Nursing
Called to be a healer in a hurting world? Study nursing at Northwestern, and you’ll graduate with the knowledge, skills and confidence to be an excellent nurse. You’ll also be ready to continue Jesus’ healing ministry by advocating for social justice; healthy environments; and individual and community health, wholeness and peace.
Northwestern’s nursing department offers a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree. The program’s distinctive features include:
- A mission of promoting shalom: individual, family and community health, wholeness and peace from a biblical perspective
- A state-of-the-art nursing laboratory with 6 human patient simulators
- More than 800 hours of clinical experience in diverse settings
- Multiple opportunities to learn by serving through healthcare-related mission projects and trips
Accreditation and pass rates
Northwestern's nursing program is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) and approved by the Iowa Board of Nursing. In the last five years, Northwestern graduates' first-time board exam pass rates have been higher than the national average all but one year:
| 2010 | 92.3% | 87.4% (national avg.) |
| 2011 | 95.2% | 87.9% (national avg.) |
| 2012 | 100% | 90.3% (national avg.) |
| 2013 | 81.8% | 83% (national avg.) |
| 2014 | 95.7% | 85.5% (national avg.) |
| Average | 93% | 86.8% |
Online RN to BSN
Our online RN to BSN completion option enables registered nurses to improve their career prospects. The program's adult-student-friendly curriculum is designed to accommodate the schedules of working nurses and can be completed in 2 years or less while taking just one course at a time.
