Curriculum

APRN (Advanced Practice Registered Nurse)

After completing the MSN-APRN Degree within an area of advanced practice, graduates achieve the following outcomes:

  1. Integrate evidence-based principles and strategies to design and deliver safe, effective healthcare, and health promotion/prevention education, for diverse individuals, families, and communities in all practice settings. [Essentials* III, IV, VII, VIII, IX]
  2. Provide primary health care by assuming responsibility and accountability for the continuity of health care, regardless of the presence or absence of disease, consistent with the population-specific training of the selected APRN program. [Essentials I, III, IV, VII, VIII]
  3. Demonstrate effective communication, collaboration, mutual respect and shared decision-making with all stakeholders to achieve quality patient-centered outcomes. [Essentials I, III, V, VI, IX]
  4. Synthesize existing nursing science and integrate into advanced nursing practice. [Essentials I, IV, VI, IX]
  5. Translate and integrate best current evidence with clinical expertise and patient/family values and preferences for optimal health care outcomes. [Essentials III, IV, V, VIII]
  6. Demonstrate leadership and advocacy to promote policies, regulations and initiatives supporting healthy communities and patient safety across diverse populations. [Essentials II, V, VI, IX]
  7. Implement strategies to address ethical dilemmas and evaluate outcomes in individual patients, populations, and systems of care that are based on laws, principles of ethics and shared decision-making. [Essentials I, III, IV, VI, IX]
  8. Demonstrate effective participation in a culture of inter-professional collaboration that promotes innovation, team building, conflict resolution, incorporation of values and ethics, understanding of roles and responsibilities, and analysis of impact of diversity in patient-centered care. [Essentials I, II, III, VI, VII]
  9. Analyze and evaluate outcomes data by using technologies and information systems to manage knowledge, mitigate error and support clinical decision-making in all practice settings. [Essentials II, III. V, VII, VIII]
  10. Demonstrate professional engagement to improve access of all patients to quality advanced nursing care through involvement in professional organizations at the local, state and national levels. [Essentials I, II, IV, VI, VII, IX]

*Essentials of Master’s Education in Nursing, American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN)

In addition, functional objectives for each area of advanced practice for the MSN degree provide role preparation for:

  1. Nurse practitioners to deliver advanced nursing care through the assessment, diagnosis and management of health/illness needs in primary healthcare, assuming responsibility and accountability for the continuity of healthcare in both health and illness.
  2. Clinical nurse specialists to deliver advanced nursing care in a clinical specialty and perform advanced practice consultative, educative, leadership and research roles in inpatient and outpatient settings.

Curriculum Course Sequence