Kaiser teaming up with Samuel Merritt University to offer accelerated nursing program in Fresno

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Kaiser Permanente and Samuel Merritt University are partnering up to offer nurses the chance to obtain their Bachelor of Science in Nursing in Fresno.

On Monday, Kaiser announced the program will be 20-months long and classes start in January 2020.

According to Kaiser, the five-semester program is structured for working nurses with online coursework and clinical rotations in community health agencies. It says nurses will learn about evidence-based care, broaden their community health training, and enhance their communication skills.

Samuel Merritt University developed the RN to BSN curriculum and Kaiser says it helped during the conceptual development of the program.

Samuel Merritt University offers similar RN to BSN programs at its campuses in Oakland, Sacramento and the San Francisco Peninsula. The university is exploring additional nursing and health science degree programs that will meet the needs of the Fresno community.

The deadline to apply for the RN to BSN program beginning in January is Nov. 1, 2019. The application deadline for the fall term is July 1, 2020. To apply, please visit www.samuelmerritt.edu/admission/apply-smu or contact SMU's Fresno-based admission counselor John Tiedemann at jtiedemann@samuelmerritt.edu.