Master of Science in Nursing
Program Director: Paulette Thabault
Program Coordinator: Janice Hansen
Norwich University offers the Master of Science in Nursing with concentrations in Healthcare Systems Leadership, Nursing Informatics, and Nursing Education. The program is fully approved by the Vermont State Nursing Board and accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).
Beginning in the December 2020 term, Norwich University will revising its existing curriculum. The new curriculum will require students to l take two, three-credit seminars each term or, for those enrolled in a specialty Nurse Practitioner track, two, two-credit seminars or clinicals. The revised program will offer concentrations in Healthcare Systems Leadership, Nursing Informatics, Nursing Education as well as Nurse Practitioner tracks in: Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP), Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Adult Gerontology (ACNP-AG), and Psychiatric and Mental Health. Each Nurse Practitioner track is a 45 credit-hour program of study.
The Norwich University Master of Science in Nursing with a concentration in Healthcare Systems Leadership is a 36 credit program that provides graduates with the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed as nurse leaders in a variety of health care settings.
The Master of Science in Nursing with a concentration in Nursing Informatics is 36 credit program that prepares the graduate to function in a variety of information systems leadership roles and to sit for the national certification examination.
The Master of Science in Nursing with a concentration in Education is a 40 credit program that prepares the graduate to assume roles in formal academic settings or in staff development positions.
Mission
The Master of Science in Nursing program prepares visionary nurse leaders who demonstrate advanced critical thinking, communication, and decision making skills to ensure quality outcomes within the complex systems of the health care continuum. Graduates initiate and effectively utilize research findings to improve outcomes, as well as utilize knowledge of health promotion, health care policy and systems, change and finance to effectively manage available resources in the changing health care environment. Masters prepared nurses utilize this knowledge base integrated with theories from nursing and related disciplines to create and implement ethical practices and policies to improve the environment in which health care is delivered.
The Masters prepared nurse engages in an expanded scope of practice that is characterized by critical analysis of problems and creative problem solving, and application of theories in the decision making process. The graduate manages change effectively and utilizes effective communication skills and technologies to create collaborative partnerships within nursing and across health care disciplines. Graduate education prepares the nurse to identify and evaluate personal and organization values and to implement ethical decisions and strategies to improve outcomes.
Program Outcomes
- Initiate and effectively utilize research findings to improve outcomes across the spectrum of nursing environments.
- Integrate knowledge of health promotion, health care policy and systems, change and finance to effectively manage available resources in the nursing environment.
- Integrate theories from nursing and related disciplines to create and implement ethical practices and policies to improve nursing practice.
- Critically analyze problems and demonstrate theory based problem solving in making decisions across a variety of nursing settings.
- Plan and manage change effectively.
- Incorporate the knowledge and skills related to informatics and technology to effectively improve nursing practice.
- Implement effective communication skills to create collaborative partnerships within nursing and across health care disciplines.
- Apply the principles of translational science and implementation/improvement science, advocacy and appreciative inquiry in the context of the advanced nursing role.
Core Curriculum for Nurse Educator and Nurse Practitioner (27 credits):
NR 541: Advanced Pharmacology 3 credits
This course builds on the student’s understanding of fundamental pharmacological principles, including pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, drug metabolism, and dose-response relationships and includes the study of major pharmacological classes related to common disease processes. The course explores the major pharmacological drug classes and their application to the principles of therapeutic decision-making, including legal and ethical implications.
NR 543: Advanced Pathophysiology 3 credits
This course examines pathophysiological processes integral to the understanding of human health conditions and disorders across the lifespan. Objective and subjective manifestations of common health problems resulting from environmental, genetic, and stress-related maladaptation are assessed and analyzed. Assessment findings, diagnostic testing, and interventions for specific health problems are discussed. The etiology, epidemiology, and pathophysiology of disorders are reviewed within the context of age, gender, lifestyle and sociocultural determinants. Principles of pathophysiology are applied to recognize clinical signs and symptoms consistent with human health conditions. The impact of health promotion and disease prevention on pathophysiological processes across the lifespan are explored.
NR 523: Health Care Systems, Nursing Leadership and Advanced Nursing Role 3 credits
This course examines the healthcare system and guides students to assess and analyze the healthcare system in the context of advanced practice nursing and the role of advanced practice nurses. The student explores organizational and system science, change theories and social change theories in its application to healthcare. Healthcare leadership including theory and styles as well as contemporary approaches, ethical practice and leadership strategies are examined. Inter/intra professional communication, teamwork, consultation, diversity and collaboration are discussed as cornerstones for patient safety, optimal health outcomes and accountability in health care. The student analyzes and evaluates the intersection of current and emerging healthcare system challenges and advanced practice role dimensions.
NR 514: Epidemiology and Population Health 3 credits
This course provides a foundation of key concepts essential to population-focused nursing, the aggregate, community or population as the unit of care. The focus of the course is on health promotion/disease prevention with emphasis on the advanced nursing role in clinical prevention of disease and care of populations. Applying concepts of primary, secondary, and tertiary health promotion across the lifespan, the student relates the basic concepts of epidemiology to multiple domains of population health, using epidemiology to better understand, characterize, and promote health at a population level. Disease prevention and health promotion of populations are examined through the study of the occurrence and distribution of health-related states or events, including the study of social determinants of health.
NR 513: Advanced Physical Assessment 3 credits
This course builds upon basic health assessment and guides the student to obtain a complete and accurate health assessment, including history, physical examination, and commonly used screening tools, as a foundation for advanced nursing practice with clients across the life span. The course emphasizes critical analysis and synthesis of physical exam data, relevant health history data, critical risk appraisal of the physical and mental status, assessment of nutrition, and anticipatory guidance relevant to health promotion and disease prevention. At the conclusion of the course, the student will utilize distance learning technology to demonstrate a comprehensive physical health assessment.
NR 524: Health Policy, Advocacy and Economics in Healthcare 3 credits
This course examines healthcare delivery in the United States, to include the role of public policy, advocacy, and industry regulation. Health policy perspectives and the analytical tools to understand the national policy-making environment are integrated throughout the course. Key policy issues and core constructs for analysis include national health expenditures and cost containment strategies, patient access and health disparities, health care quality and performance improvement, and workforce policy. Health care reform, future directions and trends, and policy innovations are examined for their impact on advanced nursing practice, service delivery, and health outcomes. Health systems of other developed and developing countries are examined to gain a global perspective and appreciation for a variety of health system attributes.
NR 533: Quality Improvement and Patient Safety 3 credits
This course introduces the student to the fundamentals of quality improvement science, and its application to quality and safety in healthcare. The student examines quality improvement models in the delivery of healthcare and measures for quality improvement initiatives. Foundations of health care quality and the science underlying patient safety and quality improvement, design and select effective health care measures are explored. The course includes analysis and processes related to patient safety problems using tools such as human factors analysis and discusses systematic quality improvement approaches including the Model for Improvement (MFI) and Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) models to address quality improvement challenges, and strategies to lead a culture of change.
NR 534: Informatics & Healthcare Technologies 3 credits
This seminar reviews concepts important to implementing and sustaining effective use of technology in the clinical environment. Security and privacy for the protection of privileged information, effective policy development, testing and implementation are examined. Concepts of change management as well as informatics role in community/population health monitoring and management are explored. The student studies the use of technology to generate new evidence, the potential influence of emerging technologies on clinical practice and the importance of developing a caring practice in a high technology environment
NR 593: Advanced Nursing Research and Evidence Based Practice 3 credits
This course focuses on the use of the research process in developing new nursing knowledge and applying to an evidence-based practice. The student examines and develops research questions considers theoretical frameworks, methods of data collection and analysis, and the interpretation and use of study findings in providing evidence based care of individuals, families, and communities. The importance of scientific integrity and ethical standards are emphasized and ethical issues in the conduct of research are explored. The student is prepared to critically appraise and utilize research, and identify researchable problems within the context of his/her own practice.
NR595: Residency (0 credits)
Students are required to attend a one-week, on-campus Residency Conference the June following or concurrent with their final course.
Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) Track:
| NR 590 | Advanced Pharmacology - Population Focus: Family | 2 |
| NR 611 | Family Nurse Practitioner I (adult and geriatric) | 2 |
| NR 612 | Family Nurse Practitioner I Clinical | 2 |
| NR 613 | Family Nurse Practitioner II (adult and geriatric) | 2 |
| NR 614 | Family Nurse Practitioner II Clinical | 2 |
| NR 615 | Family Nurse Practitioner III (women and children) | 2 |
| NR 616 | Family Nurse Practitioner III Clinical | 2 |
| NR 617 | Family Nurse Practitioner IV (women and children) | 2 |
| NR 618 | Family Nurse Practitioner IV Clinical | 2 |
| Total Cr. | 18 | |
Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Adult Gerontology (ACNP-AG) Track:
| NR 591 | Advanced Pharmacology--Population Focus: Adult and Geriatric | 2 |
| NR 621 | Adult Geriatric Acute Care I | 2 |
| NR 622 | Adult Geriatric Acute Care 1 Clinical | 2 |
| NR 623 | Adult Geriatric Acute Care II | 2 |
| NR 624 | Adult Geriatric Care II Clinic | 2 |
| NR 625 | Adult Geriatric Acute Care III | 2 |
| NR 626 | Adult Geriatric and Acute Care III Clinical | 2 |
| NR 627 | Adult Geriatric Acute Care IV | 2 |
| NR 628 | Adult Geriatric and Acute care IV Clinical | 2 |
| Total Cr. | 18 | |
Psychiatric and Mental Health NP Track:
| NR 592 | Advanced Pharmacology--Population Focus: Mental Health | 2 |
| NR 631 | Psychiatric and Mental Health NP I | 2 |
| NR 632 | Psychiatric and Mental Health Clinical I | 2 |
| NR 633 | Psychiatric and Mental Health NP II | 2 |
| NR 634 | Psychiatric and Mental Health Clinical II | 2 |
| NR 635 | Psychiatric and Mental Health NP III | 2 |
| NR 636 | Psychiatric and Mental Health Clinical III | 2 |
| NR 637 | Psychiatric and Mental Health NP IV | 2 |
| NR 638 | Psychiatric and Mental Health Clinical IV | 2 |
| Total Cr. | 18 | |
The September 2020 start date will be the last enrollment for this curriculum map. Students entering the MSN program in December 2020 or later should consult the Revised MSN Curriculum Map.
Curriculum Map
| Term 1 | ||
NR 512 | 6 | |
| Term 2 | ||
| Translating and Integrating Scholarship into Practice | 6 | |
| Term 3 | ||
| Quality Improvement, Informatics & Healthcare Technologies | 6 | |
| Term 4 | ||
Concentration course(s) | 6 | |
| Term 5 | ||
Concentration course(s) | 6-10 | |
| Term 6 | ||
Concentration course(s) | 6 | |
| Residency 1 | 0 | |
| Total Cr. | 36-40 | |
| 1 | Students are required to attend a one-week, on-campus Residency Conference the June following or concurrent with their final course. |
Curriculum Requirements
The program’s first three seminars (18 credits) are common core content seminars and provide the foundation for specialization, addressing the study of health care delivery systems, ethical issues, and theoretical bases for nursing, leadership, and research. The remaining seminars (18 credits) address the specific content essential for either the concentration in nursing administration or in nursing education.
Core Courses (18 credits)
| NR 512 | 6 | |
| NR 522 | Translating and Integrating Scholarship into Practice | 6 |
| NR 532 | Quality Improvement, Informatics & Healthcare Technologies | 6 |
| Culminating Academic Requirement | ||
| NR 595 | Residency | 0 |
| Total Cr. | 18 | |
Concentrations (18 - 22 credits)
| Healthcare Systems Leadership Concentration | ||
| NR 546 | Leadership in Healthcare Organizations | 6 |
| Select two of the following | ||
| Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Healthcare | 6 | |
| Healthcare Resource Management | 6 | |
| Healthcare Management | 6 | |
| NR 566 | Strategic Planning and Management in Healthcare | 6 |
| Total Cr. | 18 | |
| Nursing Informatics Concentration | ||
| NR 547 | Theoretical and Practice Foundations of Nursing Informatics | 6 |
| NR 557 | Strategic Planning and Practice Applications in Nursing Informatics | 6 |
| NR 567 | Using Informatics to improve Nursing Practice | 6 |
| Total Cr. | 18 | |
| Nursing Education Concentration | ||
| NR 541 | Clinical Concepts: Advanced Pharmacology | 3 |
| NR 542 | Clinical Concepts: Advanced Health Assessment | 3 |
| NR 543 | Clinical Concepts: Pathophysiology for Disease Management | 4 |
| Students may substitute the following for NR 543 | ||
| ClinicalConceptsADV Pathophys1 | 1 | |
| ClinicalConceptsADV Pathophys2 | 1 | |
| ClinicalConcept ADV Pathophys3 | 1 | |
| ClinicalConceptsADV Pathophys4 | 1 | |
| NR 551 | Theoretical Foundations of Curriculum and Instruction | 6 |
| NR 561 | Scholarship of Teaching, Learning, and Evaluation | 6 |
| Total Cr. | 22 | |
One-Week Residency
All degree candidates of the Master of Science in Nursing are required to attend a one-week Residency Conference on the Norwich University campus, during which they may attend professional presentations, participate in roundtable discussions with faculty, and present papers. The one-week residency is a degree requirement.
| Faculty Member | Institution at which highest degree was earned |
|---|---|
| Jonathon Brown, DNP | George Washington University |
| Janet Dupont, PhD | Capella University |
| Betty Fair, PhD | University of Texas |
| Emily Gessner, DNP | Northeastern University |
| Jean Gordon, DBA | Nova Southeastern University |
| Jo Anne Grunow, PhD | Rush University |
| Lisa Hawthorne, PhD | University of San Diego |
| Nancy Kupka, DNS | Rush University |
| Mario Ortiz, PhD | Loyola University |
| Linda Tjiong, DBA | University of Sarasota |
| Richard Watters, PhD | University of Western Australia |
| Hope Williamson, DNP | University of Miami |