Sherry Lesar School of Nursing

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Accreditations

The baccalaureate degree program in nursing at Montana Technological University is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, 655 K Street NW, Suite 750, Washington DC 20001, 202-887-6791
(http://www.ccneaccreditation.org/).

Montana Technological University’s Sherry Lesar School of Nursing is accredited by CCNE until 2028.

Montana Technological University’s Sherry Lesar School of Nursing is also approved by the Montana State Board of Nursing until 2028. (https://boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov/_docs/nur/approved-nur-programs.pdf)

The nursing faculty at the Montana Technological University’s Sherry Lesar School of Nursing appreciates your interest in nursing education and hopes this information will answer your questions about the profession of nursing in general and Montana Tech’s nursing program in particular. After you review this material, you may still have questions or need more information. Any of the nursing faculty or nursing advisors would be happy to visit with you personally. Please refer to the above for contact information to schedule an appointment. If you are interested in nursing education at Montana Tech, it is essential to work with a nursing advisor for selection and sequencing of appropriate courses.

Mission

The Montana Technological University’s Sherry Lesar School of Nursing is dedicated to preparing generalist nurses through a diverse array of nursing roles in a variety of community settings emphasizing our unique heritage on rural healthcare.

The Sherry Lesar School of Nursing stresses the importance of being an intellectual leader and role model in the profession of nursing.

Montana Tech’s Sherry Lesar School of Nursing Department Philosophy

We believe:

• Nursing and nursing education are essential for the promotion, maintenance and restoration of health, along with the prevention of illness.
• Nursing and nursing education will become more complex as health care evolves. This continually changing health care environment mandates the role, function and educational preparation of the nurse.
• The profession of nursing is best served through highly educated members who continually strive to broaden their knowledge and expertise to meet the increasing demands of the health care environment.
• In a holistic approach to nursing education, including sensitivity to the physical, psychological, spiritual and sociocultural needs of the individual, family and community.
• Acquisition of nursing knowledge and skill is best achieved through a combination of class room requirements and clinical experience in both simulated and actual care environment.
• In a continually evolving curriculum that reflects best practice.

AACN Threads and Concepts for Nursing Practice

The focus of the Sherry Lesar School of Nursing’s curriculum is to provide education leading to substantial specialized knowledge of the biological, physical, behavioral, psychological, and sociological sciences and of nursing theory as a basis for the nursing process. The nursing process is the assessment, nursing diagnosis, planning, nursing intervention, and evaluation in the promotion and maintenance of health; the prevention, case finding, and management of illness, injury, or infirmity; and the restoration of optimum function. The term also includes administration, teaching, counseling, supervision, delegation, and evaluation of nursing practice. The professional nurse is directly accountable and responsible to the consumer for the quality of nursing care rendered.

1. Clinical Judgement

As one of the key attributes of professional nursing, clinical judgment refers to the process by which nurses make decisions based on nursing knowledge (evidence, theories, ways/patterns of knowing), other disciplinary knowledge, critical thinking, and clinical reasoning. This process is used to understand and interpret information in the delivery of care. Clinical decision making based on clinical judgment is directly related to care outcomes (AACN, 2023).

2. Communication

Communication, informed by nursing and other theories, is a central component in all areas of nursing practice. Communication is defined as an exchange of information, thoughts, and feelings through a variety of mechanisms. The definition encompasses the various ways people interact with each other, including verbal, written, behavioral, body language, touch, and emotion. Communication also includes intentionality, mutuality, partnerships, trust, and presence. Effective communication between nurses and individuals and between nurses and other health professionals is necessary for the delivery of high quality, individualized nursing care. With increasing frequency, communication is delivered through technological modalities. Communication also is a core component of team-based, interprofessional care and closely interrelated with the concept Social Determinants of Health (AACN, 2023).

3. Compassionate Care

As an essential principle of person-centered care, compassionate care refers to the way nurses relate to others as human beings and involves “noticing another person’s vulnerability, experiencing an emotional reaction to this, and acting in some way with them in a way that is meaningful for people.” Compassionate care is interrelated with other concepts such as caring, empathy, and respect and is also closely associated with patient satisfaction (AACN, 2023).

4. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Collectively, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) refers to a broad range of individual, population, and social constructs and is adapted in the Essentials as one of the most visible concepts. Although these are collectively considered a concept, differentiation of each conceptual element leads to enhanced understanding. Diversity references a broad range of individual, population, and social characteristics, including but not limited to age; sex; race; ethnicity; sexual orientation; gender identity; family structures; geographic locations; national origin; immigrants and refugees; language; any impairment that substantially limits a major life activity; religious beliefs; and socioeconomic status. Inclusion represents environmental and organizational cultures in which faculty, students, staff, and administrators with diverse characteristics thrive. Inclusive environments require intentionality and embrace differences, not merely tolerate them. Everyone works to ensure the perspectives and experiences of others are invited, welcomed, acknowledged, and respected in inclusive environments. Equity is the ability to recognize the differences in the resources or knowledge needed to allow individuals to fully participate in society, including access to higher education, with the goal of overcoming obstacles to ensure fairness. To have equitable systems, all people should be treated fairly, unhampered by artificial barriers, stereotypes, or prejudices. Two related concepts that fit within DEI include structural racism and social justice (AACN, 2023).

5. Ethics

Core to professional nursing practice, ethics refers to principles that guide a person’s behavior. Ethics is closely tied to moral philosophy involving the study of or examination of morality through a variety of different approaches. There are commonly accepted principles in bioethics that include autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice. The study of ethics as it relates to nursing practice has led to the exploration of other relevant concepts, including moral distress, moral hazard, moral community, and moral or critical resilience (AACN, 2023).

6. Evidence-Based Practice

The delivery of optimal health care requires the integration of current evidence and clinical expertise with individual and family preferences. Evidence-based practice is a problem-solving approach to the delivery of health care that integrates best evidence from studies and patient care data with clinician expertise and patient preferences and values. In addition, there is a need to consider those scientific studies that ask: whose perspectives are solicited, who creates the evidence, how is that evidence created, what questions remain unanswered, and what harm may be created? Answers to these questions are paramount to incorporating meaningful, culturally safe, evidence-based practice (AACN, 2023).

7. Health Policy

Health policy involves goal directed decision-making about health that is the result of an authorized public decision-making process. Nurses play critical roles in advocating for policy that impacts patients and the profession, especially when speaking with a united voice on issues that affect nursing practice and health outcomes. Nurses can have a profound influence on health policy by becoming engaged in the policy process on many levels, which includes interpreting, evaluating, and leading policy change (AACN, 2023).

8. Social Determinants of Health

Determinants of health, a broader term, include personal, social, economic, and environmental factors that impact health. Social determinants of health, a primary component of determinants of health “are the conditions in the environment where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality of life outcomes and risks.” The social determinants of health contribute to wide health disparities and inequities in areas such as economic stability, education quality and access, healthcare quality and access, neighborhood and built environment, and social and community context. Nursing practices such as assessment, health promotion, access to care, and patient teaching support improvements in health outcomes. The social determinants of health are closely interrelated with the concepts of diversity, equity, and inclusion, health policy, and communication (AACN, 2023).

American Association of Colleges of Nursing (2023). The essentials: Core competencies for professional nursing education. https://www.aacnnursing.org/Essentials/Concepts

To be successful in the BSN program, students will be competent in the following domains:

1. Knowledge for Nursing Practice

2. Person-Centered Care

3. Population Health

4. Advance the scholarship of nursing.

5. Apply quality improvement principles in care delivery.

6. Interprofessional Partnerships

7. Apply knowledge of systems to work effectively across the continuum of care.

8. Information and Healthcare Technologies

9. Professionalism

10. Personal, Professional, and Leadership Development

Brief History

Montana Tech began offering a degree in professional nursing in 2000, with its first group of 17 students graduating in May 2001 with an Associate of Science in Nursing (ASN) degree. This first group completed a “bridge” program designed for currently Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN’s) who wanted to become a Registered Nurse.

After the first year, the vast majority of students seeking nursing education at Montana Tech were new to nursing and wanted to become a Registered Nurse. In response, Montana Tech’s Nursing Department replaced its “bridge” program with a “direct entry” 72 credit ASN and added a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) completion degree component to the program in 2003.

In May 2005, the Montana State Board of Regents approved a “statewide” three year curriculum for LPN/RN education. The curriculum includes one year of pre-nursing coursework that is appropriate for both the LPN/RN credential. The model identified an exit point or stop-out where students graduate with an Associate of Applied Science degree and can sit for the National Council Licensure Exam (NCLEX-PN) after one year of nursing course work. A second year of nursing coursework allows students to receive an Associate of Science Degree and apply for the NCLEX-RN exam.

Fall 2006, Montana Tech became the first school to implement the “statewide” curriculum following approval by the Montana State Board of Nursing. In Spring 2008, three students chose to “exit” out of the model and complete requirements in order to receive an Associate of Applied Science Degree. All three passed the NCLEX-PN examination and became Licensed Practical Nurses in Montana. These three students continued into the third year of the curriculum and graduated with an Associate of Science Degree in May 2009. The students took the NCLEX-RN examination and are now Registered Nurses.

In July 2008 due to Montana State Board of Nursing requirements relating to Practical Nursing course objectives and curriculum, Montana Tech made the decision to eliminate the ability to exit from the ASN Program. Today, Montana Tech offers both the 72 credit Associate of Science and Bachelor Completion degree.

In 2009, Montana Tech’s Nursing Department graduated the first cohort from the three year “statewide” curriculum. The NCLEX-RN passage rate was 96.15% for 2009-2010.

In 2011, re-accreditation of the ASN program by the National League of Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC) and approval by the Montana State Board of Nursing through 2018.

Spring 2012, the nursing department relocated to the newly renovated Health Science Building on the north campus. The decision was made to convert the BSN-Completion program to an on-line delivery format.

Fall 2012, seven of the ten BSN-Completion courses will be available on-line. Enrollment in the BSN for fall has increased from 4 to 20 students.

In 2018, the baccalaureate degree in nursing program at Montana Technological University was accredited by the Commission on Collegiate.  The program is accredited until 2028.  Also at their January 9, 2019 meeting, the Montana State Board of Nursing approved the Montana Technological University’s baccalaureate degree in nursing program until 2028.

Available Nursing Program

• Bachelor of Science in Nursing (Pre-Licensure)

Montana Tech’s College of Letters, Sciences, & Professional Studies offers a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (Pre-Licensure) (BSN). Students pursuing a BSN degree must meet minimum program requirements and complete a formal acceptance application to be accepted into the program. Students who initially do not demonstrate academic readiness will need to complete additional courses to be adequately prepared for the required nursing and non-nursing classes in the curriculum.

Academic readiness for the required prerequisite courses for acceptance into the BSN program can be demonstrated in any of the following ways:

• ACT^® score or;
• SAT^® score or;
• Other placement exams accepted by the enrollment office

Program Descriptions

The BSN Pre-Licensure program is designed to produce a registered nurse after 4 years.  

Program Outcomes

The BSN curriculum will provide nursing education that will enable the baccalaureate-prepared nurse to:

1. Provide safe nursing care to individuals, families and populations utilizing interprofessional communication, collaboration, clinical judgment, and a holistic framework.

2. Design, manage, and evaluate person-centered nursing care in a variety of structured and unstructured settings to address individual health, population health, and social determinants of health.

3. Function as a leader, advocate for health policy and resource manager in systembased practice using informatics, healthcare technology and fiscal administration.

4. Critically appraise current research to promote understanding regarding the production of knowledge and application of evidence-based practice and nursing scholarship.

5. Actualize a commitment to professional accountability and ethical standards in nursing practice with a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion

Admission to Montana Tech does not guarantee acceptance into the Pre-Licensure BSN program. Students entering Montana Tech with the intent to become a registered nurse may declare a major in pre-nursing upon admission to Tech, but are not accepted into the nursing Program until after a formal application and selection process occurs.

Students must meet the minimum Nursing Department requirements to be eligible for application to the Nursing Program. Acceptance into the Nursing program is competitive and based on: a selective grade point average (GPA) calculated from grades received for the required prerequisite courses below, and a standardized test (Test of Essential Academic Skills (TEAS version 7)). The cost of the exam is approximately $70. Review materials for this exam are available at www.atitesting.com. The selection will be made based on 60% GPA and 40% TEAS score. Minimum selective GPA for application to the nursing program is 3.0 (out of a 4.0 scale). Minimum acceptable TEAS score is 68%. The selection process will take place twice yearly. There is a fall application available in April and a spring application available in November. Specific dates are announced at the beginning of each semester at our Pre-Nursing Orientation.

The Nursing Department Advising Fact Sheet, which both the student and advisor sign, outlines requirements for acceptance into and progression through the Nursing Program. Since the Nursing Program is continually evolving, information in the Advising Fact Sheet is updated from semester to semester. It is the student’s responsibility to make sure he or she is familiar with the most current Nursing Department policies.

Completion of a degree in nursing is costly. In addition to tuition and fees, nursing students should be aware that required nursing textbooks/reference materials are expensive and that many courses require several texts. The student should also plan for a number of out-of-pocket expenses related to clinical supplies and course/program requirements. Once accepted into the nursing program, students are assessed a program fee each semester ($650.00 per semester).

Montana Tech has determined that the Nursing program meets the educational requirements necessary for the student to seek licensure/certification in the state of Montana. Refer to our licensure page for more information and a determination about requirements for states outside Montana.

BSN Pre-Licensure Application Requirements

Students must complete all prerequisite courses with a grade of “C” or higher and all nursing courses with a grade of C+ or higher.  Prerequisite courses can only be repeated one time.  Students who retake a course should be aware that Montana Tech’s policy is that the last grade received is the grade that will be used when calculating GPA.

Admission to the BSN Pre-Licensure Program

• Submit formal application. (Contact Nursing Department for application dates) 406-496-4390.
• Meet all nursing admission requirements
• The selection will be made based on 60% GPA and 40% TEAS score.
• Minimum selective GPA for application to the nursing program is 3.0 (out of a 4.0 scale). Minimum acceptable TEAS score is 68% proficiency.
• There is a spring application available in November and a fall application available in April.
• Specific dates are announced at the beginning of each semester at our Pre-Nursing Orientation.

Requirements for acceptance into the BSN Pre-Licensure program are:

• Completion of the required prerequisite courses.
• Minimum selective GPA of 3.0 in the identified prerequisite courses.
• Completion of the TEAS exam with a Proficient score of 68% proficiency or higher. Proficient scores generally indicate a moderate level of overall academic preparedness necessary to support learning of nursing-related content.
• Proof of Current Influenza vaccine (must be completed annually).
• Evidence of Hepatitis B vaccination (series of three shots) or seroimmunity (demonstrated with a positive titer).
• Proof of Two Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) or MMR positive titers.
• Proof of Tdap (Tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis) vaccine within the last 10 years.
• Current evidence of freedom from active tuberculosis (TB skin test or chest x-ray, must be completed annually).
• Proof of Varicella vaccination series or positive titer.
• CPR – evidence of current completion of an approved CPR course, must have infant through adult. (American Heart Association Health Care Provider or American Red Cross Professional Rescuer).

Fulfillment of the minimum requirements does not guarantee acceptance into the Nursing Program. All candidates who meet application requirements will be considered for acceptance. The number of students accepted into the nursing program is limited. If the number of qualified applicants exceeds available spaces, not all qualified applicants will be accepted and GPA & TEAS will be used as selection criteria.

Background Check and Drug Screens:

Clinical practice is a mandatory part of the Sherry Lesar School of Nursing Program. To ensure the safety and well-being of all patients, many employing institutions in health care have increasingly stringent requirements and background checks and drug screens as conditions for providing patient care by students. Therefore, it is required that all students within the nursing program complete an annual background check and drug screen following admission to the clinical portion of the program. Any fees or costs associated with background checks and drug screens are the responsibility of the students. The involved clinical affiliate receives and reviews the background check and drug screen to determine if each student may complete clinical hours within the agency. Since clinical practice in actual (not simulated) health care settings is a mandatory component of Montana Tech’s nursing curriculum, students who are denied access to a clinical affiliate are generally unable to meet course and curriculum objectives and therefore are unable to progress through the program.

Complete instructions on how to complete the background check and drug screens will be provided to the newly admitted students during orientation.

Latex Policy

Latex sensitivity is a concern in the laboratories and clinical settings that you will experience in the Nursing Program at Montana Tech. We are unable to provide a latex-free environment. Although we provide nitrile gloves, you will still be exposed to latex from lab specimens, equipment and models. It is important that you fully understand the risks of repeated latex exposure, particularly if you are a person with latex sensitivity. If you have questions or concerns about exposure to latex, you should contact Janet Richards Coe, Director of Nursing (406) 496-4719.

Immunization

If a student does not wish to be immunized due to a religious belief, please contact the nursing department to learn of the process for this request. 

Programs

• Nursing (Pre-Licensure), B.S.

• Health Care Informatics Minor

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