ON CAMPUS AT VANGUARD:Bachelor of science in nursing offered

Vanguard University in Costa Mesa has announced it is now offering a Bachelor of Science in nursing through its School for Professional Studies.

As part of its effort to combine community service and academic excellence, the expansion of its curriculum also marks the beginning of a partnership between VU and Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian. In a sign of strong public support, VU, in partnership with Hoag, received a $500,000 grant from UniHealth Foundation to develop the nursing degree program. The grant will provide a significant source of funding during the program’s first three years.

UniHealth Foundation is an independent, private healthcare foundation committed to philanthropy by supporting and enacting positive changes in healthcare. Primarily a supporter of nonprofit and public hospitals in Los Angeles and northern Orange Counties, UniHealth’s mission is to fund and facilitate activities that enhance the health and well-being of the communities they serve.

“The support from UniHealth Foundation for our partnership with Vanguard University is a substantial step toward expanding advanced-education opportunities for registered nurses working at Hoag Hospital and in the local Orange County area,” said Rick Martin, Hoag’s senior vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer.

The curriculum was developed in close collaboration with local hospitals and community colleges, where most nurses earn their RN status. Hoag Hospital, widely considered the top hospital in Orange County by consumers and researchers, helped develop and launch the curriculum that will likely educate future employees.

Fully accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, Hoag treated nearly 26,000 inpatients and more than 300,000 outpatients last year.

The not-for-profit hospital, located in Newport Beach, was the recipient of the 2006 Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence by HealthGrades, the nation’s leading provider of independent hospital ratings. In 2005, the American Nurses Credentialing Center designated Hoag a Magnet hospital for excellence in nursing services.

VU’s nursing program enrolls its first class of 30 students this fall. Intended for nurses who already have their RN license and wish to earn their bachelor’s degree, the degree makes them eligible for management positions in hospitals and nursing positions in the private sector.

“There isn’t another program like this,” said Paul Cox, dean of the School for Professional Studies. “We started from square one, brought in hospital management and said, ‘Help us write our curriculum. Tell us what you want your nurses to know.’”

Both Cox and Martin agree the partnership is part of what makes the program distinctive and cutting edge.

“This program is unique in that I have been on the advisory board at Vanguard University for the past three years,” Martin said. “Participating at that level means we at Hoag have had a great opportunity to develop this program from the ground up. It’s the first time, to my knowledge, that those of us on the industry or hospital side have had the chance to tailor this curriculum from day one.”

Sally Morgan, founding director and associate chair of the nursing program, was also part of the advisory board that helped design the curriculum for incoming students.

“After being at Golden West College for nearly 18 years, I became the director of nursing at Vanguard because I fell in love with this program,”Morgan said.

She said the program’s strength lies in the coursework. Ranging from ethics and professional practices to emerging information technology, the program focuses on providing nurses with an in-depth background of knowledge encompassing the areas of teaching, research and management.

Each student will be able to take the skills they learn through the program back to the nursing field in which they already work, Morgan said.

VU’s program offers a convenient class schedule: one evening a week, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., for two years. With this simplified and predictable schedule, nurses won’t have to modify work and family schedules each semester to accommodate new class times.

“One of the best parts of this program is the consistency it offers working nurses,” Cox said. “When a nurse begins the program on perhaps a Wednesday night, she knows she will meet in the same room, with the same group of people on the same night until the completion of the program. It’s that simple. There’s no catalog to flip through, no closed courses to fight or multiple campus buildings to try and find. It helps these nurses devote all their energy to their education.

Morgan said the students will also benefit from professors who are experts in their field and can open students’ eyes with real-life situational examples.

“One of our professors, who will be teaching the sociocultural diversity course, is involved in global activities combating the AIDS epidemic,” Morgan said. “Each faculty member will be teaching about subjects they have real-life experience in.”

In fall 2008, the school will begin offering a Master of Science in nursing for nurses who wish to continue their professional development after earning their bachelor’s degree.

Morgan said she expects that a large number of graduates from this program will elect to continue their schooling and enroll in Vanguard’s impending master’s program.

“I tell hospital management to hold on to their hats, because the people who graduate from this program will be critical thinkers and have the ability to make positive changes in healthcare,” Morgan said.

For more information about Vanguard University’s nursing major or the School of Professional Studies, visit www.vanguard.edu/sps.