BSN Co-Op Program

Co-operative education was designed to provide students with real-world experience in a variety of professional settings before graduation. Co-op integrates full-time work experience in the student's field of study throughout the academic program. The College of Nursing and Health Professions co-op program is one of only two of its kind in the nation.
The nursing co-op provides students with 18 months of co-operative education in addition to the traditional clinical educational experiences.

Through co-op, students will have the opportunity to learn the role of the nurse and unlicensed assistive personnel as well as other daily professional, political, and social issues in a work environment. Both before and during co-op students will receive instruction on career management and professional development skills, such as résumé writing, job searches, interviewing skills, maintaining a career portfolio, negotiating salary, and professional. The clinical background students gain from co-op, coupled with a knowledge of career management, makes the Drexel option a value-added model of nursing education.

Co-op Descriptions

First Experience
Co-op I: Nursing in Contemporary Health Networks
Students will have co-operative education experiences in managed care settings, pharmaceutical companies, and other non-traditional healthcare work environments where nurses and nursing can effect change. Students will either work under the direction of a professional nurse or another health care professional with a minimum of a baccalaureate degree. Students will not perform any basic nursing skills in this role.

Second Experience
Co-op II: Acute and Chronic Health and Illness
Students on the 4-year track participate in Co-Op II, an education experience in the traditional health care environment that emphasize the delivery of nursing care to adults and adolescents with acute and chronic illnesses. The majority of placements will be in general and specialty medical-surgical units. Students will function in the role as an unlicensed assistive person and their job description will be modeled similarly to unlicensed assistive personnel or nursing externs.

Third Experience
Co-op III: Specialty Nursing Concentration
Students will have co-operative education experiences in a specialty area of their choice which will build upon their previous clinical courses and work experiences. For example, students may elect to specialize in labor and delivery, critical care, or return to work for a pharmaceutical or managed care company. Selection of content area for the Co-op III site will be made by each student in consultation with the student’s faculty advisor. Students will be given a suggested reading list and texts to be used for supplemental reading and learning for the specialty co-op area. Students will function in the role as an unlicensed assistive person and their job description will be modeled similarly to the role of unlicensed assistive personnel or nursing externs.