The needs were great and the opportunities even greater:

• RNs are listed among the top occupations in terms of job growth through 2026.
• For every student seat available in Kansas nursing programs there are three more students waiting.
• For every student graduating from nursing programs in Kansas, there are five jobs waiting.

In Fall 2019, the Barclay College Board of Trustees initiated an aggressive vision to pursue accreditation for a Bachelors of Science in Nursing degree (BSN).

The opportunity was also challenging. The nursing program required more support in the way of simulators, equipment, and technology. While this was a very exciting development, it did boost a $300,000 fundraising goal to a $800,000 goal.

It was exciting to see God stirring new ideas and new ways of thinking about our mission. The Barclay College of the 21st century is taking shape.

No one would have thought that a pandemic arising in 2020 would shake not only the lives of individuals, but the entire medical field. It only accentuated the need for a nursing program.

By December of 2020, we announced that over $1 million had been raised to fund the startup of the nursing program. This exceeded our $800,000 goal.

In the summer of 2021, momentum continued to build as a team of nursing professionals from Pratt and Greensburg hospitals, recruited by Kim Hansen, met with an architectural team to discuss the details of what the skills laboratory, simulation hospital, medication room, control room, and supporting offices would be required for Barclay College’s nursing program. 

Jackson Hall was chosen as the site to be remodeled for the nursing program. The skills laboratory provides a six-bed learning environment in which students will utilize low-fidelity manikins to apply theoretical concepts and skills needed to provide safe, quality, patient-centered care in a controlled setting. This is done to prepare students to perform basic nursing skills on live patients.

The simulation hospital provides a three-bed, safe, controlled hospital-like learning environment where students will utilize high-fidelity patient simulators to develop complex nursing skills in simulated crisis situations. Students will be able to make mistakes, correct those mistakes in real-time, and learn from them without fear of compromising patient safety. Students are also able to build upon the skills of prioritization, management, and delegation of patient care.

In May 2022, Barclay College received approval for the RN-BSN Degree Completion program from the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). The program is designed around high-quality professional nursing courses, taught by a faculty with over 34 years of combined nursing education experience. “The degree prepares Students for leadership, management, research, and administrative roles,” said Kim Hansen, Dean of the School of Nursing. “As a faith- based college, the Barclay Online program offers an environment that integrates faith with nursing skills,” she added.

The program will be offered Online and can be completed on a part-time or a full-time basis in as little as three semesters, culminating in a clinical practicum course synthesizing faith and professional nursing practice competencies.