrediting body for nursing that accredits Lynchburg’s hospitals — recently mandated stricter education standards for its nurses.

By 2013, for example, all nursing managers are required to have a bachelor’s degree or higher. Right now, 62 percent of nurses in Virginia fall short of this standard, according to the state board of nursing.

By 2020, Magnet also will require all nurses in leadership positions to have their master’s degree.

The reason for these changes stems from research demonstrating nurses with advanced training tend to improve patient care, according to the Institute of Medicine.

“The higher educated the nurse, the safer the environment is for the patients, the better the outcome,” St. Clair said.

Lynchburg College’s program targets local nurses who do not have a bachelor’s degree or have one in a field other than nursing. The program allows these people to save time by forgoing some of the requirements for a bachelor’s degree.

 “Not granting every single degree along the way is becoming fairly the norm in health care,” St. Clair said, citing pharmacology and physical therapy as fields with similar models.

Still, nurses must have at least 57 hours of undergraduate work before they can advance in the program, which includes both online and classroom instruction, St. Clair said. The master’s portion of the program takes four semesters for full-time students to complete, including a summer session.

The Pathway program was in the works for two years before Lynchburg College approved it this month. Details still are being finalized, but LC expects to enroll its first class this fall.

For additional information, contact Dr. Jean St. Clair, M.S.N. Program Director, at (434) 544-8740 or stclair.j@lynchburg.edu.