Pictured | Lisa Mae | Master of Science in Nursing | B.S.N., Texas Women's University, 1995 | Culver, Indiana (hometown)
Master of Science in Nursing
Program Description
The Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree program at IU South Bend prepares its graduates for leadership roles in advanced nursing practice as Family Nurse Practitioners. The goal of the MSN is to develop nurses with the advanced practice nursing skills to increase the potential of our regional health care delivery system to improve the health of our communities. Program graduates will be eligible to take the Family Nurse Practitioner (F.N.P.) certification exam offered by either the American Nurses Credentialing Center or the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners.
The MSN Family Nurse Practitioner Program is a 42 credit hour, postbaccalaureate graduate degree. Applicants to the program must hold a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from an accredited institution. The curriculum is roughly divided into three major sections: core foundation, advance practice management and scholarly inquiry. The courses provide the student with a core foundation for advanced practice. The advance practice management courses build upon that foundation, adding knowledge and its application in the direct clinical experience of advanced practice nursing. Scholarly inquiry provides the student with tools to problem solve and utilize Evidence Based Practice (EBP) in clinical practice. All degree requirements must be completed within six years of initial program enrollment.
Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) are needed to meet the growing regional demand for health care, as well as to address critical shortages of primary care providers. APRN's use theory, research, and clinical expertise to improve the health of adults. Admission requirements and core courses for this track are the same as for the Family Nurse Practitioner curriculum.
The program is designed to meet the educational needs of working Registered Nurse, and is structured as a cohort-based, year-round, part-time study model. Degree requirements may be met through a combination of distance accessible and campus-based coursework. Clinical work is arranged in consultation and is undertaken under the guidance of a faculty member and a preceptor. Clinical placements are designed to meet individual goals as well as overall learning outcomes.
Program Outcomes
The graduate of the MSN degree program will be prepared to do the following:
- Model excellence in nursing leadership to improve nursing practice within a complex health care system
- Perform advanced nursing practice within ethical-legal guidelines, professional policies and regulations, and standards of practice associated with a specialty area of practice
- Synthesize knowledge from nursing as well as biological, behavioral, social, administrative, educational, and communication sciences for application to a chosen domain of advanced practice nursing
- Demonstrate scholarly inquiry and reflection that exemplifies critical, creative, and systems thinking to advance the practice of nursing
- Frame problems, design interventions, specify outcomes and measure outcome achievement while balancing human, fiscal, and material resources to achieve quality health outcomes
- Use information technology and knowledge-based resources to manage and transform data that informs clinical practice
- Systematically apply knowledge from research findings and best evidence to answer clinical questions, solve clinical problems, and develop innovative nursing interventions and health policies for selected patient populations.
- Demonstrate collaborative practice and interpret nursing science within an interdisciplinary context
- Articulate the effects of culture, diversity, values, and globalization in the design, delivery, and evaluation of health services
- Engage in life-long learning activities that contribute to professional development as well as the advancement of nursing