1104 - Strong Partnerships Create Meaningful Pathways from ADN to BSN

Seamless progression of associate degree nurses (ADNs) to the baccalaureate (BSN) requires partnership between students, ADN and BSN programs, and most importantly practice. From curriculum design to open admissions, to mutually beneficial student projects, learn how one program partnered to create a seamless, inclusive, quality, and affordable pathway to the BSN.

In response to data revealing inadequate academic progression of Connecticut Community College Nursing Program (CT-CCNP) graduates, the RN/ADN to BSN program at Charter Oak State College, the state’s only public online college, was implemented in 2019. Since that time academic progression of CT-CCNP graduates is increasing and the Charter Oak RN/ADN to BSN program gleans the highest enrollment of recent graduates among public institutions and the second highest for all options. Through the eyes of students, strategies like open admissions and a tuition match scholarship may be associated with this success, once in the program strong partnerships between employers and the program/college align students’ academic work with their work world supporting retention. Acknowledging the need for strong academic/practice partnerships to support new ADNs as they balance transition to practice and academic progression to the BSN is vital, particularly during a global pandemic.

The curricular framework of the Charter Oak RN/ADN to BSN program aligns with that of the CT-CCNP and is based upon the Massachusetts Nurse of the Future Core Competencies (MA DHE, 2010, 2016) endorsed by Connecticut’s academic and practice leaders in 2013, and the AACN Essentials for Entry-level Professional Nursing Education (AACN, 2021). The curriculum matches the emphases of practice settings upon quality and safety improvement, interprofessional practice, and transformational leadership, to name a few. Engagement with practice leaders has refined the framework for meaningful quality-safety capstone experiences using principles of quality improvement and transformational leadership. The capstone experience represents the culminating learning experience of the program and makes tangible the strong collaboration between practice and academe, essential to prepare the nurse of the future. Notwithstanding the global pandemic the program continues to grow.