MS Nursing (Future)

The MS in Nursing program is a leadership role designed for nurses who want to make a difference in the clinical setting or provide leadership in educating others to gain these skills. The program assumes responsibility for patient care outcomes through the assimilation and application of evidence-based information to design, implement, and evaluate patient-care processes and models of care delivery. The MS Nurse is a provider and manager of care at the point of care to individuals and cohorts of patients anywhere healthcare is delivered by coordinating and supervising the care provided by interdisciplinary team members. This master’s clinical leadership nursing role includes development of skills in precepting, mentoring, and coaching and can be applied in educational as well as clinical settings.

The curriculum is designed to include the required clinical experiences and competencies for the MS Nurse as delineated in the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) Competencies and Curricular Expectations for Clinical Nurse Leader-Education and Practice. (AACN website) Upon graduation, candidates are eligible to sit for the Certification Examination administered by the Commission on Nurse Certification. The CNL certification is based upon a national standard of requisite knowledge and experiences, thereby assisting employers, the public and members of the health professions in the competencies of the MS Nurse.

MS in Nursing Student Learning Outcomes

Graduates of the program are prepared for the following aspects of practice, based upon the AACN Competencies and Curricular Expectations for MS in Nursing:
1. Clinical leadership for patient-care practices, including the design, coordination and evaluation of care for individuals, families, groups and populations
2. Participation in identification and collection of care outcomes
3. Accountability for evaluation and improvement of point-of-care outcomes, including the synthesis of data and other evidence to evaluate and achieve optimal outcomes
4. Risk anticipation for individual and cohorts of patients
5. Lateral integration of care for individual and cohorts of patients
6. Design and implementation of evidence-based practice(s)
7. Team leadership management and collaboration with other health professional team members
8. Information management or the use of information systems and technologies to improve healthcare outcomes
9. Stewardship and leveraging of human, environmental and material resources
10. Advocacy for patients, communities and health professional teams

Program Curriculum