Nursing pre-requisites - Essay Example

Nursing Pre-requisites Nursing Pre-requisites Introduction Increasing health care complexities necessitates nursing candidates to be more competitive by gaining deep knowledge in various areas of science. Having great knowledge in humanities and science are essential to promote the concept of culturally competent care and to enhance quality care. Academic literatures also highlight the significance of expertise in science and humanities for achieving greater level of patient safety. This paper will analyze the science and humanities pre-requisites that should be in place for a BSN nursing program.

Pre-requisites for a BSN Nursing Program Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) is a professional nursing program that develops an individual’s nursing career on the foundation of knowledge in humanities, science, and other associated professional disciplines. BSN graduates are molded to become general clinical practitioners. The BSN coursework give particular focus to critical thinking, health and human functioning, care and therapeutics, person/environment fit, health care resources, role development, decision making, and health status evaluation (School of Nursing).

Undoubtedly, greater knowledge in various areas of science is particularly important to meet the goals of the BSN coursework comprehensively. The Western Governors University gives a detailed description regarding the humanities and science pre-requisites for a BSN nursing program. It particularly states that one course in mathematics and one course in English are the major foundation requirements needed for this nursing program. These requirements can also be met by an associate’s or bachelor’s degree.

The university also addresses language and communication pre-requisites for the BSN program including a two-course sequence of English composition and one course in speech. As the components of humanities pre-requisites, the university suggests two courses in any of the subjects such as literatures, music, philosophy, ethics, religious studies, or visual or performing arts (Western Governors University). Since a BSN nursing graduate needs to work as a general clinical practitioner, he/she needs to address the needs and interests of the community in which he/she operates.

In order to clearly understand the requirements, particularly psychological requirements of the community, the nursing graduate has to be an expert in humanities. In the words of Moyle, Barnard, and Turner (1995), a great knowledge in humanities would assist the nursing candidate to comprehend and to appreciate different life experiences effectively. The authors add that it may also aid BSN students to gain an insight into the “many physical and psychological components of people’s reactions to health, illness, and hospitalization” (Moyle et al, 1995).

It is advisable for BSN nursing candidates to acquire in-depth knowledge in humanities subjects like ethics, sociology, or philosophy. Today, cultural diversity is becoming a great challenge even in local communities due to increased migration flows and therefore it is very difficult for general clinical practitioners to work in a community setting. It is obvious that needs and requirements of people may differ from culture to culture. In this context, an in-depth knowledge in subject like philosophy and ethics would assist nursing graduates to address the diversified needs of the community in which they work.

As authors like Dellasega, Milone-Nuzzo, and Curci et al (2007) point out, nurse-patient relationship is central to the healing process and hence there is a well established relationship between humanities and health care. Similarly, the Western Governors University also provides a clear overview of the science pre-requisites needed for a BSN nursing program. Referring to the standards proposed by the university, the science pre-requisites include anatomy and physiology courses with lab and microbiology course with lab.

These nursing sciences have to be completed within the last five years so as to receive the transfer credit (Western Governors University). It is clear that spread of epidemic and infectious diseases is on the rise today and this issue raises potential challenges to the health care. An ageing population and the outbreak of new diseases have deteriorated the health status of the country. At this juncture, BSN graduates cannot deliver health care services effectively to the target population unless they are adequately informed of various areas of science.

Furthermore, a great knowledge in science is also inevitable to take advantages of the IT developments in the healthcare sector. Conclusion From the above discussion, it is clear that a number of science and humanities pre-requisites are vital for the successful completion of a BSN nursing program. An in-depth knowledge in humanities subjects like philosophy and sociology is crucial to create better patient-nurse relationship and to improve the quality of care. In addition, a greater level of expertise in nursing science is also required to cope with the fast changing health care situations and to promote patient safety.

References Dellasega, C., Milone-Nuzzo, P., Curci, K. M. et al. (2007). The humanities interface of nursing and medicine. Journal of Professional Nursing, 23, (3): 174–179. Moyle, W., Barnard, A & Turner, C. (1995). The humanities and nursing: using popular literature as a means of understanding human experience. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 21(5):960-4. School of Nursing. Retrieved from http://nursing.uw.edu/academic-services/degree-programs/bsn/bachelor-of-science-in-nursing-bsn.html Western Governors University.

Pre-Nursing Prerequisites for the B.S. Nursing (Prelicensure). Retrieved from http://www.wgu.edu/online_health_professions_degrees/bachelor_science_nursing_licensure_prereqs