|
Are you caring and compassionate towards others? Do you have good
communication skills and the ability to make sound judgments? Do you have
the desire to help others? If so, nursing may be the career for you. Each
minute of each day, nursing provides a great sense of meaning and
satisfaction.
With the nationwide and critical shortage of registered nurses, now is the
perfect time to consider this vital and respected career. The projected
shortage of nurses in Pennsylvania is expected to grow to more than 40,000
in 2020, according to the Pennsylvania Health Department.
UPMC Mercy Hospital School of Nursing, a 21 month hospital-based diploma school
of nursing, was founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1893 and has graduated
over 5,600 nurses. With a long-standing reputation in the tri-state area
for the high performance of its graduates, UPMC Mercy School of Nursing guides
nursing students toward professional behaviors and nursing decisions based
upon the values of caring, competency, critical thinking, collaboration,
responsibility, accountability, integrity, and commitment to holistic
care. MHSN is accredited by:
The National League for Nursing Accrediting
Commission
61 Broadway, 33rd New York, NY 10006
Telephone: 212-363-5555, Extension 153
Dear Applicant:
Why Chose UPMC Mercy Hospital School of Nursing?
Selection of a school of nursing should be a highly individualized process. You
have probably found that making a decision is not easy. When selecting the
school for which you apply, examine carefully the information pertaining to the
following areas:
Does the program offer enough nursing theory and clinical time to prepare you
for the very challenging role of the RN?
Are the student-instructor ratios conducive for learning nursing care in today’s
challenging health care environments?
Does the faculty have expertise in nursing as well as in nursing education?
Is the learning environment one which supports academic success?
Are the clinical affiliations supportive to development of clinical confidence?
What is the success rate of the graduates on the National Exam to become an RN?
How do the graduates rate the program?
And, of course, is the cost and time investment appropriate to your individual
needs?
The strengths of UPMC Mercy Hospital School of Nursing: Once you explore the
options available for nursing education, you will learn that UPMC Mercy Hospital
School of Nursing (MHSN) offers a
program which has wonderful performance and strength in all these areas:
Concentrated learning: You will be immediately introduced to the practice of
nursing. The amount of time you spend in direct patient care progresses from
eight hours per week in Term I to 16 hours per week by the end of the first year
of studies. UPMC Mercy’s education is practice-focused with over 1,200 hours devoted
to clinical experience and clinical application conferences. Our nine nursing
courses flow logically from the simple to the complex. UPMC Mercy’s unique Nursing
204 course, Application of Holistic Nursing Practice, assists our students to
learn organizational skills and accountable behaviors before entering
specialized clinical areas. Strong integration of pharmacology, nursing math,
and competencies placed strategically throughout the program help our students
gain knowledge in a defined and organized manner.
Ratios: In the introductory nursing courses (Nursing 101 and 102), and the
Nursing 204 course, clinical groups consist of 5-6 students per instructor. All
other clinical groups average between 7-8 students per clinical instructor.
Because of the small clinical groups, our students have challenging hands-on
experiences, and close guidance and reinforcement. These small ratios allow
frequent opportunities for dialogue between student and teacher and thereby help
our students to develop the critical thinking abilities necessary for competent
and confident performance.
Supportive Learning Environment: UPMC Mercy Hospital offers a diversified number
of specialty care centers which assist the student to define the many career
options within nursing. Since clinical experiences are predominately on the
UPMC Mercy Hospital campus, the student saves time and energy and can comfortably
focus on learning patient care in a familiar and supportive environment. MHSN
has first choice in scheduling clinical rotations throughout the hospital and
thereby can effectively correlate theory and clinical practice.
The Faculty: MHSN’s faculty are full time and very accessible to their
students. Because our faculty teach in their area of expertise within UPMC Mercy
Hospital, they develop a close working relationship with UPMC Mercy Hospital nursing
staff and other health disciplines. This relationship gives our students access
to educational opportunities which are in the very center of nursing care.
Pass Rates on the RN Exam: Graduate performance on the National Licensing
Exam for Registered Nurses (NCLEX) is one indicator of the success of our
graduates. The first time pass rate on the NCLEX Exam has averaged 91.4% for the
graduating classes from 1994 through 2005. This first time pass rate is above
the average first time national and state pass rates. This rate, combined with
an excellent retention rate of our students, clearly demonstrates our commitment
to the success of our students.
Graduate Evaluations/Student Satisfaction: The end of program evaluations
completed by students have demonstrated a high level of satisfaction. Using a
rating scale of 1.0 being the lowest and 4.0 the highest, our students rate all
areas of our program. From 1999 through 2006 the overall rating has averaged
3.45. We believe that our responsiveness to the requests and needs of our
students helps to maintain this high level of student satisfaction.
Cost and Time Investment: The total length of our program is 21 months.
College pre-requisite courses are not needed prior to the start date. Tuition
and fees are modest and considerably below the cost of college or university
programs. All our non-nursing courses are taught by Carlow University faculty at
our tuition rates with college credit given for these courses. Following
graduation many of our graduates pursue a degree in nursing while receiving
tuition reimbursement from their employer for RN-BSN college courses.
We invite you to explore our catalog and bulletins. Attending our open house
will give you an opportunity to speak with our faculty and students, and to tour
our hospital and school. We are confident that the essential qualities needed
for your nursing education can be found in our program of studies
Sincerely,
Joanne Sperry, RN, MN
Director
(The content of this catalog may be subject to change without notice)
 Print
This Page |
