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Public Relations  >  Marketing and Communications  >  News and Digital Media  >  Quick Facts  >  School of Nursing

• Overview
• Faculty
• Students
• Curriculum
• Nursing as a Career
• Points of Pride

Creighton University School of Nursing has achieved a national reputation for innovative programs that keep pace with the ever-changing field of nursing. Creighton was the first nursing school in Nebraska to offer a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree and preparation for one of the newest nursing roles, the Clinical Nurse Leader.

In 1928, the St. Joseph School of Nursing began its affiliation with Creighton University. St. Joseph nursing students completed part of their curriculum at Creighton and upon earning their diplomas, could attend Creighton to complete baccalaureate degrees (BSN). In 1958, Creighton University accepted students into its four-year collegiate baccalaureate nursing program.

The nursing faculty has developed a comprehensive baccalaureate program that teaches the skills, knowledge and lifelong learning proficiency necessary to practice in a myriad of clinical settings. The curriculum emphasizes care management and outcomes improvement in relation to health promotion, restoration, rehabilitation, self-care, acute care and tertiary care.

A Creighton education helps develop and refine the leadership, critical-thinking and clinical-judgment skills that allow graduates to participate as full partners in health care delivery and the shaping of health policy.

Creighton University offers undergraduate and graduate nursing programs in Omaha and since 1986, at its Hastings, Neb., campus.

• There are 545 undergraduate students; 139 MSN students, and 106 DNP students enrolled for fall 2012.
  
  
• The accelerated nursing program began in 1975 and is one of the oldest second-degree, accelerated nursing programs in the United States. Each year, approximately 120 accelerated nursing students graduate. Many come to Nebraska from the western part of the United States, although interest is increasing among prospective students from the East and the South. Students’ backgrounds are diverse in terms of previous degrees and occupations. Accelerated students consistently demonstrate a high level of success on national licensing exams and are sought-after for employment upon graduation.
  
  
• There are 120 freshmen enrolled in the traditional undergraduate program for fall 2012. Twenty-five percent of the freshmen are from Nebraska; other key states from which students hail include California (12 percent), Minnesota (nine percent), Iowa (eight percent), Hawaii (seven percent) and Kansas (six percent).

• The undergraduate program includes 40 male students and 87 minority students. In the graduate program, there are 12 male students and 17 minority students.

• The School of Nursing offers undergraduate and graduate degrees. The Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) has two curricula tracks: the traditional curriculum designed for the high school graduate; and the accelerated curriculum designed for persons with non-nursing bachelor’s or higher degrees. The graduate program includes a Master of Science in Nursing degree program (MSN) and a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree program (DNP). The DNP degree is the terminal degree in nursing practice.

• Advanced degrees offer the opportunity to prepare for the roles of nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, clinical nurse leader, clinical systems administrator and nurse educator. A new graduate track, Advanced Public Health-Global Health has been added in response to a growing demand for public health nurses.

• The School of Nursing collaborates with the School of Law’s Werner Institute for Negotiation and Dispute Resolution, to incorporate interdisciplinary knowledge and programming on communication, relationship building, and conflict management into the graduate nursing curricula.

• Nursing is an excellent career choice. Well-educated nurses are in demand. The Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook projects that a 26 percent increase in “new nursing positions” will be created through 2020; the increase reflects more than 712,000 new nurse positions.

• Nurses have the opportunity to save and improve lives, teach people how to achieve better health and advocate for patients to ensure they have the best possible health care.

• In addition to nursing careers in hospital settings, there is growing need for nurses in home-health agencies, mental-health settings, long-term-care facilities, managed-care centers, and community health. The demand for nurses with advanced degrees, such as nurse anesthetists, nurse practitioners, educators and scientists, also is growing

• Creighton BSN graduates continue to exceed the national average for first-time pass rates on the national licensing examination. 

• Creighton’s master’s degree program in nursing continues to rank in the top 100 graduate programs in nursing by US News and World Report’s “America’s Best Graduate Schools.” 

• In 2011, the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) reaffirmed accreditation of the BSN and MSN programs for the period of 10 years. In addition, CCNE granted initial accreditation to the DNP program for the term of five years, the maximum number of years for a new program. 

• Creighton was one of the original national pilot sites for the CNL curriculum and is one of only 100 nursing schools in the nation preparing graduates to sit for certification as a Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL). A new nursing role, CNL’s are master’s degree-prepared clinicians who are prepared as generalists with advanced nursing knowledge and skills for clinical leadership in quality, and safety within a specified area of health care. 

• The Leadership Scholars Program was initiated in 2011-2012 for undergraduate students enrolled in the traditional 4-year undergraduate program. Designed by a team of alumni, faculty, staff and students, the Leadership Scholars Program is a multi-year, structured program to prepare nursing graduates with leadership skills that reflect Ignatian values and practice. 

• In the Catholic, Jesuit tradition of service, Creighton’s nursing education continues to focus on global and public health. Students and faculty have volunteered in free health clinics such as the Heart Ministry Center and OneWorld in Omaha. In the past year, nursing students have volunteered in the Dominican Republic with the Institute for Latin American Concern and at health clinics in Africa and India. In addition, many faculty members serve vulnerable populations by providing primary care services in clinics and health centers. Recently, a team of Creighton students received national recognition for their development of the “compassionate care tool kit,” developed to assist hepatitis C patients and their families. 

• For the fourth year, in October 2011, Creighton nursing faculty and students visited China with the Cultural Immersion and Experiential Learning in China Honors Interprofessional Program. The team of nurses, physical therapy, and occupational therapy faculty and students demonstrated interdisciplinary patient care to healthcare professionals in a Shijiazhuang, China hospital.
  
  
• The School of Nursing, through a creative collaboration with 32 private and parochial schools in Omaha, provides annual health assessments for more than 8,000 children. This program allow for children to receive mandatory health assessments and for the School of Nursing to utilize additional well-child and adolescent clinical sites for its students.