Accelerated BSN Clinical Rotations

No nursing education is complete without the real-life experiences you can only get working in actual healthcare settings. As a University of the Incarnate Word Accelerated BSN student, you’ll learn first-hand what it takes to be a knowledgeable, compassionate nurse through more than 900 hours of clinical rotations at a variety of clinical sites in and around San Antonio, including two of the most respected in Texas — CHRISTUS Health System and Methodist Healthcare System.

Due to the condensed format of our 16-month accelerated nursing track, you’ll begin clinical rotations during your first semester. This will ensure that you graduate with a wealth of diverse clinical experiences in several specialties.

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Real-World Nursing Experience

It’s normal to be nervous walking into your first round of clinicals, especially as a first-semester nursing student. However, it’s important to remember that your clinical experiences correspond to what you’re doing in your online coursework and skills and simulation labs, so you’ll always have a good idea of what you’re walking into and how it supports your learning objectives.

As you progress through your courses in the  ABSN track, you will become increasingly independent in clinical. Throughout clinical rotations, you’ll receive one-on-one attention from your clinical instructors and expert guidance from the registered nurses and other healthcare providers on staff.

These clinical experiences are invaluable in helping you to learn how to effectively:

  • Care for patients with varied and complex medical conditions.
  • Advocate for the mental, physical and spiritual needs of your patients.
  • Communicate with patients and their family members.
  • Manage and prioritize the needs of multiple patients.
  • Work as part of a multi-disciplinary care team.
  • Navigate the healthcare system and electronic records management systems.

Clinicals also provide another significant benefit, which can be very helpful when you enter the workforce — the opportunity to network with nurses, doctors, hiring managers and other hospital staff.

Valuable Academic Partnerships

Beginning the first semester of our 16-month ABSN track, you’ll gain valuable real-world nursing experience in a variety of clinical settings around the greater San Antonio area. There, you’ll learn from some of the best in the field while building your professional network.

Through these diverse clinical experiences at CHRISTUS Health System and Methodist Healthcare System, you’ll get to work with patients in several areas, potentially including:

  • Medical-surgical
  • Behavioral health
  • Obstetrics (maternity)
  • Pediatrics

In all these settings, you can also expect to receive dedicated attention from your nursing instructors thanks to our small clinical sizes.

Outside building view of UIW's campus

For More Information

Contact us to talk to an admissions counselor about clinical rotations
and their critical role in your accelerated nursing education.