Nursing, M.S.N. (Direct Entry)
The nursing curriculum complements the mission, vision, and core values of the university and prepares students to become competent, compassionate, collaborative, creative, and courageous practitioners of the profession of nursing. Evidence-based care is the organizing framework for the program. The curriculum is based on nursing theories and research as they apply to the performance of evidence-based practice. Evidence-based care is the synthesis of clinical expertise, scientific evidence, and patient characteristics and preferences into a plan of healthcare delivery. Theories and research from other disciplines, such as from the biomedical, behavioral, and social sciences, are integrated into the curriculum where appropriate.
The Direct Entry Masters of Science in Nursing (DEMSN) curriculum is designed for those who have earned a non-nursing baccalaureate degree with the intent to prepare them for professional nursing practice at the graduate level and provide a foundation for future advanced practice roles and specialties. Courses progress from basic nursing skills to the synthesis of knowledge and evidence; students are humanistically and scientifically prepared to practice as a professional nurse with advanced expertise in quality and safety in health care. Students will attain the essential knowledge skills and attitudes to provide the leadership necessary to drive quality improvement and safety within their areas of practice. The program is conducted in partnership with Hackensack Meridian Health Network.
Program Goals
Through participation in the teaching-learning process, graduates of the program will be able to integrate scientific evidence with the healthcare needs and values of patients, families, groups and communities through application of the nursing process. The purposes of the program are to prepare nurses to:
- Enter the profession as an entry level Master's prepared registered nurse
- Participate in the advancement of the profession
- Engage in life-long learning
Upon successful completion of the program of studies for Nursing, the student will receive an M.S.N. in Nursing and will have given evidence of the following outcomes and goals:
- Use critical thinking and clinical synthesis to integrate knowledge from the humanities, social and natural science, and the discipline of nursing to inform practice and to provide care to individuals, families, groups, and communities.
- Utilize inter-disciplinary and intra-disciplinary communication, collaboration, and leadership skills to produce positive working relationships in the delivery of and advocacy for evidence-based, patient-centered care.
- Integrate scientific evidence, practice guidelines, professional standards, and patient preference into the planning, delivery, and evaluation of patient care.
- Use information and other emerging technologies in a fiscally responsible manner to provide and evaluate patient care across the continuum.
- Analyze economic, legal, and political factors and local, national, and global trends in health policy and regulation to influence care delivery and the deployment of resources.
- Engage in health promotion, disease prevention, and population-focused interventions to impact the health status of individuals and populations.
- Assume a leadership role within one’s scope of professional nursing practice and apply leadership concepts, skills, and decision-making in delivering, evaluating, improving safe and quality patient care.
- Promote the image of nursing by modeling professional behavior, practicing self-renewal, engaging in lifelong learning, and supporting professional nursing organizations.
- Demonstrate professional, moral, ethical, and legal conduct within a context of rendering compassionate nursing care.
- Use the nursing process to provide safety, quality, evidence-based nursing care across the lifespan, and the continuum of care to individuals, families, groups, and communities.
- Demonstrate competencies necessary to improve patient safety and quality healthcare.
- Promote person-centered care in the planning and delivery of nursing care across time, spheres of care, and developmental levels.
- Advance the scholarship of nursing, integrate best evidence into practice and promote ethical conduct of scholarly activities.
Requirements for Admission
To be admitted to the Direct Entry MSN program, students
- Must have earned their bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution in a discipline other than nursing prior to the M.S.N. program start date.
- Must have a cumulative undergraduate GPA of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale. The GPA is calculated base on all previously attempted coursework.
- Must have earned a minimum of a B- in any science or math course taken, including those that are prerequisites for the program, during the first enrollment in the course.
- Must have completed these prerequisite courses, which do not have to be taken at GCU, prior to the M.S.N. program start date. Applicants may submit their applications while in the process of completing the coursework. The courses can be taken at any accredited university or college in the United States. All prerequisite courses with a lab component must have been taken within the last ten years.
- Human Anatomy & Physiology I with lab (GCU BI213 Human Anatomy & Physiology I)
- Human Anatomy & Physiology II with lab (GCU BI214 Human Anatomy & Physiology II)
- Microbiology with lab (GCU BI219 Microbiology)
- Statistics (must include inferential statistics) (GCU MA103 Introduction to Statistical Thinking (preferred), or BI203 Experimental Design & Statistics, BU221 Business Statistics & Probability, PS232 Intro to Stats for the Beh Sciences, SO201 Social and Crime Statistics)
- Chemistry with lab: Inorganic, Organic, or Biochemistry; a course that includes some biochemistry is preferred (GCU CH151 Chemistry for the Health Sciences)
- Psychology: A course in developmental psychology (GCU PS221 Child & Adolescent Development, PS224 Adult Development, PS227 Lifespan Development)
- Ethics course (Bioethics preferred) (GCU PL354 Bioethics)
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses | ||
| NU500 | Principles & Practices of Prof Nursing | 3.0 |
| NU501 | Nursing Research | 3.0 |
| NU502 | Foundations of Prof Nursing Practice | 4.0 |
| NU503 | Health Assessment | 3.0 |
| NU504 | Pathophysiology | 3.0 |
| NU505 | Pharmacotherapeutics | 3.0 |
| NU506 | Adult Nursing I | 6.0 |
| NU507 | Gerontological Nursing | 2.0 |
| NU508 | Behavioral Health Nursing | 5.0 |
| NU509 | Perinatal Nursing | 4.0 |
| NU603 | Advanced Health Assessment & Diagnostics | 3.0 |
| NU604 | Advanced Pathophysiology | 3.0 |
| NU605 | Advanced Pharmacotherapeutics | 3.0 |
| NU606 | Adult Nursing II | 8.0 |
| NU607 | Pediatric Nursing | 4.0 |
| NU608 | Population Health | 5.0 |
| NU609 | Quality Improv & Safety: Adv Practice | 3.0 |
| NU610 | Health Care Informatics | 3.0 |
| NU611 | Nursing Leadership and Management | 3.0 |
| NU612 | Graduate Seminar for Prof Nursing | 3.0 |
| NU613 | Transition to Professional Practice | 6.0 |
| Total Credits | 80.0 | |
| First Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall Semester | Credits | |
| NU500 | Principles & Practices of Prof Nursing | 3.0 |
| NU502 | Foundations of Prof Nursing Practice | 4.0 |
| NU503 | Health Assessment | 3.0 |
| NU504 | Pathophysiology | 3.0 |
| Credits | 13.0 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| NU501 | Nursing Research | 3.0 |
| NU505 | Pharmacotherapeutics | 3.0 |
| NU506 | Adult Nursing I | 6.0 |
| NU508 | Behavioral Health Nursing | 5.0 |
| Credits | 17.0 | |
| Summer Semester | ||
| NU509 | Perinatal Nursing | 4.0 |
| NU603 | Advanced Health Assessment & Diagnostics | 3.0 |
| NU604 | Advanced Pathophysiology | 3.0 |
| Credits | 10.0 | |
| Second Year | ||
| Fall Semester | ||
| NU507 | Gerontological Nursing | 2.0 |
| NU605 | Advanced Pharmacotherapeutics | 3.0 |
| NU606 | Adult Nursing II | 8.0 |
| Credits | 13.0 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| NU607 | Pediatric Nursing | 4.0 |
| NU608 | Population Health | 5.0 |
| NU609 | Quality Improv & Safety: Adv Practice | 3.0 |
| NU610 | Health Care Informatics | 3.0 |
| Credits | 15.0 | |
| Summer Semester | ||
| NU611 | Nursing Leadership and Management | 3.0 |
| NU612 | Graduate Seminar for Prof Nursing | 3.0 |
| NU613 | Transition to Professional Practice | 6.0 |
| Credits | 12.0 | |
| Total Credits | 80.0 | |