BLEND - Bridge to Leadership Education for Nurses
at a Distance

An RN who has earned a non-nursing bachelor's degree may be admitted to Loyola's Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) program.

To be admitted to the MSN program, the RN must complete Loyola's BLEND Program (MSN Bridge).

The BLEND Program is an RN to MSN Bridge program for nurses with a non-nursing bachelor's degree.

Our BLEND Program is very unique. The program is one-semester long and offered in a fully online format.

The BLEND Program (MSN Bridge) is composed of the undergraduate nursing courses that are prerequisites to beginning the graduate-level coursework in the MSN program. This 6-credit bridge program is divided into two 3 credit hour courses, each course being 7 weeks in length, and covers important themes including Population Health, Health Promotion, Current Issues, and Professional Communication.

BLEND Program Descriptions

NURS 482: BLEND

Issues in Professional Nursing

• Professionalization of nursing
• Contemporary Roles
• Current Issues Affecting Nursing
• Professional Communication

NURS 483: BLEND

Population Health

• Health Promotion
• Population Focused Nursing Care
• Health Education
• Disease Prevention
• Community Assessment

To be considered for admission to the BLEND Program, a minimum grade of B on each of the courses in the Loyola blend sequence must be achieved.

For a full list of Admission Requirements for the BLEND Program, please contact us here.

A BLEND Student Experience:

"For me, I was attracted to Loyola because I did not have an undergraduate degree in Nursing and Loyola had a unique BLEND Program. This program allows people with non-Nursing Bachelor's degrees to go on to the MSN degree program. Dr. Tumulty was willing to work with me to pilot the BLEND Program online. I appreciated her working with me, because I wanted to get the credential but I didn't want it to be redundant. I wanted to be sure I was enhancing my knowledge and she assured me I would be able to. And she was right – it's been great!"

– Diana L. McBroom, RN, MBA, CAN, BC 
Current student in the online MSN-HCSM program and Vice President/Chief Nursing Officer, Carondelet St. Mary's Hospital, Tucson, AZ.