Programs and Services
An emphasis on leadership
The College of Nursing encourages and directs students to pursue leadership roles at the local, national and international levels. In addition to the UHP, students have the opportunity to participate in a variety of student organizations, such as the College of Nursing Student Council, the Student Nurses’ Association and the Graduate Student Nurses Organization. They can also be enrolled in the UIC Honors College and experience mentored research programs, seminars, workshops, and professional nursing conferences throughout the U.S. There are even opportunities to study abroad and to conduct research.
SENS Program
The SENS (Seminars for Excellence in Nursing Science) Program is a supplemental education program initially developed as one of the University of Illinois College of Nursing’s (UIC Nursing) Urban Health Program (UHP) to promote retention of racial/ethnic minority students. Since 2010, the SENS program has expanded to include Pathophysiology, Clinical Skills, Physiology, Pharmacology, Statistics, Epidemiology, Philosophy of Science, Advanced Study Skills, and Strategies for Success in Nursing Education. The SENS courses are tailored to help both pre-licensure and post-licensure students be successful in their nursing program during the first semester.
Tentative dates for 2025 SENS Program are June 23 to Aug. 1
Registration starts April 2025
UHP Summer SENS course descriptions
Strategies for Increasing Success
This course will provide you with tools and strategies that will help you achieve success, connect with mentors, and navigate challenges that you may face in nursing school. Important topics that will be covered include networking, mentorship, micro-aggressions, stereotype threat, emotional intelligence, goal setting, and what it means to have a growth mindset. Group and individual reflection will be encouraged through discussions and journaling exercises.
Advanced Study Skills for Nursing Education
This course will help prepare you for your future nursing curriculum by providing you with information about effective study techniques, time management, and a variety of useful resources. Other topics that include test-taking strategies, organization, and writing in nursing education. Discussions will center around methods that will set you up for success in both your nursing education and future profession.
Pathophysiology
This course will build upon your physiology knowledge and shift the focus to various cellular and systems-level changes and disease processes in the human body. This knowledge will aid you in familiarizing yourself with common conditions that patients will present with in the clinical setting. Key organ systems covered will include the respiratory, cardiac, renal, endocrine, and reproductive systems, and important nursing concepts such as acid and base balance, heart failure, and electrolyte imbalances will be discussed.
Clinical Skills
This course will introduce you to a variety of skills that will be utilized in the clinical settings that you will learn in throughout your nursing program. Various concepts covered will include physical assessment skills, wound care, oxygen delivery, and vital signs. This course will help prepare you for simulation labs and clinical experiences in both the hospital and community settings.
Physiology
This course will give you the opportunity to review important concepts related to the functioning of the various organ systems in the human body, including the respiratory, cardiac, renal, endocrine, digestive, integumentary, lymphatic, immune, nervous, muscular, skeletal, and reproductive systems. Information about how these systems function and are interconnected and how body homeostasis is maintained will be discussed.
Pharmacology
This course will introduce you to important pharmacological concepts that will be covered in more depth during your pharmacology course. The rights of medication administration, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and information related to major drug classes will be reviewed. We will also discuss concepts such as the nurse’s role in medication administration, medication indications, and pertinent patient education topics.
Statistics and Epidemiology
These are two courses that will prepare you for ONE course for your masters or doctoral nursing program. These subjects will build upon your current statistical knowledge by applying it to population health scenarios and examples. Topics such as data analysis, study designs, and epidemiological concepts will be discussed, and important terminology will be reviewed to prepare you for success in your Statistics and Epidemiology course.
Philosophy of Science
This course will focus on topics and ideas related to the philosophy of science while further developing your critical thinking and reasoning skills. Important topics pertaining to the scientific method, how new scientific knowledge is obtained, and various studies are discussed in book club format.
UHP Mentorship Program
The Urban Health Program (UHP) Pilot Mentorship Program is a 12-week program that allows students the opportunity to receive informal group style mentoring. Students participated from all three of UIC Nursing’s campuses with undergraduate programs – Chicago, Springfield and Urbana. Students completed an application for participation, which included a statement of interests and reasons why they wanted to participate. Majority of students were from underrepresented minority backgrounds; as the mission of the UHP is to recruit, retain, and graduate students who identify as African American/Black, Latino/Latinx, and Native American. However, all students are encouraged to participate.