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Massachusetts Board of Registration in Nursing
National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission
National League for Nursing
Massachusetts/Rhode Island League for Nursing
Lawrence Memorial/Regis College reserves the right to change its curriculum, policies, tuition, fees, or other matters subsequent to the publication of this catalog. Complaints about this program may be made to the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission, 61 Broadway, New York, NY, 10006, telephone: 1-800-669-1656, ext. 153, or the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Nursing, 239 Causeway Street, Boston, MA, 02114, telephone: 617-727-9961.
For over 75 years the Lawrence Memorial Hospital (LMH) School of Nursing provided hospital-based diploma nursing education. More than 1,800 LMH graduates have joined the profession as registered nurses. These well-educated individuals typify the ideals of LMH graduates - caring, compassionate, committed and competent. These nurses, working in varied settings nationwide, continue to contribute their knowledge and skills to patients, colleagues and their profession.
In 1998 the School of Nursing collaborated with Regis College to provide an associate degree nursing program. Regis College was founded in 1927 and is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. The professional associate of science nursing degree program is approved by the Board of Registration in Nursing of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and accredited by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission.
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 general education 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. General education 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.
The 72 college credits earned within the associate degree curriculum facilitate admission at an advanced level for graduates who wish to pursue a baccalaureate, master’s of science, or doctorate degree in nursing. Lawrence Memorial/Regis College offers dual admission for qualified candidates to the BSN/MSN program at the time of acceptance into the associate degree program. Completion of the Regis College MSN program takes three years on a full-time basis. It may also be completed on a part-time basis. Students in this program may exit with a BSN after a year and a half if they choose not to pursue the MSN program.
This dual admission arrangement offers the graduate several options. Following licensure, the graduate may choose to seek employment or may continue his/her education to meet the requirements for a BSN or MSN degree at Regis College. The graduate may also pursue further education while working as a registered nurse or may postpone formal education for an additional degree until a later date. Graduates may also enroll in BSN/MSN programs at other degree-granting institutions.
Regis College also offers a doctoral program in nursing for RNs with a master’s degree in nursing.
Nursing is an integral component of Regis College. Founded upon the ideals expressed in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and dedicated to the exploration of religious traditions, Regis College is committed to excellence in scholarship and service. In concurrence with the mission of the college, the nursing faculty accept the responsibility of providing an environment in which the learner can gain a breadth of knowledge in the humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences as well as an in-depth understanding of one sector of learning. The faculty believe that by fostering professional growth, they encourage the student to become a positive influence on the nursing profession and society.
Nursing is committed to the education of nurses from the undergraduate through the graduate level. The faculty believe that multiple levels of nursing practice exist. The nursing education program at Regis College provides the structure for multiple entry and exit points along the continuum of the nursing profession beginning with the associate degree and continuing through the master’s degree. The program builds a solid foundation for future endeavors in professional development and educational mobility.
The nursing faculty believe the central concepts of the discipline of nursing are person, environment, health and nursing. These four concepts are viewed generically. The concept of person may refer to individuals, families, groups, communities, organizations or society as a whole. The person is a unique biopsychosocial, cultural, spiritual being who continuously interacts with the environment throughout the lifespan. Every person has inherent dignity, worth and individuality, and a right to comprehensive, compassionate health care. Environment refers to all the conditions, circumstances and influences surrounding and affecting the development of the person. It refers to all possible internal and external stimuli that may influence behavior and adaptation. It may be considered past, present and future, but is always seen in the context of the present. Health is a dynamic state of being and becoming integrated and whole in which the individual adapts to changes in the environment. Nursing, as an art and science, is a developing system of knowledge about persons, health and their environment. Further, nursing is unique in the way it synthesizes the liberal arts and the physical, biological and social sciences through the use of nursing process in the design and delivery of therapeutic nursing interventions for individuals, families, groups, the community and society.
The concepts of adaptation, nursing process and professional role explain the relationships and interactions between and among person, environment, health and nursing. Adaptation is a dynamic process by which the person responds to stimuli in the environment while maintaining personal integrity. The adaptive potential of the person involves flexible adaptation, stability, growth and change. Nursing promotes adaptation through the systematic, deliberate, intellectual application of the nursing process. Professional role encompasses caring, teaching, advocacy, leadership, management and research. Therapeutic nursing intervention, critical thinking and communication are instruments used to promote adaptation, implement nursing process, and develop professional role. They also provide a framework for program outcome assessment.
Nursing education provides opportunity for the student to learn the art of caring based on a scientific body of knowledge that gives direction to nursing practice. Through the curriculum, the student learns to value a holistic approach to the individual, recognizing the person’s capacity to participate in decision making and to make informed choices. Through a sequence of planned theoretical and clinical experiences, including student self-evaluation and faculty feedback, the student is prepared to assume the role of a professional nurse.
Learning is a continuous, lifelong process that guides the learner in the acquisition of knowledge and the development of values and beliefs about people and their needs in an ever- changing society. Learning is the active process of acquiring knowledge, skills, values, attitudes and abilities that results in behavioral change. The student learns best in an environment that fosters open communication and mutual respect. Such an environment motivates and encourages participation in the educational process. This climate of the academic setting offers opportunities to become more reflective, compassionate, caring and socially responsible.
The Program provides the courses for individuals to pursue an Associate of Science degree in nursing. The curriculum offers the core components for preparing a beginning practitioner to assume the responsibilities of a registered nurse in diverse and structured primary, secondary and tertiary care settings. Professional behaviors and competencies are emphasized in the provision and management of care, clinical decision-making, collaboration, communication, teaching, and learning. The graduate is prepared with the knowledge, skills, abilities and values crucial to an evidence-based approach to nursing practice and the management of culturally competent nursing care for clients and families. The graduate utilizes and may contribute to established research as part of the health care team, valuing its influence on current and future practice.
The purpose of the Lawrence Memorial/Regis College Nursing Program is to prepare the graduate to:
- assume the professional nurse role as a beginning practitioner by fostering health promotion, restoration and maintenance, leading to adaptation of individuals and families in structured settings.
- value every individual’s totality, uniqueness, rights and freedom of choice.
- apply research-based knowledge, communication and critical thinking skills in the development and use of culturally competent therapeutic nursing interventions, which promote quality evidence-based nursing practice.
- demonstrate commitment to the community by active involvement in health promotion, health care delivery and social issues.
- assume responsibility for professional growth by continuing to pursue formal and informal avenues of learning.
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