The Carroll College nursing program focuses on a holistic approach to health care, offering an intentional integration of theory and practical application guided by an accomplished, passionate faculty.
Why Carroll Nursing?
2022 Carroll College graduate Jordan Diehl shares her journey from Carroll College Nursing major to ICU Float Nurse at The Johns Hopkins Hospital.
A Mission-Driven Nursing School
So many features make the Carroll Nursing program one of the premier nursing programs in Montana. A hallmark is our diocesan Catholic mission, which permeates everything we do. You’ll find our nursing students engaging in service activities throughout the year, including through the campus chapter of the Student Nurses Association and the Sigma Nursing Honor Society.
These service opportunities stretch across the globe. You will have the opportunity to travel the world through one of Carroll’s many diverse study abroad and service programs.
Carroll Nursing Program Advantages
The E.L. Wiegand Nursing Simulation Center at Carroll is among the best training facilities in the region for nursing majors. Beginning your sophomore year, you will experience the challenges nurses face in many treatment scenarios — from patient assessment to labor and delivery to emergency situations — using our laboratory equipment and high-fidelity patient simulators. Studies show these simulated nursing experiences make graduates less likely to experience performance anxiety when working as nurses.
Our faculty is our greatest strength, and nursing majors can expect extensive personal attention and guidance from professors in the classroom, laboratory, and clinical settings. We maintain a low faculty-to-student ratio to ensure the best learning experience for our students.
A Carroll nursing education translates to an intensive internship in the profession. You will enter the profession prepared to succeed in the real world. See our list of nursing faculty and staff.
Clinical experiences begin in our 200-level nursing courses, where you can apply the knowledge gained in the classroom to real-life situations.
Nursing majors complete approximately 850 hours of clinical/lab as preparation for entering the nursing profession. For traditional nursing track students, this equates to three full years of clinical experiences beginning in their first semester. Clinical occurs in diverse community settings, including:
- Hospitals in Helena and surrounding Montana cities
- Public health settings
- Assisted-living facilities
- Long-term care
- Home visits
- Inpatient and outpatient psychiatric experiences
- School settings
The baccalaureate degree in nursing at Carroll College is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. This accreditation guarantees that the program has demonstrated rigorous quality indicators focused on student success outcomes, student competence evaluation, faculty qualifications, and more. We are also fully approved by the Montana Board of Nursing, a mandatory designation if graduates want to be eligible to take the licensing examination (NCLEX-RN) to become registered nurses.
Our results speak for themselves. Carroll nursing program graduates consistently achieve NCLEX pass rates above the state and national averages.
Graduates from a four-year baccalaureate nursing school have more career options upon graduation. Nearly half of our nursing graduates have jobs lined up by the time they graduate, with the majority finding employment within a few months.
Because of our outstanding nursing degree program and depth of training, Carroll nursing graduates possess the knowledge, maturity, and clinical skills to be successful practitioners in a wide variety of health care settings.
Our graduates are consistently looked upon as leaders, thanks to the critical thinking and communication skills, positive attitudes, and expertise they bring as skilled caregivers. That’s why you’ll find them in top graduate-level programs and providing the highest quality care in settings from Montana to Washington to Texas to New York City.
Carroll’s concentration on holistic health care means our nursing majors learn more than basic skills. They emerge ready to provide the broadest overall care for patients, with an emphasis on both prevention and treatment. Our graduates frequently enter community health professions dedicated to helping people enjoy long lifetimes of good health and shaping the future of U.S. public health policy.
A Carroll nursing degree prepares you to succeed in the profession. Surveys of our one- and five-year nursing alumni reveal high employer satisfaction. As one employer recently put it, “The Carroll grads seem to transition more effectively from the student role into work role. Their ability to put into practical application the theory learned is impressive.”
Another employer recently said, “Carroll College produces some of the best nurses I have ever had the pleasure of working with!”
Because of their excellent critical thinking and communication skills honed through our broad liberal education, Carroll nursing program graduates not only become great nurses but also rise to leadership and management positions in hospitals and other health care organizations.
As one hospital administrator said, "I have worked with several Carroll College graduates-they seem especially prepared for roles which require additional responsibility and leadership."
Many of our nursing majors enjoy prestigious internships at highly competitive programs, including the Mayo Clinic — and several of these internships translate to jobs upon graduation.
At the center of life and learning on the nursing floor is the Holistic Health Lab and Learning Center. This space is dedicated to the learning and practice of holistic healing modalities for self-care and enhancing the wellness of others.