Nursing BSN for Second Degree Candidates Specifics

Start by Applying to RIC

Second degree candidates must first apply to the college through the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, using the Common Application.

Once all application materials are received and processed, a Plan of Study will be formulated with the B.S.N. program director. 

(Please Note: Acceptance as a second-degree student does not guarantee admission to the School of Nursing. The student should contact their nursing advisor regarding eligibility to make formal application to the School of Nursing. Second degree candidates may petition to take the five beginning-level courses (NURS 220, NURS 222, NURS 223, NURS 224 and NURS 225) in one semester on a space-available basis if all cognate courses are completed.)

Nursing Program Application Process

Fall Application

Students who anticipate enrolling in beginning nursing courses – NURS 220 and NURS 222 – for the Fall Semester need to submit a Nursing Program Application Form by the deadline that is on the application. 

Spring Application

Students who anticipate enrolling in beginning nursing courses – NURS 220 and NURS 222 – for the Spring Semester need to submit a Nursing Program Application Form by the deadline that is on the application.

Application Instructions

1. Students must submit a Nursing Program Application Form signed by their faculty advisor to the School of Nursing by the deadline that is on the application.
2. Second degree candidates must attach a copy of their signed Plan of Study.
3. Students must email their completed application with attached Plan of Study to their faculty advisor prior to the deadline that is on the application. The faculty advisor will review the application materials and make an appointment to discuss the application with the student. The advisor will then submit the application to the School of Nursing.
4. To take NURS 220, NURS 222, NURS 223, NURS 224, and NURS 225 concurrently, second degree students must submit a petition.
5. Students who choose to withdraw their application to the nursing program must submit the completed Withdrawal of Application. The fillable form should be submitted electronically to NursingAdmissions@ric.edu.

Handbook for Undergraduate Students in Nursing

Every year students must provide health services with evidence of a negative PPD test or compliance with treatment. Before beginning some clinical nursing courses, students may be expected to meet additional health requirements. All nursing students must have the following information on file in College Health Services:

• An admission physical exam.
• One dose of tetanus-diphtheria-pertussis (Tdap).
• Two doses of live measles vaccine (preferably MMR) or a blood titer confirming immunity.
• Two doses of mumps vaccine (preferably MMR) or a blood titer confirming immunity.
• One dose of rubella vaccine or a blood titer confirming immunity.
• Three doses of hepatitis B vaccine. A hepatitis B surface antibody titer to confirm sero-conversion is recommended on-to-two months after the final dose.
• Provider documented proof, including date or age, of chicken pox disease or a varicella titer confirming immunity or two doses of varicella vaccine.
• An initial 2-step PPD** tuberculin skin test and yearly PPD updates (or chest x-ray if PPD positive and yearly TB assessment, which is completed at College Health Services).
• Flu vaccine every Fall Semester.
• Completed COVID vaccination.

*Health-care workers born on or before Dec. 31, 1956, are only required to have documentation of one dose each of measles, mumps and rubella or titers confirming immunity.

**2-Step PPD – two separate PPDs planted at least a week apart but not more than a year apart prior to entering into nursing clinical.

Download a printable copy of this checklist.

Students will not be admitted to the first class meeting of a nursing practicum course without having complied with the health requirements. Proof of immunization may be obtained from your physician, high school, previous college or university, military record and/or from blood titers.

Nursing majors should follow the guidelines on the college immunization form or call College Health Services at 401-456-8055 for further information. Once all required information is complete, students may pick up their laminated identification cards at College Health Services.​

Here we provide information on course requirements, course descriptions, a plan of study and an Academic Rhode Map for each program, a semester-by-semester plan to help you toward graduation in four years.

Course Requirements

Course Descriptions

Advisement Form - Second Degree Plan of Study

Upon completion of this program, students will be able to:

• Engage in continuous education in the arts and sciences to inform decision making as a professional nurse and member of a global society.
• Apply concepts of leadership, quality and safety to improve health-care outcomes in a cost-effective, safe and caring organizational environment.
• Demonstrate critical thinking in evaluating and integrating evidence and interprofessional perspectives to improve health-care outcomes.
• Use patient care technologies, information systems and communication systems to facilitate safe, efficient and effective nursing practice.
• Promote professional nursing practice that addresses policy development, legislative process, health-care financing and reimbursement and political activism within an ethical framework.
• Perform in the autonomous and collaborative role of the professional nurse to enhance the interprofessional team. 
• Participate in activities that promote health, prevent illness and injury and provide population-focused interventions that provide effective, efficient and equitable health care.
• Demonstrate professional behaviors that encompass accountability, responsibility, adherence to standards of moral, ethical and legal conduct and the pursuit of lifelong learning.
• Possess the knowledge, skills and attitudes to provide nursing care in a variety of settings to a diverse group of patients of all ages, cultures, genders and religious backgrounds.

In what ways is writing important to your profession?

Writing is essential to communicating as a nurse. Professional nurses write as care givers, advocates, teachers and researchers. Nurses write to provide high-quality, safe care to patients and communities; to propose improvements to health-care delivery; and to promote changes in health-care policy.

Which courses are designated as satisfying the Writing in the Discipline (WID) requirement by your department? Why these courses?

NURS 225: Writing and Research in Nursing is the foundational WID course for the nursing major. In this course, students are introduced to the conventions of writing in nursing, APA formatting and the role of evidence-based nursing practice. All nursing courses that follow NURS 225 continue to develop students’ writing skills over time.

What forms or genres of writing will students learn and practice in your department’s WID courses? Why these genres?

The forms of writing taught in the nursing program are clinical writing (or workplace writing), academic writing and reflective writing. Through various types of clinical writing, including care plans, charting and discharge summaries, nurses describe and document patient care. Clinical writing may also include promotional materials and policies developed to serve groups and communities. Professional nurses use academic writing to disseminate new knowledge in the discipline and promote evidence-based practice. Reflective writing, such as journaling and informal responses, serve as a way to learn (“writing to learn”) and as a means to self-understanding and professional growth.

What kinds of teaching practices will students encounter in your department’s WID courses?

Some of the teaching practices students will encounter will be journaling, low-stakes and high-stakes writing assignments, peer reviews, scaffolded assignments and opportunities for revisions and incorporating feedback into later drafts.

When they’ve satisfied your department’s WID requirement, what should students know and be able to do with writing?

Upon completion of the Bachelor of Science in nursing, graduates will be able to: 

• Effectively communicate in writing in the various professional nursing roles.
• Accurately and precisely document professional practice in clinical settings.
• Prepare thoughtful and effective research papers in the discipline of nursing.
• Prepare oral and written presentations individually and collaboratively to achieve a specific purpose.
• Engage in reflective writing for personal professional development​​​​​​.