Since they were pre-teens, Kathrine McKay and Kathryn Lito had aspirations of pursuing a nursing career. So when they applied to the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (B.S.N.) program at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Nursing, they decided to take an accelerated approach to their education with the new Pacesetters program.

A redesigning of the four-semester B.S.N. curriculum, the Pacesetters track gives students their in-classroom course work, plus an opportunity to work a full-time clinical rotation schedule over 16 weeks during their final semester of school. To be admitted into the program, applicants must complete 60 hours of prerequisite course work.