Teaching
A transformative educational experience
As health care evolves, our approach to teaching evolves, too. At the Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing, we provide a transformative education, preparing our students to reach their highest potential as nursing leaders. Through innovative approaches to education and a rigorous curriculum, our expert faculty challenge students to critically assess and develop the beliefs, values, and knowledge that will guide them throughout their nursing careers.
Clinical Experiences
With hand-picked clinical placements, Loyola ensures opportunities are tailored to meet the needs of each student, clinical experiences are the cornerstone of your nursing education. At Loyola Nursing, we are committed to providing diverse opportunities for students to practice their nursing skills in real world settings. Our faculty work with each student to find the placement and preceptor that's the best fit for them.
Loyola Nursing offers hundreds of unique pathways for students to work in a clinical setting, caring for diverse patient populations. In the Chicago area alone, we maintain approximately 400 affiliation agreements with health care facilities, from community clinics to world-class hospitals.
Inter-professional Health Care Education and Practice
A collaborative health care team is essential to delivering safe, patient-centered, and cost-effective care. To prepare our students to work effectively in multi-disciplinary teams, Loyola provides several collaborative opportunities and simulations.
I-TIE
The Institute for Transformative Inter-professional Education (I-TIE) promotes collaborative, inter-professional education and practice across health care disciplines. The Institute offers a joint curriculum for students studying medicine, nursing, public health, law, health systems management, business, bioethics, social work, nutrition, and exercise science. We are proud that Loyola was among the first universities to offer this collaborative model.
Over the years, the School of Nursing has received funding from the U.S. Health and Human Services Department's Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to support I-TIE and continue to develop innovative inter-professional collaborative practice training for providers, faculty, and students. In collaboration with Loyola's academic medical center partner, Loyola University Health System (LUHS), these funds also supported the redesign of care delivery at an LUHS Family Practice clinic and Loyola Nursing's School-Based Health Center at Proviso East High School.
I-PATH
With the support of additional HRSA funding, Loyola Nursing is working to address the shortage of nursing leaders prepared to lead inter-professional teams and improve patient care. The Inter-professional-Promoting Access to Health (I-PATH) project supports inter-professional courses and clinical experiences for students in nursing, public health, and medicine.
TeamSTEPPS
TeamSTEPPS provides a highly interactive simulation experience that enhances team dynamics to improve patient safety and outcomes. Nursing and medical students use TeamSTEPPS to prepare for inter-professional collaboration in their future careers. Recently, Loyola opened the simulation experience to practicing health professionals, other Loyola students, and Illinois schools.
Primary Care Community Health Nursing Scholar Program
The Primary Care Community Health Nursing Scholar Program (PCCHNS) prepares undergraduates for work in primary care settings immediately after graduation. The four-year program takes nursing students out of their “comfort zone” and examines policy changes to help improve primary care practices. As part of the program, students can travel to Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota for an Alternative Spring Break Immersion and work with its Native American population.
Poverty Simulation
Each semester, Loyola hosts a large-scale, three-hour poverty simulation where participants role play one month in the life of a family living in poverty. During the simulation, students must interact with the various community agencies that both help and hinder individuals and families living in underserved areas. All Loyola University faculty, students, staff, and community partners are welcome to observe or participate.
"I was so impressed by the connections Loyola had with hospitals in Chicago and was excited by the possibility of getting clinical experience at some of these health systems." - Nina Herkert (BSN '19)
Simulation Labs and Experiences
Nursing simulation labs provide a realistic and "safe space" for students to encounter a variety of scenarios without the fear of harming an actual patient. Labs are equipped with high-fidelity adult, pediatric, and obstetric simulators. By challenging students to problem-solve, collaborate, and think critically, these labs help them apply and practice their skills in hospital, clinic, and home settings. Through Loyola's Center for Simulation Education, students have access to two, state-of-the art simulation labs at the Lake Shore and Health Sciences campuses.
A transformative educational experience
As health care evolves, our approach to teaching evolves, too. At the Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing, we provide a transformative education, preparing our students to reach their highest potential as nursing leaders. Through innovative approaches to education and a rigorous curriculum, our expert faculty challenge students to critically assess and develop the beliefs, values, and knowledge that will guide them throughout their nursing careers.
Clinical Experiences
With hand-picked clinical placements, Loyola ensures opportunities are tailored to meet the needs of each student, clinical experiences are the cornerstone of your nursing education. At Loyola Nursing, we are committed to providing diverse opportunities for students to practice their nursing skills in real world settings. Our faculty work with each student to find the placement and preceptor that's the best fit for them.
Loyola Nursing offers hundreds of unique pathways for students to work in a clinical setting, caring for diverse patient populations. In the Chicago area alone, we maintain approximately 400 affiliation agreements with health care facilities, from community clinics to world-class hospitals.
Inter-professional Health Care Education and Practice
A collaborative health care team is essential to delivering safe, patient-centered, and cost-effective care. To prepare our students to work effectively in multi-disciplinary teams, Loyola provides several collaborative opportunities and simulations.
"I was so impressed by the connections Loyola had with hospitals in Chicago and was excited by the possibility of getting clinical experience at some of these health systems." - Nina Herkert (BSN '19)
Simulation Labs and Experiences
Nursing simulation labs provide a realistic and "safe space" for students to encounter a variety of scenarios without the fear of harming an actual patient. Labs are equipped with high-fidelity adult, pediatric, and obstetric simulators. By challenging students to problem-solve, collaborate, and think critically, these labs help them apply and practice their skills in hospital, clinic, and home settings. Through Loyola's Center for Simulation Education, students have access to two, state-of-the art simulation labs at the Lake Shore and Health Sciences campuses.