Nursing, Master of Science

In addition to University Requirements:

• Complete individual plan requirements.

Purpose Statement

The philosophy of the School of Nursing at Northern Arizona University is based on an ethic of caring that embraces students, faculty and staff, the university community, and the global community within which we live and work. We also believe that caring is a conscious intentional discipline that is part of nursing´s unique body of knowledge and is practiced in interdisciplinary contexts. Caring includes the creation and nurturing of an environment that recognizes that students, staff, and faculty have unique ways of viewing the world. This philosophy promotes excellence for nursing education and practice in an environment of constant change and emerging healthcare trends.

The faculty believes the transition to the role of competent professional nurse is a major developmental achievement. We believe that nursing is an art and science that is an integral component of healthcare. Applying the discipline of nursing to practice depends on a foundation of natural and human sciences, humanities and arts, the application of research, and the diverse backgrounds of learners. Societal influences in the evolving healthcare system challenge all involved in nursing education.

Education is a dynamic, lifelong collaborative process by which an individual pursues life goals, broadens human potential, develops thinking, and clarifies values. The faculty believes that learning is the intentional acquisition, application, and integration of knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Learning is shaped by the environment and developmental level of the learner and is ultimately the responsibility of the learner. Faculty plan, guide, and facilitate learning while supporting the learning needs of a diverse community of students. We believe that learning-centered experiences with rigorous expectations and actively engaged students result in higher-level thinkers and graduates prepared for real world practice. We value incorporating rural and global healthcare into a variety of educational experiences. Thus, education not only expands the thinking of the learner, but increases opportunities for application.

The faculty has developed a philosophy that values diverse persons, environment, health, nursing, and their interrelatedness. The following metaparadigm concepts guide the implementation of the organizing framework for the curriculum.

Our graduate programs prepare nurses to work at advanced levels of practice in rural areas. We offer an MS in Nursing in two emphases

1. Leadership, Quality, and Patient Safety
2. Strategic Systems Leadership

Student Learning Outcomes
Outcomes align with Standards from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), and competencies from the American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL).

Overall Nursing Outcomes

• Apply effective respectful communication among diverse interdisciplinary groups to promote improved outcomes among diverse population and underserved groups.
• Synthesize broad ecological, global, and social determinates of health; principles of genetics and genomics; and epidemiological data to design and deliver evidence based, culturally relevant, clinical prevention, interventions, and strategies.
• Apply theories, regulatory, policies, and evidence-based knowledge in leading, as appropriate, interprofessional healthcare teams in the design, coordination, and evaluation of the delivery of care.
• Integrate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) principles, and evidence-based practices into healthcare practice to promote an inclusive environment and empower DEI leaders.
• Integrate evidence-based practice and information from research for use in person-centered and population health coordination of care as a system leader.

• Design patient-centered and culturally responsive strategies in the delivery of clinical prevention and health promotion interventions and/or services to individuals, families, communities, and aggregates/clinical populations
• Conduct health assessments for families, rural communities, and underserved populations using advanced critical thinking, clinical judgment, and communication skills targeting wellness, prevention, and health promotion.
• Describe and integrate person-centered, equitable, culturally responsible care coordination for rural and underserved communities.

• Advance patient education, enhance accessibility of care, analyze practice patterns, and improve healthcare and nurse-sensitive outcomes by using information and communication technologies.
• Apply effective respectful communication among diverse interdisciplinary groups to promote improved outcomes among diverse population and underserved groups.
• Articulate collaborative communication strategies in the design, coordination, and evaluation of patient-centered care.

• Integrate theory, evidence, clinical judgment, research, and interprofessional perspectives using translational processes to improve practice and associated health outcomes for patient aggregates.
• Use knowledge of patient safety science (e.g., human factors, complex adaptive systems, LEAN and Six Sigma)
• Describe how health policies, regulations, (state, national, and global) influence the financing, structure, and delivery of healthcare, practice, and health outcomes.

• Design and lead a quality improvement intervention project using evidence-based best practices targeting an identified real or potential patient safety, risk, adverse outcome, ineffective communication, inequity, or compliance concern.
• Discern patient safety and quality issues using the PDSA Framework for Improvement.
• Direct quality improvement methods to promote culturally responsive, safe, timely, effective, efficient, equitable, and patient-centered care.

• Evaluate and integrate clinical prevention and population health concepts in the development of culturally relevant and linguistically appropriate health education, communication strategies, and interventions.
• Apply advanced knowledge of the effects of global environmental, individual and population characteristics to the design, implementation, and evaluation of care
• Incorporate population data to identify cultural clusters within communities and engage patients and families in assessing needs, defining, and implementing solutions, and evaluating outcomes.

• Evaluate how healthcare financing, budgeting, value-based care, and workforce incentive models contribute to effective nursing and service line performance improvement.
• Promote diversity (and divergent thinking) as a mechanism that will drive innovative idea sharing and problem-solving within population health management and clinical practice.

• Apply effective respectful communication among diverse interdisciplinary groups to promote improved outcomes among diverse population and underserved groups.
• Examine how to create cross-continuum collaboration that encourages frank and open discussion around ethical challenges and problem-solving.
• Differentiate effective and ineffective teamwork and communication.

• Perform rigorous critique of evidence derived from databases to generate meaningful evidence for nursing practice.
• Develop an understanding of how healthcare delivery systems are organized and financed (and how this affects patient care) and identify the economic, legal, and political factors that influence healthcare.
• Examine and create the operational objectives, goals, and specific strategies required to achieve the strategic system outcomes.

• Design and lead a quality improvement intervention project using evidence-based best practices targeting an identified real or potential patient safety, risk, adverse outcome, ineffective communication, inequity, or compliance concern.
• Synthesize knowledge of patient safety, quality improvement, DEI, ethical behavior, finance, and crisis management as a systems leader in an organizational strategic performance improvement project.
• Develop an understanding of how healthcare delivery systems are organized and financed (and how this affects patient care) and identify the economic, legal, and political factors that influence healthcare.
• Implement evidence-based plans based on trend analysis and quantify the impact on quality and safety from a leadership perspective.
• Differentiate ethical principles and corporate compliance standards.
• Examine, resolve, and learn from ethical dilemmas.
• Direct quality improvement methods to promote culturally responsive, safe, timely, effective, efficient, equitable, and patient-centered care.
• Implement a strategic system thinking approach in healthcare leadership practice.

• Analyze healthcare system transformation to address health equity and social justice, thus reducing health disparities in vulnerable populations.
• Synthesize evidence for practice to determine appropriate application of interventions across diverse populations.
• Prioritize the social, cultural, and global factors that affect health in designed and delivering care across multiple contexts.
• Incorporate population data to identify cultural clusters within communities and engage patients and families in assessing needs, defining, and implementing solutions, and evaluating outcomes.

Graduate Admission Information

• The NAU graduate online application is required for all programs. Admission to many graduate programs is on a competitive basis, and programs may have higher standards than those established by the Graduate College.
  
  Admission requirements include the following:

  • Transcripts.
  • Undergraduate degree from a regionally accredited institution with a 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale ("A" = 4.0), or the equivalent.

  
  Visit the NAU Graduate Admissions website for additional information about graduate school application deadlines, eligibility for study, and admissions policies.
  
  Ready to apply? Begin your application now.

  International applicants have additional admission requirements. Please see the International Graduate Admissions Policy.

Additional Admission Requirements

• Individual program admission requirements over and above admission to NAU are required.

• • Bachelor’s degree in nursing from an accredited program or an associate’s degree in nursing from an accredited program with a bachelor’s degree in another field.
  • 3.0 GPA in all nursing coursework
  • Current RN license in good standing to practice as a registered nurse in Arizona (or your state of residency), or eligibility to obtain an Arizona license, or meet the Arizona Board of Nursing regulations regarding multistate licensure.
  • Prerequisites (completed prior to enrolling in the program)
    • Completion of an undergraduate introduction to statistics course from a college or university with a grade of “C” or better, or a Pass. 
    • Another option is completion of a graduate course in statistics, passed with a “B” grade or higher, and completed prior to enrollment in NUR 530. 
    • Completion of undergraduate courses in nursing research (didactic) and public health nursing (didactic and clinical) with grades of “B” or better.
  • Responses to specific essay questions

Master's Requirements

• This Master's degree requires 30 units distributed as follows:

  • Core Coursework: 12 units
  • Emphasis Coursework: 18 units

  
  Take the following 30 units:
  Core Requirements (12 units)

  • NUR 520, NUR 540, NUR 650 (9 units)
  • NUR 667 or NUR 676* (3 units)

• • *Students in the Leadership, Quality, Patient Safety Emphasis will take NUR 676, and students in the Strategic Systems Leadership Emphasis will take NUR 667.

• Emphasis Requirements (18 units)
  Select one from:

• • Leadership, Quality, Patient Safety Emphasis (18 units)
    • NUR 510, NUR 530, NUR 550, NUR 560, NUR 605, NUR 675, NUR 682

• • Strategic Systems Leadership Emphasis (18 units)

    • NUR 511, NUR 531, NUR 551, NUR 561, NUR 606, NUR 652, NUR 683

• Students enrolled in this plan may not enroll in or pursue the following due to the number of overlapping units:

• • • Strategic Systems Leadership, Graduate Certificate

• If you have completed the Strategic Systems Leadership, Graduate Certificate prior to enrolling in this plan, the certificate coursework may be applied to this plan.

Additional Information

• Be aware that some courses may have prerequisites that you must also successfully complete. For prerequisite information, click on the course or see your advisor.

• Program Fee Information

• Program fees are established by the Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR). A program fee of $60 per credit hour has been approved for this program.