Regardless of the economic climate at any given time, there will always be a need for qualified nurses within the medical community, and those in the southwest wishing to pursue a nursing career would do well to consider one of the accredited nursing degree programs in New Mexico, several of which are detailed below. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nursing employment, particularly for those with RN level training or higher, is expected to continue increasing as our aging population increases and more emphasis is placed on preventative care. As such, a nursing degree could be a solid investment toward a stable and lucrative future.
New Mexico Highlands University
Department of Nursing
New Mexico Highlands University is a state comprehensive university that emphasizes service to both local and global communities, provided through an educational experience that nurtures critical thinking and analysis, creativity, and research methods. The Department of Nursing is housed within the College of Arts and Sciences at NMHU. The mission of the nursing program here is to take nurse health care providers to the next level through a combination of education, scholarship, and service excellence. The goal is to expand existing nursing and critical thinking skills in preparation for new professional roles, approaches to health care practice issues, and methods of health care delivery.
Bachelor of Science in Nursing
This particular degree program is an RN-to-BSN program and is available to students who have an existing registered nurse license to practice and who have already earned an associate degree or diploma in nursing but wish to continue their education and earn their baccalaureate. While the degree requires a total minimum of 120 credit hours, this total includes the general education and prerequisite courses taken as part of the associate degree. Credit hours earned for classes with a grade of C or better are transferred to NMHU and applied toward the baccalaureate degree. Some of the prerequisite courses are Introduction to Psychology, Anatomy and Physiology, Nutrition, Statistics and Microbiology. The degree program is designed to expand the knowledge base of the student’s core nursing knowledge and experience and prepare him or her for higher positions in patient care, leadership, and community health, or to qualify for graduate coursework in a Master’s program.
Related Resource: 30 Best Affordable RN-BSN Degree Programs
Accreditations
• Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE)
• Higher Learning Commission
Contact
Department of Nursing
New Mexico Highlands University
Engineering Building, Room 101
Box 9000
Las Vegas, NM 87701
505-426-2203
Email: sdwilliams@nmhu.edu
http://www.nmhu.edu/current-students/undergraduate/arts-and-sciences/nursing/
New Mexico State University
School of Nursing
New Mexico State University is a public, comprehensive, land-grant university that emphasizes teaching, research, and public service. Established in 1888, the university currently serves more than 15,000 students annually throughout its various colleges and schools. The School of Nursing is housed within the College of Health and Social Services and offers nursing degrees at several levels from baccalaureate to doctoral and with various options for each. The mission of the nursing school is to improve the quality of life and promote health in New Mexico and beyond. This is done through a combination of education, research, practice and public service.
Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)
This BSN degree program offers three options for completion to accommodate the widest range of students seeking to earn a baccalaureate degree in nursing. The traditional four-year degree is for students with no prior nursing experience or degrees, while the RN to BSN degree is for students who wish to transfer prior coursework taken to obtain the registered nurse licensure and apply those course credits to the BSN. The third option is a second degree pathways option, allowing for students who have previously earned a baccalaureate degree in an unrelated major and now wish to pursue one in nursing. In general, the minimum GPA for transfer coursework is 2.75, to include nursing prerequisite courses. Students who have not previously earned registered nurse licensure will be eligible to test for this license upon completion of the traditional BSN if they so desire.
Accreditations
• Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE)
• Higher Learning Commission
Contact
New Mexico State University
School of Nursing
PO Box 30001, MSC 3185
Las Cruces, NM 88003-8001
575-646-3812
Email: nursing@nmsu.edu
http://schoolofnursing.nmsu.edu/
Northern New Mexico University
College of Nursing and Health Sciences
Northern New Mexico University embraces the unique heritage of its location and is deeply tied to the region and communities that it serves. With mainly rural communities near the main campus, including eight Native American communities, this connection influences the way that NNMU serves its student population and also informs the educational choices of the students that choose to study here. The College of Nursing and Health Services is also proud to serve the diverse communities surrounding the campus, and offers several nursing programs on a career ladder from Certified Nurse Aid (CNA) to its RN to BSN program detailed below.
RN to BSN
Designed for the working registered nurse who already has an Associate degree in Nursing but is seeking to expand his or her skills, this RN to BSN program provides instruction on how to integrate holistic and alternative health options into traditional nursing practices. The curriculum is based on the Theory of Integral Nursing by Dr. Barbara Dossey and is designed to complement and integrate the various principles of human caring, healing, and holistic nursing. The program involves a total of 120 to 122 semester hours, 34 of which can be from lower division courses applied to the Associate degree program, including nursing courses taken as part of the journey to RN. In addition to general education requirements, students are also required to complete 40 semester hours in upper division courses, 32 of which must be nursing courses and eight of which are elective courses in either Integrative Health Studies or Nursing.
Accreditations
• Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE)
• Higher Learning Commission
Contact
Northern New Mexico College
College of Nursing and Health Services
921 N. Paseo de Oñate
Española, NM 87532
505-747-2100
http://nnmc.edu/home/academics/colleges-and-departments/nursing-health/
University of New Mexico
College of Nursing
Established in 1889, the University of New Mexico is the state’s flagship university, serving more than 34,000 students, a significant portion of which are Hispanic in origin, contributing to the UM’s designation as a Hispanic-Serving Institution. The College of Nursing has been providing nursing education programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels since 1955 and prides itself on emphasizing work with rural and underserved populations and the diverse communities within the state and beyond. The vision of the College of Nursing, realized through its various programs, is to develop solutions the some of the most important nursing challenges related to human health and health equity within the communities served.
Bachelor of Science in Nursing
The Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree at the University of New Mexico is a four-year degree that involves a total of 128 credit hours, including those general education and prerequisite courses taken in the Freshman and Sophomore years. The remaining time is split between classroom learning and clinical coursework, covering five academic terms, or approximately 20 months, including required summer terms. The clinical courses involve experience in hands-on learning in hospitals or other health care facilities with supervision by nursing faculty. In addition to subjects such as Nursing Concepts, students will study Nursing Pharmacology, Health and Illness Concepts, Care of Patients with Chronic Conditions, and Assessment and Health Promotion. Students will also participate in a Capstone Practicum in addition to the Clinical Intensives. Students must maintain a grade of C or better in each course to gain credit for the course.
Accreditations
• Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE)
• Higher Learning Commission
Contact
University of New Mexico
College of Nursing
MSC09 5350
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131
800-690-0934
SPichette@salud.unm.edu
http://nursing.unm.edu/
Western New Mexico University
School of Nursing
Western New Mexico University was established in 1893 and currently serves more than 3,500 students annually across five campuses and through online studies that include both undergraduate and Master degrees attainable through fully online coursework. The School of Nursing created its first programs in nursing in 1988, in response to requests from county and community group members and health agencies. Prior to this, nursing had been offered since the 1970s as part of an extension program through other universities in the state. In addition to the RN to BSN program detailed below, the School of Nursing also offers a prelicensure Bachelor of Science degree program with both a normal and an accelerated pace, and graduate certificates for Nursing Clinical Leadership and Leadership in Healthcare Systems.
RN to BSN
This RN to BSN degree program is offered entirely online and is possible to complete inside of two years, given that applicants must already be licensed as a registered nurse and have likely completed the general education requirements and prerequisites needed to obtain that licensure. Emphasis is on contemporary issues in nursing and the increasingly complex roles of nursing, both in an out of hospitals. Students are encouraged to develop better critical thinking skills and are also required to complete 96 hours in community health nursing as a practicum component of this degree program. Given that the coursework is online, this component can be completed in the student’s home community. Courses cover subjects such as Leadership roles, Health Care Policy, and Issues in Professional Nursing.
Accreditations
• Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE)
• Higher Learning Commission
Contact
Western New Mexico University
School of Nursing Building
1000 West College Avenue
Silver City, NM 88062
575-538-6960
Email: nursing@wnmu.edu
http://nursing.wnmu.edu
Qualified and highly trained nursing professionals are always in demand within the various areas of the healthcare industry. Students wishing to enter this noble profession have several options within the state of New Mexico for accredited nursing degree programs to take them to the next level of their nursing careers.
