Nursing (MSN): Direct Entry for BA/BS Holders
Faculty
Patricia Rissmiller, Associate Professor and Graduate Chair
Charlene Berube, Associate Professor of Practice and Chair of Undergrad Nursing
NIckie Burney, Director of Family Nurse Practitioner Program
Margaret Costello, Assistant Professor
Sarah Desmond, Associate Professor of Practice
Susan Duty, Associate Professor
Eileen McGee, Associate Professor of Practice
Jennifer Howard, Professor of Practice
Rebecca Koeniger-Donohue, Professor of Practice
Laura Rossi, Assistant Professor
Karen Teeley, Professor of Practice and Director of RN to BSN Program, Nursing@simmons
Sarah Volkman, Professor
Description
This on campus program is designed for students from all academic backgrounds. Whether your degree is in psychology, chemical engineering or English, once you have completed the prerequisite courses for admission, you will be on your way to an MS in Nursing.
Students complete the pre-licensure nursing curriculum for the first four semesters of the program. You will learn from leaders in Nursing and Health Care and be prepared for the registered nurse (NCLEX) exam. Upon passing, you will move into the graduate portion of the program, which consists of three components – foundational courses, primary care, and research. We prepare students to deliver primary health care to diverse populations across the lifespan.
Graduates of this program are prepared to take the family nurse practitioner (FNP) certification exam. Our students find success in positions in primary health care and community care settings, private practice, and in Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) programs.
Learning Outcomes
- Critique, evaluate, synthesize and utilize theoretical, scientific and clinical knowledge as applied to the assessment and management of both primary and acute health and illness states.
- Demonstrate a personal, collegial, and collaborative approach as an advanced practice Nurse while emphasizing health promotion, disease prevention and identification of environmental factors that impact health status across the lifespan.
- Develop an understanding and appreciation of human diversity as an advanced practice professional to assure the delivery of appropriate and individualized health care across the curriculum.
- Demonstrate sound critical thinking and clinical decision making reflected in effective written and verbal communications skills, utilized by the advanced practice Nurse in a complex delivery system.
- Demonstrate personal qualities and professional behaviors which are assertive and engage in advanced practice activities that advocate for on-going change and leadership within Nursing and in the health care system.
- Apply critical thinking skills within a multidisciplinary approach to care which fosters strategies and assembles multifaceted resources to empower patients, families and communities to attain and maintain maximal functional wellness.
- Demonstrate Nursing judgments and interventions which provide culturally sensitive care for diverse populations.
- Demonstrate Nursing practices which address human differences.
- Design and implement evidence-based primary health care practices in varied health care systems
- Assume a leadership role in the management of patients, communities and larger systems.
- Initiate changes in patient care and in the health care system through negotiations with other health care professionals.
- Evaluate the efficacy of health promotion, health protection, disease prevention, and treatment interventions through the application of knowledge of health care systems, economics, policy, ethics and polities.
- Conduct clinical Nursing research designed to advance the science of Nursing.
- Advance professional growth through continued acquisition of theoretical knowledge and clinical experience, and through participation and/or leadership in professional and community
Requirements for entry into program
Applicants must have a BS or BA from a regionally accredited US college or university or a post-secondary institution abroad which is recognized by the Ministry of Education in the home country in a discipline other than nursing to apply.
Degree requirements
Pre-licensure curriculum
| NURS 404 | Advanced Pathophysiology | 4.00 |
| NURS 426 | Variances in Health Patterns of Adults and Elders I | 2.00 |
| NURS 435 | Integ Pharmac Pathophys | 4.00 |
| NURS 438 | Variances in Health Patterns of Adults and Elders II | 6.00 |
| NURS 447 | Variances in Health Patterns of the Childbearing Family | 4.00 |
| NURS 448 | Variances in Health Patterns of Clients with Psychiatric and Mental Illness | 4.00 |
| NURS 449 | Variances in Health Patterns of the Childrearing Family | 4.00 |
| NURS 487 | Nursing Care of Individuals, Families, and Communities | 4.00 |
| NURS 454GR | Leadership and Management in the Clinical Setting | 4.00 |
| NURS 455GR | Clinical Decision Making & Complex Care | 4.00 |
| NURS 494 | Nursing Fundamentails & Health Assessment | 4.00 |
| NURS 495 | Contemporary Issues & Role Development for Advanced Practice Nursing | 4.00 |
NCLEX – All students are required to take the Simmons-sponsored NCLEX review course following pre-licensure curriculum.
| NURS 422 | Advanced Pharmacology Across the Life Span I | 3.00 |
| NURS 423 | Advanced Pharmacology Across Life Span II | 2.00 |
| Health Assessment Across the Lifespan Workshop | |
| NURS 500 | FNP I Advanced Health Assessment Across the Life Span | 2.00 |
| NURS 500A | FNP I Clinical Decision Making | 1 |
| NURS 501 | FNP II Primary Care Nursing of the Child Bearing Family | 4.00 |
| NURS 501A | FNP II Clin Decis. Making | 1 |
| NURS 502 | FNP III Primary Care Nursing | 3.00 |
| NURS 502A | FNP III Clinical Decision Making_ | 2 |
| NURS 503 | FNP IV Primary Care Nursing | 4.00 |
| NURS 503A | FNP IV Clin. Decision Making | 3 |
| NURS 504 | Family Theory | 3.00 |
| NURS 507 | Scholarly Inquiry I | 3.00 |
| NURS 508 | Scholarly Inquiry II | 2.00 |
| NURS 589 | Evidence-Based Practice: Informatics | 3.00 |
| SNHS 410 | Research Methods | 3.00 |
| SNHS 450 | Health Care System: Interdisciplinary Perspectives | 3.00 |
| SNHS 570 | Health Promotion | 2.00 |
Pre-requisites
- NURP 404 Advanced Pathophysiology
- Students must pass NURP 404 to continue in the program. If a student does not pass, they will be contacted by their Academic Advisor and must provide an explanation of why they failed and how they plan to be successful going forward.
- MATH 418 Statistics
- Students must pass MATH 418 (or transferred equivalent) before they can take NURP 410
- NURP 345 Professional Issues in Nursing
- NURP 492 Health Assessment
- Students must pass NURP 492 (or transferred equivalent) before they can take NURP 500
- NURP 387 Nursing Care of Communities
- NURP 454 Leadership and Management
- Students must pass NURP 454 before they can progress into the FNP program
- NURP 410 Advanced Research Methods
- NURP 570 Health Promotion: A Global Perspective
- Students must pass NURP 387 before taking NURP 570. Exceptions will be granted on a case-by-case basis that will take into consideration the student’s academic standing and RN experience. Once in the FNP program, there are no conditions or pre-requisites for taking it.
- NURP 422 Advanced Pharmacology Across the Life Span I
- NURP 423 Advanced Pharmacology Across the Life Span II
- NURP 450 Health Care System: Interdisciplinary Perspectives
- NURP 450 should be taken when suggested, but there are no conditions or pre-requisites for taking it.
- NURP 507 Scholarly Inquiry I
- Students must pass NURP 410 before taking NURP 507
- Students must pass NURP 507 before taking NURP 508
- Students in NURP 507 must register for the same section and time when they register for NURP 508. This ensures continuity with both research partners and faculty which will facilitate the completion of the project with in the designated time of two terms.
- NURP 508 Scholarly Inquiry II
- Students must pass NURP 507 before taking NURP 508
- Students must register for the same section/instructor as they did in 507
- NURP 589 Informatics
- NURP 589 should be taken when suggested, but there are no conditions or pre-requisites for taking it.
- NURP 504 Family Theory Health and Illness
- NURP 504 should be taken when suggested, but there are no conditions or pre-requisites for taking it
The information below pertains to all four classes listed:
- NURP 500/500A Advanced Health Assessment Across the Life Span/Clinical Decision Making
- NURP 501/501A FNP II Primary Care Nursing of the Childbearing Family/FNP II Clinical Decision Making
- NURP 502/502A FNP III Primary Care Nursing/FNP III Clinical Decision Making
- NURP 503/503A FNP IV Primary Care Nursing/FNP IV Clinical Decision Making
Students must pass NURP 500 in order to come to Immersion Weekend (NURP 500A). On line students only
Students that do not pass NURP 500 will receive a “W” for 500A and will need to re-register for both NURP 500/500A.
Students must take NURP 501/501A, NURP 502/502A, & NURP 503/503A in sequence.
NURP 500/500A, NURP 501/501A, NURP 502/502A, and NURP 503/503A are separate but linked courses. They cover related content in two settings: mastery of didactic knowledge in the academic setting and application of didactic knowledge to practice in clinical settings.
Students must pass BOTH courses at the same time (e.g. NURP 501/501A) in order to proceed in the program.
If students fail either the didactic course (e.g. NURP 501) or the clinical placement course (e.g. 501A), they are required to retake both courses again.
If students fail the clinical placement course, the hours will not be counted as part of the required clinical hours.
If students fail both the didactic and the clinical placement courses, it would be counted as 2 failures and they would be dismissed from the program.
Licensure and Certification
All students are required to take the Simmons-sponsored NCLEX review course following the pre-licensure curriculum. Upon completion of the FNP program, you will be eligible to sit for the national certification exam
Other program information
Please consult the Nursing Student Handbook for additional information about Health Clearance, Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, Mandatory Clinical Orientation, Agency-Specific Requirements, Criminal Offender Record Inquiry, and other related policies.