About SLU's Trudy Busch Valentine School of Nursing
Saint Louis University has been a national leader in nursing education since 1928. We have a national reputation for innovative and pioneering bachelor's, master's, post-master's nurse practitioner certificates and doctoral (D.N.P. and Ph.D.) programs.
SLU’s Trudy Busch Valentine School of Nursing programs are nationally recognized for their innovative and comprehensive curricula. Throughout the years, the Trudy Busch Valentine School of Nursing's faculty has played a pivotal role in advancing the growing field of nursing research.
In 2023, Niche ranked Saint Louis University’s Trudy Busch Valentine School of Nursing as the No. 21 best college in the country for nursing. Additionally, U.S. News and World Report recently ranked our four-year B.S.N. program in the top 7% of undergraduate nursing programs. Also, most recently 97% of our graduates passed the NCLEX on the first try.
The 2025, U.S. News and World Report Best Graduate Schools survey ranked our M.S.N.-NP program No. 61 and our D.N.P. program ranked as No. 97.
Welcome to the website of the Trudy Busch Valentine School of Nursing at Saint Louis University, a national leader in nursing education since 1928.
Our students have the great opportunity to learn from leading educators, practitioners and researchers in nursing, as well as from interprofessional experts from across the campus. Students gain first-hand experience with nursing and health care, from the classroom and virtual learning spaces to our skills and simulation laboratories to external practice settings. These settings include hospitals, clinics, agencies, schools and communities.
We partner with numerous health care sites in St. Louis, surrounding areas, and the nation. These include, but are not limited to, SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital, SSM Health, BJC HealthCare, Mercy Health, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Our students study the science and art of nursing, both its theoretical and clinical domains, as well as participate in health sciences interprofessional education. Situated within the larger context of Saint Louis University with its Jesuit and Catholic mission, a distinguishing feature of our education is the embodiment of cura personalis, or care for the whole person, including the person’s mind, body, heart and spirit. Cura personalis grounds everything we do as a caring community. We educate knowledgeable nursing leaders as men and women for others who will lead successful, ethical and meaningful lives.
Nursing is the most trusted profession and nurses’ knowledgeable, compassionate care is needed worldwide to promote health, well-being, healing and the relief of suffering. We, in the Trudy Busch Valentine School of Nursing, are well-positioned to help students meet this worldwide need. We offer a scientific and values-based education for the generalist and advanced practice nurse and for Ph.D.-prepared nurse scientists who will shape the discovery and generation of nursing knowledge. We are passionate about nursing and the excellent education we offer. Thank you for visiting our site. We look forward to hearing from you!
Sincerely,
Kristine M. L’Ecuyer, Ph.D.
Dean and professor
- 1971: SLU becomes the first university in the country to offer an accelerated B.S.N. program for qualified students seeking a fast-track bachelor’s degree in nursing.
- 1990: SLU offers the first Ph.D. in nursing in Missouri.
- 1997: The first web-based distance learning program at SLU is offered through the Trudy Busch Valentine School of Nursing.
- 2000: SLU begins offering Missouri’s first totally online Master of Science in Nursing - Nurse Practitioner degree.
- 2003: We are the first in the nation to offer an online certificate program that prepares nurses to assume a leadership role in case of a natural disaster or terror attack.
- 2006: SLU develops the nation’s first interprofessional core curriculum, which teaches nursing students the best ways to work closely with other health care providers.
- 2008: We are the first in the St. Louis area to offer a Doctor of Nursing Practice (D.N.P.) degree, a doctoral degree for advanced practice nurses focusing on patient care.
- 2010: SLU begins offering a 21-month direct-entry accelerated M.S.N. program.
- 2015: SLU begins offering a Master of Science in Nursing - Clinical Nurse Leader program.
- 2018: SLU School of Nursing celebrates its 90th year.
Vision Statement
The vision of the Trudy Busch Valentine School of Nursing is to pioneer innovation and advance equity through our mission-driven, diverse, inclusive, well-being-focused environment of excellence in teaching, research, practice and service.
Mission Statement
The mission of the Trudy Busch Valentine School of Nursing is the education of “the whole person," mind, body, heart and spirit within a diverse and technological society.
The School of Nursing embraces the University's Core Student Learning Outcomes which define the essential educational outcomes expected of all who earn baccalaureate degrees at Saint Louis University — regardless of major or the college or school in which students are enrolled. These outcomes — and demonstrable evidence of student achievement of them — drive the faculty's development and revision of the University Core Curriculum.
The School of Nursing, an integral unit of Saint Louis University, seeks to fulfill
its mission of education through teaching, research, practice and service in ways
consistent with the Catholic, Jesuit values of the University. The School of Nursing
acts responsibly by setting priorities and exercising stewardship to ensure the best
use of its resources.
The school, through the teaching component of the mission, prepares diverse students
at the baccalaureate, master's, post-master's, and doctoral levels for professional
nursing practice and interprofessional collaboration to care of the whole person,
the cura personalis. The school creates an inclusive student-centered environment
that recognizes and actively addresses the diverse needs and well-being of individuals
and an academic climate of in-person and online learning that promotes the spirit
of inquiry among faculty and students.
The school, through the research component of the mission, advances the active engagement
of faculty and the involvement of students in the scholarly process of inquiry and
discovery, dissemination, and translation of knowledge. The school promotes interprofessional
collaboration in the conduct of research in order to advance health care.
The school, through the service/practice component of the mission, promotes health
care within the University and the local, regional, and national communities. The
school assumes a leadership role in developing nursing as a discipline and profession
by providing expertise in nursing education, practice, and research to these communities.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
We are committed to respecting and educating the whole person (e.g., mind, body, heart and spirit). Diversity is a broad range of individual, population, and social characteristics, including but not limited to age; sex; race; ethnicity; sexual orientation; gender identity; family structures; geographic locations; national origin; immigrants and refugees; language; physical, functional, and learning abilities; religious beliefs; and socioeconomic status (AACN, 2017).
Equity is about fairness including the fair and just treatment of all individuals. Equity includes access to resources and opportunities for all people while building better outcomes for the historically and currently disadvantaged populations. Equity requires targeted strategies. To differentiate between equity and equality, equality is the equal treatment of all or sameness. Equality provides the same resources and opportunities for everyone, without consideration of their needs, not everyone is situated the same (Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, 2019).
Inclusion is the active engagement of all voices within an organization’s membership, leadership, policy-setting, and decision-making units, and overall profile. Inclusion is also the intentional incorporation of strategies and practices that foster a sense of belonging by promoting meaningful interactions among persons and groups representing different traits, perceptions, and experiences (AACN,2020; Metzger et al., 2020). Inclusivity acknowledges and values differences and embraces relationships with others whose lived experiences may be dramatically different than their own (Martinez-Acosta, 2018).
The Trudy Busch Valentine School of Nursing (TBVSON) is committed to fostering a community where all faculty, staff, and students are respected, accepted, and valued. We strive to constantly advance diversity, equity, and inclusion and support efforts to embrace the unique attributes of every person. We are determined to provide excellence through recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and student body by creating a climate that is respectful and supportive of everyone’s success.
Our School of Nursing is committed to opportunities that promote equity in our community, and in our educational and research practices. We strive to reduce health disparities and deliver culturally humble and high-quality health care. We acknowledge the imbalances of power, access, opportunity, and resources in our society that result in health disparities (e.g., quantitative differences in health status or quality of care) and health inequities (e.g., power imbalances between groups of people).
As a School of Nursing, we champion the many aspects of diversity represented by our faculty, staff, and students. We individually and collectively are committed to anti-racist treatment and will continually examine our procedures and processes that might advantage one group over another. This commitment to anti-racist treatment will heighten our awareness and our ability to take action to dismantle all forms of oppression, be it interpersonal, systemic, or institutional and structural.
The TBVSON embraces the central tenets of the cultural humility framework and uses this framework as a compass to ensure sustainable diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. The cultural humility framework includes three features:
- A lifelong commitment to self-evaluation and self-critique.
- Preventing and rectifying abuses of power imbalances in the teacher-student, clinician-patient/family, colleague-colleague, and academic-community dynamic.
- Developing and expanding mutually beneficial and non-paternalistic clinical and community partnerships.
Embracing this framework, we value and respect the life experiences, uniqueness, and the perspectives of everyone which allows us to provide innovative and high-quality care to patients, families, our community, and beyond.
In keeping with our Jesuit mission, we are constantly striving to foster a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment that welcomes all expressions of diversity and identity, including race, ethnicity, national origin, age, ability, gender, sexual orientation, faith, and ideology.
The faculty, staff and students at the School of Nursing are committed to fostering an environment that is free of bias, discrimination, and harassment, in the classroom and in the broader university community. We are a community that strives to model reflection, advocacy, and care for community in an effort to work toward an equitable, democratic and sustainable society.
For additional information, please view this infographic: Strategic Framework for Inclusive Excellence (PDF).