Nursing Program Today

The Nursing Program with its rich history continues a tradition of excellence offering students a unique blend of classroom and clinical experience, expert faculty and a flexible curriculum. It provides students with the professional knowledge and skills needed in the ever-changing health care industry and nursing profession. Graduates qualify to take the national examination for licensure as registered nurses. The outstanding performance on this examination by past graduates is testimony to the program’s quality of education and to the high caliber of its students.

Lawrence Memorial/Regis College is responsive to the diverse needs of applicants seeking a nursing education. A flexible program of study accommodates the individual needs of students through a variety of schedule options. Four classes enter the program each year: two in the day division and two in the evening/weekend division. Students may choose to enter in August or January. Most students are enrolled in non-nursing courses for one or two semesters followed by four semesters of nursing courses. Approximately 35 students are admitted to each class in the professional nursing program. Many students have been out of high school for more than one year and have some post-secondary education or a college degree in another field.

Nursing classes are provided at the Medford campus, located on a 16-acre site in Medford, Massachusetts, a suburban community eight miles north of Boston. Facilities for nursing students include classroom and laboratories, offices, conference rooms, an audio-visual center, a multimedia computer learning center, and a health sciences library.

The Medford campus shares its site with Lawrence Memorial Hospital, a 134-bed, non-profit acute care facility, and the Courtyard Nursing Care Center, a 224-bed state-of-the-art nursing center, both affiliates of Hallmark Health. In addition to providing clinical experience for students, the hospital serves as a clinical education site for health professionals and medical students from a number of area colleges and universities.

Enhancing the quality of the clinical learning environment is an instructor-to-student ratio of 1:5-7, which encourages intellectual challenge and supports small group and individualized instruction. Faculty members are appointed on the basis of their scholarship and experience in each nursing specialty.

The students’ learning experience is further enhanced by their early involvement with clients in a variety of health care settings. Clinical experiences are provided at several major Boston teaching hospitals; long-term care facilities; and community, home care, and social service agencies, including Lawrence Memorial Hospital and other Hallmark Health facilities.

In addition to excellent clinical nursing courses, the Lawrence Memorial/Regis College curriculum provides a strong academic foundation of courses in the natural and social sciences and liberal arts. Non-nursing courses are provided on the Weston campus at Regis College, a beautiful 168-acre suburban campus 12 miles west of Boston and less than 25 miles from the Medford campus. Students are able to take advantage of the full variety of academic, athletic and social offerings at the Weston campus.