Mercer University Announces New Accelerated Nursing Program on the Atlanta Campus

Mercer University Georgia Baptist College of Nursing (GBCN) has announced a new Accelerated Bachelors of Science in Nursing (ABSN) program will start this month. The program was created in response to Georgia’s ongoing nursing shortage and is designed to be a cost-effective way for students with a non-nursing bachelor’s degree to earn their BSN in as little as a year.

The program is a collaboration between GBCN and Orbis Education, a company that partners with universities in order to expand and improve on their existing pre-professional programs, primarily in the nursing and occupational therapy fields. The program is looking to admit eight lab groups with 12 students per group for the first semester.

According to Aaron Van Berg, an admissions counselor at GBCN, Georgia is one of the most severely understaffed states in the country. Georgia needs an estimated additional 13,510 nurses by 2026 to keep up with a rapidly growing population. Atlanta was named one of the best cities for nurses by Forbes with an estimated salary of $63,862 due to the current shortage.

The ABSN program differs in both the time period it takes to complete it as well as the cost. It’s expected to cost approximately $59,850 in total, while the regular BSN program offered through GBCN is expected to cost $24,102 per year. The curriculum includes a total of 56 credit hours over the course of three semesters. The credit hours consist of online courses, hands-on labs, and clinical rotations.

To learn more about Mercer University’s new accelerated nursing program based on its Atlanta campus, visit here.