Why PBA for Your B.S.N. Degree?
Throughout southern Florida, healthcare institutions recognize and respect the high quality of a Palm Beach Atlantic nursing degree. PBA nursing graduates are deeply grounded through experience, empathy, and embodying Christ, who guides all we do.
In the nursing major, you’ll learn from faculty who are distinguished experts from institutions like Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and Bethesda Memorial Hospital. Our transformative approach to nursing leads to significant success in obtaining nursing licensure, lucrative professional opportunities, and a lifetime of warm-hearted servant leadership.
- Dedicated to Christ: Our desire to care with precision stems from our commitment to Christ’s love and vision for the world.
- Holistic Healthcare: We consider the whole person in our clinical approaches: physical, sociocultural, mental, and spiritual.
- State-of-the-Art Tech: Practice using advanced nursing lab technologies on campus and in your clinical placements.
- Beyond One-Size-Fits-All: Choose electives, clinical placements, and faculty collaborations that align with your professional goals.
What You’ll Learn
PBA’s traditional B.S.N. program ensures that you can:
- Synthesize theoretical and empirical knowledge from the liberal arts, sciences, humanities, Christian faith, and nursing as a source in critical thinking and decision making to provide holistic care in a variety of nursing contexts and settings
- Combine the nursing process and evidenced-based research in the practice of nursing across the lifespan for holistic health promotion, risk reduction, and disease prevention in the care patients, families, and communities
- Provide patient-centered, age-appropriate, culturally sensitive care that assists with health promotion and wellness
- Demonstrate effective communication, collaboration, creativity, sensitivity, and flexibility for the delivery of safe, quality, cost-effective nursing care
- Integrate professional nursing values based on legal, ethical, and Christian standards into nursing practice
- Implement professional development through graduate studies and other leadership opportunities with an emphasis on integrity as a professional baccalaureate generalist nurse
- Incorporate current technologies and informatics to support continued learning, patient outcomes, and quality improvement
- Evaluate healthcare policy, finance, and regulatory standards to support quality care outcomes in the complex continuum healthcare environment.
NCLEX Preparation, Licensure, and Certifications
The nursing bachelor’s degree program at PBA will prepare you to sit the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX), which is the nationwide requirement to obtain a nursing license in the United States. Our faculty are invested in helping you perform well on this exam—our graduates have a 93% pass rate. The courses, clinical placements, and collaborative opportunities at PBA empower you to strive for excellence on your examination and throughout your career.
Program Details
At PBA, we nurture nurses through a holistic approach to understanding the world and our individual roles within it. Science and nursing courses prepare you as a proficient and intentional caregiver—and general education courses in the humanities, fine arts, communication, and exploring the Bible help you become a well-rounded citizen of the world and advocate for your patients.
Develop foundations in sciences, fine arts, and the humanities over your first three semesters, then begin nursing courses following acceptance to the nursing program in your sophomore year. Throughout the nursing major, apply your learning in local hospitals, clinics, and community outreach programs.
Minimum Application Requirements for Freshman Direct Admit Program
If SAT/ACT/CLT scores are not available, the following admission criteria will be followed:
- High school GPA of 3.5 or higher
- Must have two or more science classes with a lab with grade of B or higher
- One of the science courses must be high school chemistry course with grade of B or higher
- Evidence of extracurricular activities and/or strong-leadership in school or community activities
- Honors courses, evidence of dual enrollment, or AP courses are preferred
If SAT/ACT/CLT scores are available, the following scores are required:
- SAT Scores:
> 560 SAT ERW or SAT Reading sub score > 27 and > 530 SAT Math OR
- ACT Scores:
> 21 ACT composite and > 44 combined English + Reading ACT score and > 21 ACT Math OR
- CLT Scores:
> 52 CLT combined Verbal Reasoning + Grammar Writing and > 20 CLT Quantitative Reasoning
- AND minimum of two science classes with a lab component and science grades > B-
Pathway to Nursing
Incoming freshmen who do not meet PBA’s FDA requirements have the opportunity to join the School of Nursing through PBA’s Pathway to Nursing. In this program, freshmen can be directly admitted to the School of Nursing after completing their first semester at PBA with a 3.0 average and a B- or above in all science pre-requisites.
Minimum Application Requirements for Transfer Students
- Completed 25 credits of required prerequisite courses prior to admission
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Minimum overall 3.0 GPA and 2.7 GPA for all Math/Science prerequisite courses
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Minimum grades of C in all required prerequisite courses
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Minimum score of 68.7 on TEAS Test (Version 7)
Transfer Students from Another University
Students must apply to the University by March 1st (fall admission) and October 1st (spring admission) and meet all University admission criteria prior to the nursing admission review process.
Students transferring from a college or university other than PBA University must have an earned cumulative GPA of 3.0 to be admitted to PBAU University as a nursing major.
Depending upon the student’s type and number of transferred courses, it may take up to an additional four years to complete the nursing program.
Transfer students applying to the nursing major are notified of acceptance upon completion of the application review process. Notification of acceptance into the nursing major will occur on an ongoing basis.
Encounter a transformative environment where current and future nurses blossom in the School of Nursing at PBA. We hold longstanding partnerships with local organizations like Palm Healthcare Foundation, Quantum Foundation, Bethesda Memorial Hospital, and Jupiter Medical Center, and we award dozens of nursing scholarships each year.
After cultivating knowledge in the classroom, you need to gain experience in real-world nursing environments. Throughout the B.S.N. degree program, you will complete clinical components in areas like community, medical-surgical, and psychiatric & mental health nursing. You’ll also engage in a one-on-one apprenticeship with a working RN.
If you transfer with an A.A. degree and all nursing prerequisite coursework, you can complete the nursing bachelor’s degree in as few as 38 total credits over three full-time semesters.
If you hold an associate’s degree in nursing (A.D.N.), you may enroll in up to 61 credits over five full-time semesters to complete the B.S.N. degree.
Nursing Careers
With a B.S.N. degree, you’ll be ready to sit the national licensing exam (NCLEX), obtain your Registered Nurse (RN) license, and begin your career as a dedicated, service-oriented nurse in roles like:
- Registered Nurse
- Telemedicine Nurse
- Travel Nurse
- Flight Nurse
- Forensic Nurse
- Academic Educator
- Clinical Educator
- Legal Nurse Consultant
- Nurse Researcher
Our graduates achieve an average pass rate of 93% on the NCLEX and go on to earn salaries averaging over $81,000 per year per the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The nursing major facilitates your professional growth and potential with some of the country’s most respected healthcare organizations. You could join fellow PBA nursing grads at:
- Duke Medical Center
- Vanderbilt University Medical Center
- Cleveland Clinic
- Community Health Clinic of West Palm Beach
- Emory Healthcare of Atlanta
- Florida Cancer Specialists
- Florida Department of Health
- Jupiter Medical Group
- Marcus Neuroscience Institute
- Palm Beach Cardiology
- St. Mary’s Medical Center
Following the first semester of your junior year, you’ll qualify to work as a nurse technician at most local hospitals.
