St. Luke's School of Nursing
Please Note: Application deadlines for classes starting in fall 2009 are November 1, 2008 and February 1, 2009.
Announcement: The School of Nursing is revising its program. With approval from the State Board of Nursing and NLNAC, the entering class in Fall 2009 will have a shortened nursing program.
Opportunities to enter the nursing program are more frequent than one time per year:
- Begin September 2009 – Graduate April 2011
- Begin May 2010 – Graduate December 2011
- Begin January 2011 – Graduate August 2012
The revised curriculum requires that students complete the general education courses to be admitted to the Diploma Nursing Program. The Admissions Office will help you plan your prerequisite program. See an updated list of acceptable courses at local colleges.
St. Luke’s School of Nursing has a long and rich history dating from 1884. St. Luke’s was the fourth hospital in the country to operate a school for nurses. Today St. Luke’s School of Nursing remains the nation’s oldest hospital-based, diploma school in continuous operation.
The diploma program leads to licensure as a professional Registered Nurse (RN). Graduates can expect full time employment at an average salary of $57,000.
St. Luke’s graduates are in high demand with most having secured graduate nursing positions before finishing the nursing program. Within two to three months post-graduation, 95-100% of the graduates are employed in nursing. Many are employed by the St. Luke’s Hospital and Health Network.
There are 900 hours of clinical experiences in the diploma program. St. Luke’s Hospital & Health Network is the primary site for clinical practice where the diploma program has priority placement. Additional experience is provided at other local acute care, chronic care and community agencies. The use of a car or other reliable means of transportation is necessary.
The educational program extends over a period of 20 months. The curriculum is divided into five semesters. All semesters are 14 weeks long for a total of 70 weeks in the diploma program. Students obtain theoretical instruction and clinical experiences in six areas: gerontology, maternity, care of the child, medical, surgical, and psychiatric nursing. Prerequisite general education courses in math, physical, biological and social sciences must be completed with C‘s or better, a C- is not acceptable.
To help students succeed, the St. Luke’s School of Nursing provides many support services, such as 1:1 RN to student preceptorship in the last course, coaching, tutoring, advisement, ATI Comprehensive Assessment-Driven Review program, and NCLEX-EXCEL course to review for the RN licensure exam.
Contact the Admissions Office today at 610-954-3443 to consult with an admissions representative to find out which college courses will easily transfer, and to discuss your best path to becoming a Registered Nurse.