Jefferson College of Nursing| USA TODAY
The profession of nursing – and the ways aspiring nurses are prepared for their careers – will see profound change over the next few years. By 2030, the profession of nursing will look very different, as will the landscape of health care. At every level, leadership is needed to provide clear, strategic and sustained direction and to ensure health equity is a priority. Technology will also continue to take on ever more essential roles.
At Thomas Jefferson University College of Nursing, the challenges presented by the changing health care landscape inspire unique opportunities to transform nursing education.
With over 130 years of educating nurses, Jefferson College of Nursing is a model for graduating nurses who provide exceptional patient care that drives quality outcomes. Jefferson-educated nurses serve as health care innovators, leading from day one.
A progressive perspective on nursing education
The College’s Dixon campus is an example of a forward-looking approach to health care. Located in Philadelphia’s northern suburbs in Horsham, PA, near the Pennsylvania Turnpike, the facility provides easier access for students from that area who might find it challenging to reach the College’s Center City Campus.
The Dixon Campus accommodates several hundred nursing students and offers small class sizes, free parking and access to public transportation hubs. Importantly, clinical rotations include the growing Jefferson Health system. In 2020, thanks to a generous gift from community volunteer and philanthropist Edith R. Dixon, the campus made its new home in this 42,000-square-foot high-tech complex named for its chief benefactor.
New scholarship opportunities are available
In addition to providing more convenient physical access to nursing education through its suburban Dixon campus, Jefferson College of Nursing offers a wide range of scholarship opportunities for prospective students, including the Raynier Scholarship for up to $5,000 per year and the Diversity in Education & Nursing Excellence Scholarship for up to $15,000 per year.
Three BSN program options to balance life schedules
To accommodate career goals while balancing the complexities of school-life schedules, students have three Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program options, including a traditional BSN targeted toward students pursuing their first baccalaureate degree and an accelerated option for second-degree students. The accelerated option is offered on a one-year or two-year pathway.
Thomas Jefferson University BSN students have opportunities to gain health care experience while immersed in the BSN through externships with the school’s partner health system, Jefferson Health. Upon graduation, Jefferson graduates can avail themselves of an early-hire program with one of the largest health systems in the Philadelphia region, Jefferson Health. The Jefferson Health nurse community is 9,600 strong with full-time and part-time nursing employees.
Experience innovative clinical technologies
At the Jefferson College of Nursing, technology isn’t just part of nursing student education; it is fully integrated. Technology is driving everything – from academics to patient engagement and everything in between.
In 2021, Jefferson was the first College of Nursing in the state of Pennsylvania to become an Apple Distinguished School. Apple Distinguished Schools use technology at the highest levels, preparing learners to excel in sophisticated technological environments. The College incorporated Apple technologies into all classrooms and simulation rooms so students get firsthand experience with the clinical tech of tomorrow.
The Raynier Institute & Foundation Center for Advanced Education, Simulation, & Innovation Center
Jefferson College of Nursing’s Dixon campus features the large-scale, state-of-the-art Raynier Institute & Foundation Center for Advanced Education, Simulation, & Innovation Center, where students engage in complex clinical scenarios that parallel, anticipate and amplify real-life situations at the next level. This center enables expert simulation faculty to create engaging and realistic experiences that accentuate what students learn in the classroom and are exemplars of the curriculum.
Using state-of-the-art technology to revolutionize the learning experience
Virtual reality and 3D printing simulate specific nurse experiences in the field in a safe and secure learning environment. Artificial intelligence is incorporated so nursing education remains dynamic throughout a student’s academic career at the College.
While other learning institutions use virtual reality simulation, the College’s Dixon campus uses the technology as a bridge to competency-based learning. Students can hone their clinical skills by interacting with patients and health care scenarios in a virtual reality environment and later in the simulation center before moving into the real-world clinical environment. Virtual reality also enables nursing students to safely experience growing health care issues, including workplace violence.
In keeping with Jefferson College of Nursing’s commitment to applying the latest technology to transform the educational process, the Dixon campus is equipped with state-of-the-art 3D printer technology that produces a wide range of sophisticated learning tools used to practice invasive skills in the safe environment of a lab. 3D technology creates simulated body parts and other materials that make the learning experience more realistic.
Enhance clinical skills through a capstone experience in Italy
The Jefferson College of Nursing offers students an innovative opportunity to be part of improving education and health care on a global scale through a four-week undergraduate clinical capstone program in Italy.
Students work with the staff of Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli Hospital/Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore. This initiative is a regular offering for undergraduate students, functioning as a bridge between the end of school and the beginning of a career. It allows nursing students to put what they've learned into practice. There is no better way to offer experiential learning than to immerse students in an environment that challenges their thinking and enhances their nursing skills. This year, nurse practitioner students will also have the opportunity to engage in this global experience.
Graduate prepared for what the real world demands
The difference at the Thomas Jefferson University College of Nursing is that students don’t just leave school with a great education. They graduate prepared for what the real world will demand of them. And for making a real difference in the communities that they will serve.
Members of the editorial and news staff of USA TODAY Network were not involved in the creation of this content.
