Did you know the transition from a BS in biology to nursing can be as few as 16 months? It’s true. The ABSN program at Loyola University Chicago can put your existing natural sciences degree toward a future in one of today’s most in-demand professions. In other words, we give you credit for what you’ve already accomplished so that you can jump right into professional nursing study upon meeting all of our admission requirements.
You’ll also find that we have one of the most accessible accelerated nursing programs in the Chicago area, with two start dates a year at our locations in Maywood and Downers Grove, Illinois.
While our 16-month ABSN program welcomes bachelor’s degree holders from all different fields of study, many of our ABSN students come from a biology background, which makes sense because so much of the nursing profession stems from this natural science.
Start Strong
Before starting your accelerated nursing education, you must first meet the prerequisite requirements, which involve a total of 10 science and non-science courses. As a biology major, you probably have the best advantage over other fields of study in terms of the number of prerequisites you’ve already completed.
Given your solid background in the sciences, there’s a good chance you’ve already satisfied most, if not all, of the ABSN prerequisites, which include chemistry for health professionals, human anatomy and physiology, and microbiology. You’ll want to talk to someone in admissions to make sure your past college credits are transferable.
Should you need to complete a few of the prerequisites, your assigned enrollment advisor will help you map out the quickest route for getting them done by your preferred January or August start date in the program. You have the option to complete the prerequisites at a number of accredited higher learning institutions. Be sure to ask your enrollment advisor for a list of approved schools. It’s also worth mentioning you can apply to our ABSN program with some prerequisite courses in progress.
Finish Stronger
Furthermore, as someone who has a BS in biology, you’ll probably have an easier time with your professional nursing coursework than someone from a liberal arts background, especially when it comes to skills application. After all, nurses need to understand the foundations of life, which is exactly what biology teaches.
During your clinical rotations in diverse areas of nursing practice, you’ll come to fully understand how biology plays a significant role in patient care. In fact, nurses use biology on a daily basis to make informed decisions about patient management.
More specifically, nurses use biology to:
- Provide treatment options based on body composition and family history.
- Ensure patients are prescribed the right medication for their medical status.
- Determine dosage calculations for administering medication to a patient.
- Restore balance in the body so a patient can regain proper health.
By the end of your 16 months in the ABSN program, you’ll be prepared to sit for the NCLEX-RN® exam and enter the workforce a confident, practice-ready nurse. In fact, our 2016 ABSN program graduates had a first-time NCLEX pass rate of 93.98%. Furthermore, as a Loyola nursing school graduate, you’ll likely have a wide variety of career opportunities from which to choose.
Career Options
These days, if you want to enter the nursing profession, it’s best to start off with a BSN degree. As patient needs continue become more complex, an increasing number of health-care employers prefer to hire nurses with a baccalaureate over an associate-level education.
You’ll find a BSN degree from Loyola University Chicago prepares you to stand out with health-care employers. More specifically, our accelerated nursing program teaches you how to:
- Deliver safe, quality care across the patient life span.
- Apply clinical reasoning in different patient care scenarios.
- Adapt nursing knowledge to different areas of practice.
- Follow ethical standards for professional nursing practice.
- Collaborate with others in interdisciplinary patient care.
With a bachelor’s degree in nursing, you’ll be able to practice the profession in settings that range from hospitals to schools to nursing homes. You may even decide to specialize in a specific area of patient care by becoming a:
- Surgical nurse, providing assistance during surgeries and other medical procedures.
- Intensive care nurse, providing round-the-clock care to patients with dire conditions.
- Pediatric nurse, providing medical care to infants and children up to age 18.
- Obstetric and gynecological nurse, providing care involving the female reproductive system.
- Hospice nurse, providing end-of-life care to patients with terminal illness.
- Travel nurse, filling in where there are nursing shortages.
- Office nurse, caring for patients in a private practice setting.
- Flight nurse, caring for patients before, during, and after air transport.
- Forensic nurse, collecting forensic evidence from crime victims.
Not only can you practice nursing in different settings, given the nation’s mounting nursing shortage, you can also go almost anywhere in the United States and find job openings for registered nurses. If your plan is to practice the profession within what the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics refers to as the “Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights division,” you’ll be working in a metropolitan area that, as of May 2016, has one of the highest employment levels for registered nurses in the country.
Today’s the Day—Put Your BS in Biology Toward a Future in Nursing
If putting your BS in biology toward a career in nursing sounds like a good idea, you can set your future in motion as soon as today. It just takes one call to our admissions team to see if our ABSN program is a good fit for you. While you’re speaking with an enrollment advisor, be sure to ask about the two course delivery options we have available for your accelerated nursing education—you can either complete your core nursing courses online or face-to-face in a traditional classroom setting.
