Admissions

  1. Graduate of an accredited School of Nursing
  2. Proof of current licensure as a registered nurse. To begin clinical experiences, all students are required to be licensed in the state of Rhode Island. RI is a compact state. New licenses require a criminal background check. RI is a compact state. Due to rotations at hospitals in Massachusetts, a license is required for Massachusetts as well.
  3. Minimum of 1-year acute/critical care nursing such as ICU, ER or other areas deemed appropriate by the Admissions Committee prior to admission.
  4. BSN or other Baccalaureate degree from a fully accredited college provided the program considers it appropriate.
  5. Completion of official application material and all supporting documentation.
  6. $30.00 application fee.
  7. Personal interview with the members of the Admissions Committee.
  8. GRE’s are required, with all section scores above the 30th percentile, and must be submitted to the University of New England. A copy of your scores should also be sent to SJHSAN.
  9. Completion of an Organic Chemistry or Biochemistry course with a minimum grade of B within the last 5 years.
  10. Current ACLS & PALS certification.
  11. A preferred undergraduate grade point average of 3.0 or evidence of outstanding post- graduate academic achievement.
  12. Three references, one from an immediate supervisor.
  13. Skills and abilities applicants and students must demonstrate.
    • Observation: Candidates must have sufficient sensory capacity to observe in the lecture hall, the laboratory, the outpatient setting, and the patient’s bedside. Possess sensory skills adequate to perform a physical examination. Functional hearing and tactile sensation must be adequate to observe a patient’s condition and to elicit information from computerized monitors, and procedures regularly required in a physical examination, such as inspection, auscultation and palpation.
    • Communication: Candidates must be able to communicate effectively in both academic and health care settings. Candidates must show evidence of effective written and verbal communication skills and the ability to work in teams.
    • Motor: The ability to participate in basic, diagnostic and therapeutic maneuvers and procedures (e.g. palpation, auscultation, drawing blood, starting IV) is required. Candidates must have sufficient motor skills to execute movements reasonably required to provide care to patients, including the ability to help move or lift them. Candidates must be able to negotiate patient care environments and must be able to move between setting, such as clinic, classroom building, and hospital.
    • Physical stamina: Sufficient to complete the rigorous course of didactic and clinical study is required. Long periods of sitting, standing, or moving are required in classroom, laboratory and clinical experiences.
    • Intellectual: Candidates must be able to measure, calculate, reason, analyze and synthesize, both in quiet environments and in areas where distractions, noise and other stressors are present. Problem solving is a critical skill demanded of CRNA’s. This requires all of these intellectual abilities. In addition candidates should be able to comprehend graphics displays of physiologic data, distinguish artifact on monitor displays, understand three-dimensional relationships and the spatial relationships of structure. Candidates must be able to read and understand medical and nursing literature. In order to complete the degree they must be able to demonstrate mastery of these skills and the ability to use them together in a timely and often critical fashion in problem solving and patient care.
    • Behavioral and Social Attributes: Candidates must possess the emotional health required for full utilization of their intellectual abilities, the exercise of good judgment and the prompt completion of all academic and patient care responsibilities. The development of mature, sensitive and effective relationships with patients and other members of the health care team is essential. The ability to effectively function in the face of uncertainties inherent in clinical practice, flexibility, compassion, integrity, motivation, interpersonal skills and concern for others are all required.