To whom it may concern,
This is a call to reevaluate and revise Boise State Nursing program and its admissions policies and requirements. As the admission requirements stand now, they do not allow the most qualified, passionate, experienced individuals into the program.
Currently, the only requirement for admission to the RN BSN program is "a grade of C (2.00) in all pre-nursing courses and a cumulative gpa of 3.0 or above in order for their nursing application to be considered by the School of Nursing." (Nursing, Boise State.. "Nursing Application for Bachelor of Science Nursing Program." BSNP, 1 Jan. 2018, hs.boisestate.edu/bsnp/application/.).
This admission requirement may not allow the best and most qualified candidates to be chosen for the program. What it does, however, is force a competitive program to favor those who do not have to work while in school. It favors those with less real world patient care experience. It favors the young, full time, "traditional" college student with financial help from the government or their parents. It pushes those who have many years of healthcare experience as CNAs, Techs, Medical Assistants, etc., who may not have the bandwidth to achieve a higher GPA to the bottom of the list. It pushes non-traditional students with so much life experience, who may be juggling a family at the same time, to the bottom of the list.
Boise State Nursing would be better served by nursing students who are chosen based on more than a GPA.
Boise State Nursing could be better served by considering students who were admitted based on their passion for healthcare, for the drive and compassion they have for their patients. By those who are motivated to succeed, not just in school but in their career as a nurse. By those who were interviewed face to face so the admissions board could see how they may interact with patients and represent the program. By those who were admitted with letters of recommendation from nursing directors, supervisors, and administrators at the hospitals in our valley. By these standards, many of the students currently admitted to the program would be admitted anyway, however, some would not, giving other, more qualified candidates well deserved spots.
I have included signatures from like-minded individuals who believe that admissions to a Nursing School should be more than a GPA. Please consider the points that have been brought to your attention and consider the future of the bright, compassionate, smart, genuine students that you are currently missing out on due to the outdated admissions requirements Boise State Nursing has now.
Best regards-
A concerned community
Updates
January 17, 2018
I have been reading through your stories about the years you spent working as medical assistants and techs only to be turned away because of these rigid GPA requirements. It breaks my heart to see so many compassionate people sidelined by a system that ignores real world experience. I am currently compiling these experiences to present to the department because they need to understand the human cost of their current policy.
January 17, 2018
Seeing this grow makes me think of all the talented coworkers I have seen turned away simply because life demands more of them than a standard exam allows. It is validating to know that so many of you see the same flaw in this system that I do. We are starting to build the pressure needed to finally force a conversation.
5 Comments
A 4.0 doesn't truly indicate what kind of nurse a person will be. I've met some booksmart people who make horrible nurses.
It does seem like a more balanced approach to admittance would enable a depth of candidates to be considered and possibly admitted.
Let me first say that I do enjoy most of my BSU students. However it is highly frustrating, getting students who have never touched a patient in their lives. Not only do I need to teach them the craft of Nursing and critical thinking, but I also have to take time out of their short clinical hours to teach them how to talk to a patient. It is also highly frustrating when I work with amazing CNAs struggling to get into the BSU program whose critical thinking is above and beyond most of the students. Having prior health care experience should be a vital part of the admission requirement. I had 7 years of healthcare experience prior to attending BSU's program and it helped, Way more than a pretty GPA! Many of my classmates who have been successful also worked as CNAs during the program. As a RN I love my nursing student CNAs. Their drive for pt care and learning makes them quite simply amazing. My only problem with them, they graduate and I have to to help train new ones. Im tired though of seeing CNAs who demonstrate critical thinking beyond most BSU nursing students keep getting rejected. Things need to change. As part of the admission process I would love to see 1 year of healthcare experience and a letter of recommendation from a RN. Nursing school should be hard to get into, we as nurses often hold patients lives in our hands. A 4.0 GPA does that necessarily mean that you can critically think when a patient's life is hanging in the balance.
Please consider more than GPA for acceptance. Consider the student.
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To whom it may concern,
This is a call to reevaluate and revise Boise State Nursing program and its admissions policies and requirements. As the admission requirements stand now, they do not allow the most qualified, passionate, experienced individuals into the program.
Currently, the only requirement for admission to the RN BSN program is "a grade of C (2.00) in all pre-nursing courses and a cumulative gpa of 3.0 or above in order for their nursing application to be considered by the School of Nursing." (Nursing, Boise State.. "Nursing Application for Bachelor of Science Nursing Program." BSNP, 1 Jan. 2018, hs.boisestate.edu/bsnp/application/.).
This admission requirement may not allow the best and most qualified candidates to be chosen for the program. What it does, however, is force a competitive program to favor those who do not have to work while in school. It favors those with less real world patient care experience. It favors the young, full time, "traditional" college student with financial help from the government or their parents. It pushes those who have many years of healthcare experience as CNAs, Techs, Medical Assistants, etc., who may not have the bandwidth to achieve a higher GPA to the bottom of the list. It pushes non-traditional students with so much life experience, who may be juggling a family at the same time, to the bottom of the list.
Boise State Nursing would be better served by nursing students who are chosen based on more than a GPA.
Boise State Nursing could be better served by considering students who were admitted based on their passion for healthcare, for the drive and compassion they have for their patients. By those who are motivated to succeed, not just in school but in their career as a nurse. By those who were interviewed face to face so the admissions board could see how they may interact with patients and represent the program. By those who were admitted with letters of recommendation from nursing directors, supervisors, and administrators at the hospitals in our valley. By these standards, many of the students currently admitted to the program would be admitted anyway, however, some would not, giving other, more qualified candidates well deserved spots.
I have included signatures from like-minded individuals who believe that admissions to a Nursing School should be more than a GPA. Please consider the points that have been brought to your attention and consider the future of the bright, compassionate, smart, genuine students that you are currently missing out on due to the outdated admissions requirements Boise State Nursing has now.
Best regards-
A concerned community
Updates
January 17, 2018
I have been reading through your stories about the years you spent working as medical assistants and techs only to be turned away because of these rigid GPA requirements. It breaks my heart to see so many compassionate people sidelined by a system that ignores real world experience. I am currently compiling these experiences to present to the department because they need to understand the human cost of their current policy.
January 17, 2018
Seeing this grow makes me think of all the talented coworkers I have seen turned away simply because life demands more of them than a standard exam allows. It is validating to know that so many of you see the same flaw in this system that I do. We are starting to build the pressure needed to finally force a conversation.
5 Comments
totally agree with this. working full time as a cna while taking pre-reqs is tough and it doesnt mean i wont be a great nurse. my experience counts for something!
A 4.0 doesn't truly indicate what kind of nurse a person will be. I've met some booksmart people who make horrible nurses.
It does seem like a more balanced approach to admittance would enable a depth of candidates to be considered and possibly admitted.
Let me first say that I do enjoy most of my BSU students. However it is highly frustrating, getting students who have never touched a patient in their lives. Not only do I need to teach them the craft of Nursing and critical thinking, but I also have to take time out of their short clinical hours to teach them how to talk to a patient. It is also highly frustrating when I work with amazing CNAs struggling to get into the BSU program whose critical thinking is above and beyond most of the students. Having prior health care experience should be a vital part of the admission requirement. I had 7 years of healthcare experience prior to attending BSU's program and it helped, Way more than a pretty GPA! Many of my classmates who have been successful also worked as CNAs during the program. As a RN I love my nursing student CNAs. Their drive for pt care and learning makes them quite simply amazing. My only problem with them, they graduate and I have to to help train new ones. Im tired though of seeing CNAs who demonstrate critical thinking beyond most BSU nursing students keep getting rejected. Things need to change. As part of the admission process I would love to see 1 year of healthcare experience and a letter of recommendation from a RN. Nursing school should be hard to get into, we as nurses often hold patients lives in our hands. A 4.0 GPA does that necessarily mean that you can critically think when a patient's life is hanging in the balance.
Please consider more than GPA for acceptance. Consider the student.
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totally agree with this. working full time as a cna while taking pre-reqs is tough and it doesnt mean i wont be a great nurse. my experience counts for something!