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Bachelor of Science in Nursing

Nursing: Called to Excellence in Caregiving

Nursing is one of the most in-demand and rewarding careers. As a nurse, you’ll have the unique opportunity to care for patients’ physical and spiritual needs. The PCC nursing program will equip you for a career characterized by compassion and quality—you’ll be prepared to make a difference.

Gaining thorough instruction from skilled faculty with in-field experience, you’ll receive foundational training in science as well as practical experience in labs, clinical studies, and preceptorship. With modern, high-tech labs, learning will come alive as you practice clinical nursing simulations; and by the time you enter the hospital setting, you’ll feel confident in your training.

You’ll graduate ready to take your NCLEX-RN and enter immediately into the nursing field or apply for graduate studies with confidence in your undergraduate education.


Faith-Based Nursing

The PCC nursing program truly prepares students to meet both the physical and spiritual needs of future patients as distinctively Christian nurses. And whether it’s in a faraway village clinic or an urban operating room, nurses hold one of the most respected roles in the world: an advocate for those in need. You’ll not only develop a firm foundation of nursing principles, but you will also be ready to apply them from a biblical perspective.

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Nursing Learning Outcomes

As a BSN graduate, you will be able to

  • apply knowledge from nursing, informatics, and interdisciplinary fields in order to implement the nursing process;
  • establish therapeutic relationships with individuals, families, populations, and interdisciplinary teams;
  • integrate an understanding of healthcare systems into quality, evidence-based, cost-effective care for all people and populations;
  • apply leadership skills to make moral and ethical decisions based on legal standards and biblical principles; and
  • demonstrate the personal and professional skills necessary to obtain licensure and enter the nursing profession.
CCNE Logo

The baccalaureate and master’s degrees at Pensacola Christian College are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.

Top Ranked Nursing Schools Logo

Pensacola Christian College is ranked within the top 30 (out of 150) best nursing colleges in Florida, based on our pass rates for the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN).

Top Ranked Nursing Schools Logo

The PCC BSN program is ranked #17 in Florida by the Nursing Schools Almanac based on our first-time pass rates for the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN).

Program Highlights

Senior Nursing Seminar

Get ready for your future in a seminar (NU 412) designed to prepare you to take the NCLEX-RN examination and gain valuable leadership and management training. You’ll synthesize all you’ve learned into the full role of a Christian nurse and be ready to begin your nursing career.

Preceptorship

Your practical nursing training will culminate in a 320-hour senior preceptorship (NU 408) that will take you from nursing student to independent professional. You’ll gain deeper practical skills, and incorporate leadership, decision making, and research principles and apply them in a real-world hospital setting.

Your Nursing Future

What can you do with a nursing degree?

With a BSN degree from PCC, you’ll be fully equipped to take the next step. You might begin working as a nurse right away or continue your education with a nursing master’s degree. Whichever you choose, your PCC nursing degree will equip you to follow God’s call.

Here are a few of the countless career opportunities available to you.

  • Critical Care
  • Medical
  • Missions
  • Nursing Education
  • Obstetrics
  • Oncology
  • Orthopedics
  • Pediatrics

Here are a few of the over 70 grad schools our nursing alumni have attended.

  • Pensacola Christian College
  • Chamberlain University
  • Grand Canyon University
  • Liberty University
  • Sacred Heart University
  • University of North Carolina—Charlotte
  • University of Texas—Rio Grande Valley
  • Wilmington University

Here are a few of the many places that our nursing alumni have worked.

  • Hamot Medical Center
  • Memorial Healthcare System
  • Methodist Medical Center
  • Oswego Hospital
  • Sacred Heart Hospital
  • Theda Clark Hospital
  • Vanderbilt University Medical Center
  • Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center

Faculty Highlight

Joyce Pate

Dr. Joyce Pate, RN

B.S.N., Pensacola Christian College
M.S.N., C.N.S., University of South Alabama
D.N.P., Case Western Reserve University


“I tell my students to PRAY about every job and their work at PCC. I definitely share my nursing experiences with my students. I also am a firm believer that when others see a shepherd boy, God may see a king. No student is unworthy to be a nurse… God can use anyone.”

Read more about Dr. Pate
Meet more faculty

Alumni Spotlight

Savanna Bouldin
Savanna Bouldin, RN ’23

Women’s Health and Newborn Care Nurse at Bothwell Regional Health Center


“The [program’s] high quality, professionalism, and Christian-infused curriculum led me to study nursing at PCC. PCC not only prepared me for my career mentally and physically by challenging me to push my limits but also by daily exposing me to Scripture and a biblical worldview on nursing. I was able to study, practice, and hone my skills to become the best Christian nurse that I can be for my patients.

The program is one of the best nursing programs in the state of Florida. And though it’s very difficult, you’ll feel very rewarded when you see how the nursing program develops you into a well‐educated nurse—and when you witness the impact you’ve had on your patients, community, and fellow PCC students. The friends you make during this journey will encourage you to push through and finish strong. I still contact the friends I made in the nursing program even after graduation! ”

Nursing Major Course Schedule

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About the BSN Program

The purpose of the nursing major is for the students to learn to apply both scriptural and scientific methods to nursing services rendered to individuals, families, and communities. The accomplishment of this dual goal encompasses biblical concepts about the relationships between God and man, man and fellow man, and man and the physical universe.

CCNE Logo

The baccalaureate and master’s degrees in nursing at Pensacola Christian College are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.

Florida Board of Nursing Seal

PCC’s nursing program is approved by the Florida State Board of Nursing.

High school preparation for nursing should include three units of English; at least two units of mathematics, one of which must be algebra; and two units of science, one of chemistry and one of biology. In addition, applicants should earn at least an ACT composite score of 20, CLT total score of 63 (66 if taken prior to April 26, 2023), or SAT total score of 1030. Opportunities are available to make up certain deficiencies. In this case, time required to complete a nursing degree should be expected to increase.

No student will be permitted to enroll in the nursing program unless he or she has clearly established the highest standards of Christian character and deportment. References from the applicant’s pastor, principal, guidance counselors, and previous employers are secured whenever possible. Such references receive top priority in the admission process. Prior to beginning clinical experiences, local healthcare facilities require all nursing students to complete a background check. Students must have satisfactory results in order to participate in clinicals.

All students in this program are required to be full-time students taking a minimum of 12 semester hours. First consideration for acceptance into the program will be given to residence hall students. PCC does not provide residence hall living space for married students or their families.

All students who want to major in nursing start as pre-nursing students. Typically, pre-nursing requirements can be completed in one year. Students who score below the required ACT/CLT/SAT composite scores will be placed into a two-year pre-nursing sequence. Students in the one year pre-nursing sequence who test into EN 099 Basic English Language will be required to take EN 121/123 English Grammar and Composition I or EN 126 English Grammar and Composition II online during Interterm or summer. Students who want to take a reduced load may also choose the two-year pre-nursing sequence. Students contemplating transferring into PCC’s nursing department should have their program of study approved by the Registrar.

Enrollment in the nursing major is limited based on clinical availability and is contingent upon successful completion of pre-nursing requirements. Objective criteria used in determining the members of each nursing class include academic performance and results of the Kaplan Nursing Admission Test given to pre-nursing students in the spring. In addition, all pre-nursing students are evaluated for ability to display advanced verbal skills through the communication of ideas. An interview with a nursing faculty member may also be required.

Pre-nursing preparatory courses are BY 105 Principles of Biology, BY 201 General Anatomy and Physiology I, CH 107 Chemistry for the Allied-Health Professional, MA 121/123 College Algebra I, and NU 128 Introduction to Nursing Practice. To be considered for the nursing major, students must earn at least a “C-” in these courses and cannot be on Academic Warning or Probation. A student may take a pre-nursing preparatory course once and repeat it once for a total of two times. A maximum of two pre-nursing preparatory courses may be repeated.

Nursing students receiving an unsatisfactory grade of “D,” “F,” “WP,” or “WF” are considered to have failed the nursing or psychology course. A student may take a nursing or psychology course once and repeat it once for a total of two times. Upon the academic failure of two of the following courses—NU 190, 207, 226, 290, 390, junior- and senior-level clinical courses, and PS 323—a formal evaluation will occur to determine whether the student can continue in the nursing program. This evaluation will be conducted by the Nursing Practice Committee and will consider academic performance along with performance on standardized tests.

Throughout their education, nursing students take standardized tests, which are indicators of NCLEX-RN readiness. To help assure the student’s future NCLEX success:

  1. students who fail to achieve established scores on end-of-semester standardized tests will be given the opportunity for remediation work, and
  2. students who fail to achieve the established score on a standardized exit exam or meet other objective criteria will be given the opportunity to retake NU 490 NCLEX-RN Review the following semester and will be required to pass in order to graduate with a nursing major.

In addition to the health regulations for all entering students, all students who are admitted to the nursing major must complete a physical examination, annual skin or blood testing for tuberculosis, tetanus toxoid if 10 years since last immunization, record of immunizations including 2 measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) and 2 varicella vaccinations, hepatitis B vaccination, COVID-19 vaccination, and annual influenza vaccinations. Vaccination waivers granted as part of PCC admission are not accepted. Local healthcare facilities require confirmation that these requirements have been met before students can complete clinicals or preceptorships. The completed medical/health form is to be on record by June 15 annually. Throughout the program, emphasis is placed on the student nurses to be responsible for their own health. Each student must have proof of adequate medical insurance.

All clinical activities are supervised by the College nursing faculty. Students receive their clinical experience in a number of healthcare facilities, including several large hospitals located in the Pensacola area.

Upon successfully completing the nursing curriculum, graduates will be awarded the Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree and are eligible to sit for the U.S. NCLEX-RN examination in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and all U.S. territories.

  1. Uniforms are purchased and laundered by the student.
  2. Nursing students must provide their own transportation to and from all clinical experiences.
  3. National standardized exams must be taken periodically at student expense. The Kaplan Nursing Admission Test taken the last semester of the pre-nursing sequence is $30 (price subject to change).
  4. Nursing students are responsible for all costs associated with submission and verification of annual health forms, background checks, and 10-panel drug screenings required by local healthcare facilities to be completed within 90 days prior to beginning their clinical experience and randomly as deemed necessary. Students must have satisfactory results in order to participate in clinicals.
  5. Each student will have malpractice insurance through the College.

General expenses are the same as for other students.

Nursing students can apply for scholarships to receive financial aid.

Lynne Johns Memorial Scholarship
$500 scholarships awarded to continuing sophomores, juniors, or seniors with a nursing major who have a financial need, to be applied over one semester.

Schroder Nursing Scholarship
$1,000 scholarships awarded to continuing juniors or seniors with a nursing major who have a financial need, to be applied over one semester.

Sylvia Ann Taylor Scholarship
$500 scholarship awarded to a continuing female junior or senior with a nursing major, to be applied over one semester.

See More Scholarships
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Nursing Career Support

With Career Services and Career Link, students can start making connections with employers while on campus during Career Fair events. These services provide tools and resources designed to empower you for your career in nursing.

Need help? Career Services staff are ready to assist you in researching employment opportunities, exploring job qualifications, and providing mock interviews and résumé support.