Penn is offering a new way for college grads to become a nurse

College graduates could soon learn nursing at the University of Pennsylvania without getting a second bachelor’s degree. The new master’s in professional nursing will train students who already have a bachelor’s degree in other fields and prepare them for the registered nurse licensing exam, or NCLEX.

Traditionally, nurses go to graduate school to expand their skillset, such as by becoming a nurse practitioner or midwife. These programs do not serve people seeking to become nurses after they had already earned college degrees in other areas.

At most schools, those who didn’t major in nursing in college but want to work as a nurse have to complete another bachelor’s or an associate’s degree through an accelerated program.

Penn is joining a growing number of universities that give graduates without a nursing background another option: a graduate degree as an entry point into the profession.

By taking graduate-level course work, students will also learn about public health and health equity, said Julie Sochalski, associate dean for academic programs at the Penn School of Nursing.

“When they exit, they’re not only able to take care of patients, but they’re be able to see how to better meet their needs,” Sochalski said.

The application period will open this August for the first cohort of 90 to 100 students, who begin full-time coursework in the fall of 2024. The program takes 15 months to complete.

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The new master’s at Penn is replacing an existing accelerated bachelor’s of science in nursing.

Penn’s entry-level master’s program is not the first in the region. Gwynedd Mercy offers a 24-month program. These types of graduate-level, entry programs are part of a trend in nursing education to replace accelerated bachelor’s degrees. In 2021, there were 318 accelerated bachelor’s and 74 entry-level master’s programs in the U.S., according the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.

The new graduate curriculum came in response to what educators at Penn heard from accelerated BSN students, Sochalski said. As older, experienced learners, they were ready to take on graduate-level work that looked at the health-care system more broadly. At a time of nurse shortages at bedside jobs, she hopes the program will serve as a pipeline for well-trained nurses.