The four year curriculum is designed with a strong base in the arts, sciences, and humanities as a foundation for the development of skills necessary for professional nursing in the 21st century. Required general education courses help the student effectively write and speak, analyze problems, think logically, and appreciate the importance of values, fine arts, literature, and history in understanding themselves and the world in which we live and practice professional nursing.
Students begin prerequisite nursing courses in the freshman year.
Laboratory and clinical nursing courses, beginning in the sophomore year, allow students to practice nursing skills under the guidance of a faculty member. To progress to 300 level nursing courses, students must meet health requirements, college requirements for junior standing, complete all prerequisite courses with a minimum GPA of 2.5 and a minimum grade of C- in all courses with an NRSG prefix. In addition to required nursing courses, students may elect to take an independent study or an internship to focus in more depth on an area of interest. Students in the past have focused independent studies on such topics as the pregnant woman with diabetes, pain in children, and burn care. Internships have been done at the nearby Blue Ridge Medical Center, the Virginia Baptist Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and at the Kluge Children's Rehabilitation Center.