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Curriculum

 

Academic Advising Guidelines

Advising and Registration procedures are detailed in the Student Services Handbook.

Master of Science in Nursing Curriculum Schedule

The following represents a suggested plan of study for graduate students pursuing their degree at a part-time pace. The nurse practitioner program require 43 credit hours for graduation. The nurse educator program (shown in the second matrix) require 41 credit hours for graduation.

* Proposed plans of study are subject to change, and are contingent upon sufficient enrollment.

Advanced Practice Nurse: Practitioner Functional Role

Part-Time Plan of Study Beginning in Fall (ANP, FNP, PNP or WHNP)

Total Program Credit Hours: 43

Prerequisites for all Diagnosis & Management I and II are: 6106, 6111, 6120, 6130, 6519; 6509 and 6530 may be taken concurrently

MSN Nurse Educator Role

Part-time Plan of Study Beginning in Fall Year

NS: 6309 is Prerequisite to all Nurse Educator courses (NS6320, NS6321, NS6322, NS6950, NS6952 N6739, 6743 or 6746 N6950 Prerequisites: 6739, or 6743 or 6746

Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Plan of Study - Offered in collaboration with the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Nursing

Part-Time Plan of Study Beginning in Fall (*Denotes UMKC on-line courses)

YEAR	FALL	SPRING	SUMMER
I	N6111 Theoretical Foundations of Research and Practice (3)	N6120 Population Based Foundations of Health (3)
	N6130 Research for Evidenced- Based Practice (3)	N6106 Policy, Organization and Financing of Health Care (3)
	Total Credit Hours 6	Total Credit Hours 6	Total Credit Hours
II	N6509 Role of the Clinical Nurse Specialist/Nurse Practitioner (2)	N5547N* Neonatal Assessment (3)	N5549N* Neonatal Pharmacology (3)
		N5548N* Neonatal Physiology/ Pathophysiology (3)
	Total Credit Hours 2	Total Credit Hours 6	Total Credit Hours 3
III	N5564N* Neonatal Nursing 1 (3)	N5572NI* Preceptorship I (5)
	N5566N* Neonatal Nursing 2 (3)	N5574NII* Preceptorship II (5)
	Total Credit Hours 6	Total Credit Hours 10	Total Program Hours 39

Program Outcomes

Building on baccalaureate nursing education, and on completion of the MSN Program, students will be able to:

• Demonstrate integration of advanced knowledge and skills within the context of an advanced professional role,

• Provide leadership with inter-professional colleagues engaging strategic partners to improve health care outcomes and patient safety,

• Integrate informatics in the design, implementation and evaluation of population specific interventions,

• Evaluate research findings to implement and disseminate evidence based

  professional nursing practice,

• Provide ethically grounded, culturally competent health promotion with diverse populations.

Functional Role Options

A major aspect of advanced nursing practice is the assumption of expanded roles and responsibilities within the health care delivery system. Therefore, in addition to in-depth study of a chosen population focus, master's level nursing education includes examination of a specific role in the advanced practice of nursing.

Educator Functional Role

The educator option is designed for the student interested in nursing education within an academic or clinical setting. The educator role option requires completion of content needed to practice as an educator in basic nursing academic settings (associate and baccalaureate) or in clinical settings as staff development personnel. While much of the material included can be used, this track is not oriented toward direct client education.

The educator functional role option consists of a minimum of 41 semester hours. All core courses are required as well as completion of clinical courses within a chosen clinical focus and research component. The required functional role courses include concepts and principles of learning theory with special attention given to adult learning, instructional and evaluation methods, faculty roles and responsibilities, curriculum development, and accreditation processes.

Nurse Practitioner Functional Role

The nurse practitioner role is designed for the student who wishes to practice as a clinical expert within a primary care practice setting. Learning activities focus on development of the knowledge and skills needed to practice as a primary health care provider. This functional role option provides the knowledge's and experiences needed to take national certification examinations.

The College currently offers primary care practitioner options in adult, family, women's health, neonatal, and pediatric as part of the master's in nursing curriculum.

The nurse practitioner option includes a minimum of 43 semester hours. All core courses are required as well as the clinical specific courses and research component. Content in the required functional role course (N6509) includes problem identification and resolution in the practice setting, educational concepts, and legal and professional issues.

The nurse practitioner option also requires completion of an advanced course in health assessment, pathophysiology, and pharmacology course. The advanced pharmacology course focuses specifically on medications commonly used for primary health care management. This course also addresses the implications of prescriptive authority.

Clinical Experience Guidelines

• It is the expectation that all coursework and clinical hours will be completed during the semester in which the student has enrolled in the course. Advanced Practice Nurse Internship I (6954) and Advanced Practice Nurse Internship II (6955) are designed to be taken contiguously.
• The student can complete clinical hours only when the preceptor is present.
• Clinical hours may only be completed during a semester in which the student is enrolled. The student may not obtain precepted clinical hours between academic sessions.
• Grades are given for performance in clinical.

FAQ's about the Clinical Component In the NP Program

1. How much clinical time is required?

A total of 600 clock hours of clinical practice is required for the NP track. Clinical hours in the NP program begin in the diagnosis and health management courses. The student spends approximately 50 clock hours during each diagnosis and health management course in structured clinical experiences. Examples of these structured clinical experiences include radiology, cardiology, ophthalmology, ENT, dermatology, pelvic exam, an STD course, etc. These experiences give the student a clinical base before working independently with a preceptor. After completing the diagnosis and health management courses the student spends a total of 500 hours over two semesters in practice with a preceptor.

2. What is considered clinical practice?

Clinical practice hours refer to hours in which direct clinical care is provided to individuals, families, and populations in population-focused areas of NP practice; clinical hours do not include skill lab hours, physical assessment practice sessions, or a community project, if it does not include provision of direct care. Clinical experiences and time spent in each experience should be varied and distributed in a way that prepares the student to provide care to the populations served. For example, a FNP student should receive experiences with individuals/families across the life span. In addition, whereas 500 clinical hours is regarded as a minimum, it is expected that programs preparing NPs to provide direct care to multiple age groups, e.g. FNP (or lifespan), will exceed this minimum requirement. ( NONPF, 2008. p9)

      3. How do I choose a preceptor?

          Points to consider when choosing a preceptor include:

• The preceptor should be either an advanced practice nurse (APN) or a physician. The preceptor may not be a Physicians Assistant. The student should plan to spend at least 200 hours with an APN during the clinical portion of your studies.
• If a physician, the preceptor must be licensed to practice in the state in which the clinical experience will occur and be board certified or board eligible in an area appropriate to the students goals.
• If an APN, the preceptor must be recognized as an advanced practice nurse by the state in which the clinical experience will occur. The APN must be nationally certified in his/her practice area.
• The student should develop clinical goals for the preceptorship prior to beginning the clinical experience.
• Choose a preceptor with a minimum of one-year experience. The preceptor must be approved by the 6954 /6955 Course Coordinator and the Emphasis Area Coordinator of your clinical track.
• It is the expectation that all course work and clinical hours will be completed during the semester in which you have enrolled in the course. Additional hours, with permission of your clinical instructor, may be applied to the total number of precepted hours.
• Clinical hours may only occur when your preceptor is physically present.
• Clinical hours may only occur during semesters in which you are enrolled as a student. The published calendar dates include: fall, spring and various summer sessions. This specifically means students may not engage in precepted clinical hours between academic sessions.
• At least the first 100 clinical hours must be done within a 2 hour radius of UMSL. Currently all clinicals must be done in the state of Missouri.
• At least one semester prior to the preceptored clinical experience a preceptor orientation meeting will be held to inform you of the necessary paperwork and provide you with guidelines for obtaining a preceptor. If you have questions prior to that time, contact the MSN Program Director.
• All APN students must complete 600 hours of clinical experience prior to graduation. The Entire time must be spent in direct patient care or patient care simulation. No more than 75 hours may be spent in subspecialty clinical settings unless prior arrangements have been made with the 6954/6955 course coordinator. All clinical hours must be spent in primary care settings. At least 200 hours must be spent with and advanced practice nurse.

 Independent Study Guidelines

Independent study is available as an elective means of increasing knowledge within the student's content area. It is not to replace a routinely offered course. The following guidelines are to be followed:

1. The student is responsible for identifying and initiating contact with a faculty member in whose content area the student is interested, either inside or outside the College of Nursing
2. The student and faculty member must establish mutually agreed upon course objectives and evaluation criteria. The agreement is to be recorded and one copy is to be placed in the student's permanent file. (Use the Application for Course work- Independent Study Form - see Office of Student Services. This form must be completed PRIOR to registering for the course.)
3. The faculty member provides guidance as needed throughout the course; the degree of independence will vary with student learning objectives.
4. Credit allocation can vary from one (1) to three (3) credits per semester depending on the nature of the 

 Research

 

The Master of Science in nursing requires knowledge related to the application of research to practice. This is accomplished through the completion of the course N6130 Research for Evidenced-Based Practice.

UMSL •
Last updated: 01/14/2013