Choosing to become a nurse, even after embarking on some other career path, can be
one of the best decisions you will ever make. This program provides you with a strong,
broad-based clinical foundation for nursing practice . You'll not only find yourself
in the classroom your first semester, but you will also be in simulations and at clinical
sites.
By the end of the program, you will be prepared to become a registered nurse and will
be ready for the licensure exam. Our most recent class scored a 95.58% first-time
pass rate on the NCLEX-RN exam.
Choosing to attend Duquesne has aligned with three important principles I value: saving
time, money and effort. Duquesne required many of the same prerequisites as other
ABSN programs, but something that has set Duquesne apart from the others is the time
frame that I was able to begin. I was able to begin the ABSN program much sooner,
meaning that in the long run, it saves me time because I am able to start sooner,
graduate sooner and begin my career sooner, thus also saving money and effort.
Jessica Winchell, Second Degree BSN Program
Gain Critical Clinical Practice
As a Second Degree student, your clinical experiences begin your very first semester
of the program. Under the supervision of expert clinical faculty and nurse preceptors,
you will gain clinical experience at hospitals and community facilities throughout the Pittsburgh area. These experiences are a great way to apply knowledge
and theory gained in the classroom to your clinical practice.
Already in careers based on their first undergraduate degrees, hear why Jessica and
Kelsey changed gears to earn second degrees in nursing.
Program Information
Earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) in just 12 or 16 months through our accelerated
Second Degree BSN program. This onsite, clinical nursing program is for those who
already have a non-nursing bachelor's degree.
We will help you prepare to be successful on the NCLEX-RN exam, which you are eligible
to take after graduation for licensure as a registered nurse (RN). Our graduates who
tested in the 2021-2022 cycle achieved a 95.58% NCLEX-RN Exam first-time pass rate.
How Credits are Calculated
Transfer credits from your previous degree - 36 credits Prerequisites* taken for the Second Degree Program - 25 credits Credits taken at Duquesne University School of Nursing in the Second Degree Program
- 67 credits Total Credits for the Second Degree Program - 128 credits
*Prerequisites may be completed at any accredited college or university, and online
coursework is acceptable. For example, we do accept credit from Portage Learning, which offers all prerequisite courses required for the Second Degree program.
12-Month Track
Students will complete 67 credits over 12-months to earn their Second Degree BSN in
three semesters.
This course provides students with an introduction to professional nursing in
today's contemporary health care environment. The development of the student's identity
as a professional nurse is a focus of this course, presented within the context of
the history and evolution of the profession. This course also prepares the student
for beginning use of technology in the delivery of nursing care and how it impacts
patient care, as in integral part of contemporary practice. Included is an orientation
to the key issues in nursing practice, such as the legal ethical basis of nursing
practice, patient safety, nursing education, technology for problem-solving, and leadership.
- 3 credits; Fall Semester
This course introduces models of transcultural health care. Issues to the health
care professional's role in the delivery of culturally competent based health care
are explored. Emphasis is placed on the assessment and analysis of culturally congruent
care as related to clinical practice issues in the United States and globally. Interplay
between models of transcultural care and other models of clinical application of culturally
appropriate interventions are examined.
- 3 credits; Fall Semester
This course will focus on the concepts, skills, and attitudes fundamental to professional
nursing practice within a framework of clinical decision-making. The course will emphasize
critical thinking, the establishment of the therapeutic nurse-patient relationship,
and the development of the student’s beginning comprehension of the patient’s physiologic
and psychological responses to health and illness. Students will have lab experiences
in the Duquesne University Nursing Learning Laboratory and clinical agencies where
fundamental nursing skills can be practiced. Students will also receive an introduction
to the main issues, views, laws, and policies within clinical ethics in order to build
a foundation for ethically sound nursing practice and the use of moral reasoning to
resolve ethical dilemmas that arise in practice.
- 6 credits; Fall Semester
This course focuses on the assessment of health status through the use of the
Synergy Model and the development of interviewing and physical examination skills.
It will begin with a discussion of optimal self-care behaviors and then focus on the
principles of health promotion, disease prevention and health teaching. The use of
therapeutic communication skills when performing health assessment and the assessment
of cultural and socio-economic aspects of health will be emphasized. Students learn
to critically evaluate assessment findings and differentiate between normal and alterations
indicative of actual or potential health problems. Students have lab experiences in
the nursing learning and simulation laboratory where health assessment skills can
be practiced in addition to the Community Based Health & Wellness Center for Older
Adults.
- 4 credits; Fall Semester
This course explores the mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of body systems
throughout the lifespan. Emphasis is on understanding pathophysiology as an alteration
in normal physiological functioning of individuals and the presentation of selected
pathophysiology and subsequent symptomatology in diverse individuals across the lifespan.
The scientific approach will provide understanding of the mechanisms of disease as
they are related to clinical decision-making for health promotion, risk reduction,
and disease management.
- 3 credits; Fall Semester
This course will discuss the implications of the Human Genome Project and how
to apply genetic knowledge to patient knowledge and health promotion/screening in
the following ways: identifying those in need of genetic testing, offering genetic
information, recording genetic information, referring patients and families for further
genetic information and evaluation, advocacy for privacy, confidentiality, and non-discrimination
with regard to genetic information, and participate in management of patients with
genetic conditions. The ethical consideration as they relate to genetics will also
be explored.
- 3 credits; Fall Semester
This course will focus on nursing care of adults with common acute and chronic
disease processes. Emphasis will be placed on general medical and surgical conditions
found in the adult population. Students will apply knowledge from fundamentals in
the management of the common disease processes. The nursing care in these conditions
will assist the students in the assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation
process.
- 6 credits (4 theory/2 clinical); Spring Semester
This course covers the basic principles of pharmacology and drug therapy necessary
for general nursing practice. Concepts of drug effectiveness, pharmacokinetics, mechanism
of action, and drug interactions will be examined. In most cases, the emphasis will
be on the pharmacological action of drugs on specific organ systems. Throughout the
course, medications will be discussed in relation to their clinical use in the treatment
of specific disease conditions.
- 3 credits; Spring Semester
The course focus is on the development of competencies for safe and effective
nursing care of children and their families. Emphasis is on the nurse’s role in health
assessment, health promotion, and promotion of adaptive processes for the child within
the context of the family. Key concepts for social, cultural, economic, political,
and ethical factors that affect health promotion, disease prevention, alterations
in health and risk reduction for children, and the family are examined. Growth and
development theory is also emphasized.
- 3 credits (2 theory/1 clinical); Spring Semester
The course focus is on the development of competencies for safe and effective
nursing care of women and maternal/newborn dyads. Emphasis is on the nurse’s role
in health assessment, health promotion, and promotion of adaptive processes for the
woman and the infant within the context of the family. Key concepts for social, cultural,
economic, political, and ethical factors that affect health promotion, disease prevention,
alterations in health and risk reduction for women and the childbearing family are
examined.
- 3 credits (2 theory/1 clinical); Spring Semester
This course focuses on an introduction to theory and concepts of behavioral health
nursing. Emphasis is on the use of self in relationships with mental health consumers.
The importance of the therapeutic nurse-patient relationship will provide the framework
for exploring the factors, which contribute to stress, maladaptive behavior, and mental
illness. Care will be delivered based on psychiatric standards of nursing practice.
The student will then explore the role of the behavioral health nurse working collaboratively
with the community as part of an interdisciplinary team. An introduction to conceptual
frameworks that focus on behavioral health care is included in both the classroom
and clinical portions of the course. Selected inpatient mental health settings will
be utilized for clinical practice.
- 3 credits (2 theory/1 clinical); Spring Semester
This course focuses on an introduction to theory and concepts of population health.
Emphasis is on the professional nurse's role in working with various populations as
the client. Care will be delivered based on standards of population health. The student
will then explore the role of the nurse working collaboratively within the community
and as part of an interdisciplinary team. An introduction to conceptual frameworks
that focus on population health will be included in both the classroom and clinical
portions of the course. Selected agencies that service the various populations will
be utilized for clinical practice.
- 3 credits (2 theory/1 clinical); Spring Semester
This course introduces undergraduate nursing students to ethical dimension of
nursing practice. It presents the processes of moral reasoning and ethical theories,
values, virtues, principles and other influences on the student’s capacity to recognize,
identify and respond to potential and actual ethical issues. The course examines contemporary
professional and clinical ethics issues that influence nursing practice, and to a
lesser degree, it introduces students to ethical issues at the organizational level
in health care. The relationships between ethical and legal principles are also examined.
Various models of ethical decision-making are explored as students apply these frameworks
to resolve ethical dilemmas. Students will also examine the role of professional codes
of ethics and the legal standards that influence the ethical practice of nurses. This
course is designated Writing Intensive. The course will thus involve a substantial
writing component in which students will write and revise argumentative essays in
the style of the discipline of healthcare ethics/bioethics. In their papers, students
will construct well-reasoned arguments for controversial ethical issues that arise
in health-care and nursing practice, and anticipate and respond to objections and
opposing arguments.
- 3 credits; Spring Semester
This course will focus on the assessment and management of adults with unstable
and complex system alterations. The course will emphasize the assessment of functioning,
adaptation, and recovery for patients with high acuity illnesses and clinical problems.
Selected sub-acute and high acuity acute care settings will be utilized for clinical
practice.
- 6 credits; Summer Semester
This course will introduce the student to nursing research and its application
toward advancing science and improving nursing practice. The course focuses on the
use of nursing theory for both qualitative and quantitative research as well as evidence
based practice to improve safe patient care. Recognizing the role of health information
technology in safe care of patients will be emphasized. Students will examine the
knowledge that guides nursing interventions, evidence based practice, outcomes research
and critique published research reports. The importance of research ethics and its
application in nursing practice will also be addressed.
- 3 credits; Summer Semester
This course serves as a preparation course to facilitate student transition into
the Role of a Professional Registered Nurse. The course will emphasize clinical judgment,
decision making and priority setting in the clinical environment as well as concepts
related to professional behavior. Emphasis will be placed on preparation for successful
completion of the NCLEX-RNCAT examination. A review of nursing knowledge from selected
content/concept areas will be included with clinical judgment and decision/prioritizing
skills stressed. Additionally, the course will focus on concepts related to professional
development such as professional behaviors, selfcare in stressful environments and
life-long learning.
- 3 credits; Summer Semester
This course is designed to provide experiences for students to advance their understanding
of content and develop problem solving skills as it relates to assessment, planning,
implementing and evaluating complex patient problems. Emphasis will be placed on the
most common acute and chronic medical and surgical conditions prevalent in the older
adult population. Complex cases will facilitate clinical reasoning in the care of
the adult with considerable focus on the older adult population.
- 3 credits; Summer Semester
This course will focus on the professional nurse’s role in applying the principles
of leadership and management in clinical environments. The role of the nurse leader
and his/her influence on safe nursing practice will be explored. Barriers to practice,
regulatory, legislative, and political processes in reference to professional practice
will also be examined. The course will also emphasize nursing leadership roles and
inter-professional collaboration in the development/application of technology to increase
efficiency of healthcare services and improve patient outcomes.
- 6 credits; Summer Semester
16-Month Track
Students will complete 67 credits over 16-months to earn their Second Degree BSN in
a slightly less intense schedule of four semesters.
This course provides students with an introduction to professional nursing in
today's contemporary health care environment. The development of the student's identity
as a professional nurse is a focus of this course, presented within the context of
the history and evolution of the profession. This course also prepares the student
for beginning use of technology in the delivery of nursing care and how it impacts
patient care, as in integral part of contemporary practice. Included is an orientation
to the key issues in nursing practice, such as the legal ethical basis of nursing
practice, patient safety, nursing education, technology for problem-solving and leadership.
- 3 credits; Fall Semester, Year 1
This course introduces models of transcultural health care. Issues to the health
care professional's role in the delivery of culturally competent based health care
are explored. Emphasis is placed on the assessment and analysis of culturally congruent
care as related to clinical practice issues in the United States and globally. Interplay
between models of transcultural care and other models of clinical application of culturally
appropriate interventions are examined.
- 3 credits; Fall Semester, Year 1
This course will focus on the concepts, skills, and attitudes fundamental to professional
nursing practice within a framework of clinical decision-making. The course will emphasize
critical thinking, the establishment of the therapeutic nurse-patient relationship,
and the development of the student’s beginning comprehension of the patient’s physiologic
and psychological responses to health and illness. Students will have lab experiences
in the Duquesne University Nursing Learning Laboratory and clinical agencies where
fundamental nursing skills can be practiced. Students will also receive an introduction
to the main issues, views, laws, and policies within clinical ethics in order to build
a foundation for ethically sound nursing practice and the use of moral reasoning to
resolve ethical dilemmas that arise in practice.
- 6 credits; Fall Semester, Year 1
This course focuses on the assessment of health status through the use of the
Synergy Model and the development of interviewing and physical examination skills.
It will begin with a discussion of optimal self-care behaviors and then focus on the
principles of health promotion, disease prevention and health teaching. The use of
therapeutic communication skills when performing health assessment and the assessment
of cultural and socio-economic aspects of health will be emphasized. Students learn
to critically evaluate assessment findings and differentiate between normal and alterations
indicative of actual or potential health problems. Students have lab experiences in
the nursing learning and simulation laboratory where health assessment skills can
be practiced in addition to the Community Based Health & Wellness Center for Older
Adults.
- 4 credits; Fall Semester, Year 1
This course explores the mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of body systems
throughout the lifespan. Emphasis is on understanding pathophysiology as an alteration
in normal physiological functioning of individuals and the presentation of selected
pathophysiology and subsequent symptomatology in diverse individuals across the lifespan.
The scientific approach will provide understanding of the mechanisms of disease as
they are related to clinical decision-making for health promotion, risk reduction,
and disease management.
- 3 credits; Fall Semester, Year 1
This course will focus on nursing care of adults with common acute and chronic
disease processes. Emphasis will be placed on general medical and surgical conditions
found in the adult population. Students will apply knowledge from fundamentals in
the management of the common disease processes. The nursing care in these conditions
will assist the students in the assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation
process. - 6 credits (4 theory/2 clinical); Spring Semester, Year 1
This course covers the basic principles of pharmacology and drug therapy necessary
for general nursing practice. Concepts of drug effectiveness, pharmacokinetics, mechanism
of action and drug interactions will be examined. In most cases, the emphasis will
be on the pharmacological action of drugs on specific organ systems. Throughout the
course, medications will be discussed in relation to their clinical use in the treatment
of specific disease conditions.
- 3 credits; Spring Semester, Year 1
This course will discuss the implications of the Human Genome Project and how
to apply genetic knowledge to patient knowledge and health promotion/screening in
the following ways: identifying those in need of genetic testing, offering genetic
information, recording genetic information, referring patients and families for further
genetic information and evaluation, advocacy for privacy, confidentiality, and non-discrimination
with regard to genetic information, and participate in management of patients with
genetic conditions. The ethical consideration as they relate to genetics will also
be explored.
- 3 credits; Spring Semester, Year 1
The course focuses on the development of competencies for safe and effective nursing
care of children and their families. Emphasis is on the nurse's role in health assessment,
health promotion, and promotion of adaptive processes for the child within the context
of the family. Key concepts for social, cultural, economic, political, and ethical
factors that affect health promotion, disease prevention, alterations in health and
risk reduction for children, and the family are examined. Growth and development theory
is also emphasized.
- 3 credits (2 theory/1 clinical); Spring Semester, Year 1
The course focus is on the development of competencies for safe and effective
nursing care of women and maternal/newborn dyads. Emphasis is on the nurse’s role
in health assessment, health promotion, and promotion of adaptive processes for the
woman and the infant within the context of the family. Key concepts for social, cultural,
economic, political, and ethical factors that affect health promotion, disease prevention,
alterations in health and risk reduction for women and the childbearing family are
examined.
- 3 credits (2 theory/1 clinical); Spring Semester, Year 1
This course introduces the student to the theoretical and research bases on which
practice is built. The course focuses on the use of both qualitative and quantitative
research in nursing practice. Students will examine the knowledge that guides nursing
interventions, evidenced based practice, outcomes research and critique published
research reports. The importance of reviewing the nursing literature in order to make
informed practice decisions will be addressed. Ethical issues as they relate to research
and practice will be discussed.
- 3 credits; Summer Semester, Year 1
This course will focus on the professional nurse’s role in applying the principles
of leadership and management in clinical environments. The role of the nurse leader
and his/her influence on safe nursing practice will be explored. Barriers to practice,
regulatory, legislative, and political processes in reference to professional practice
will also be examined. The course will also emphasize nursing leadership roles and
inter-professional collaboration in the development/application of technology to increase
efficiency of healthcare services and improve patient outcomes.
- 6 credits; Summer Semester, Year 1
This course is designed to provide experiences for students to advance their understanding
of content and develop problem solving skills as it relates to assessment, planning,
implementing and evaluating complex patient problems. Emphasis will be placed on the
most common acute and chronic medical and surgical conditions prevalent in the older
adult population. Complex cases will facilitate clinical reasoning in the care of
the adult with considerable focus on the older adult population.
- 3 credits; Summer Semester, Year 1
This course focuses on an introduction to theory and concepts of behavioral health
nursing. Emphasis is on the use of self in relationships with mental health consumers.
The importance of the therapeutic nurse-patient relationship will provide the framework
for exploring the factors, which contribute to stress, maladaptive behavior, and mental
illness. Care will be delivered based on psychiatric standards of nursing practice.
The student will then explore the role of the behavioral health nurse working collaboratively
with the community as part of an interdisciplinary team. An introduction to conceptual
frameworks that focus on behavioral health care is included in both the classroom
and clinical portions of the course. Selected inpatient mental health settings will
be utilized for clinical practice.
- 3 credits (2 theory/1 clinical); Fall Semester, Year 2
This course focuses on an introduction to theory and concepts of population health.
Emphasis is on the professional nurse's role in working with various populations as
the client. Care will be delivered based on standards of population health. The student
will then explore the role of the nurse working collaboratively within the community
and as part of an interdisciplinary team. An introduction to conceptual frameworks
that focus on population health will be included in both the classroom and clinical
portions of the course. Selected agencies that service the various populations will
be utilized for clinical practice.
- 3 credits (2 theory/1 clinical); Fall Semester, Year 2
This course will focus on the assessment and management of adults with unstable
and complex system alterations. The course will emphasize the assessment of functioning,
adaptation, and recovery for patients with high acuity illnesses and clinical problems.
Selected sub-acute and high acuity acute care settings will be utilized for clinical
practice. - 6 credits; Fall Semester, Year 2
This course introduces undergraduate nursing students to ethical dimension of
nursing practice. It presents the processes of moral reasoning and ethical theories,
values, virtues, principles and other influences on the student’s capacity to recognize,
identify and respond to potential and actual ethical issues. The course examines contemporary
professional and clinical ethics issues that influence nursing practice, and to a
lesser degree, it introduces students to ethical issues at the organizational level
in health care. The relationships between ethical and legal principles are also examined.
Various models of ethical decision-making are explored as students apply these frameworks
to resolve ethical dilemmas. Students will also examine the role of professional codes
of ethics and the legal standards that influence the ethical practice of nurses. This
course is designated Writing Intensive. The course will thus involve a substantial
writing component in which students will write and revise argumentative essays in
the style of the discipline of healthcare ethics/bioethics. In their papers, students
will construct well-reasoned arguments for controversial ethical issues that arise
in health-care and nursing practice, and anticipate and respond to objections and
opposing arguments.
- 3 credits; Fall Semester, Year 2
This course serves as a preparation course to facilitate student transition into
the Role of a Professional Registered Nurse. The course will emphasize clinical judgment,
decision making and priority setting in the clinical environment as well as concepts
related to professional behavior. Emphasis will be placed on preparation for successful
completion of the NCLEX-RNCAT examination. A review of nursing knowledge from selected
content/concept areas will be included with clinical judgment and decision/prioritizing
skills stressed. Additionally, the course will focus on concepts related to professional
development such as professional behaviors, selfcare in stressful environments and
life-long learning.
