VUSN Student Handbook

VUSN: Master of Nursing (MN) Program, MN to PMC, and MN to DNP+PMC

Table of Contents

Entry Into MN Program

Students enter the VUSN Master of Nursing Degree program as follows:

Students with an undergraduate or graduate degree in a field other than nursing may complete the MN program in four semesters of full-time study.

Program Overview

The Master of Nursing (MN) program is designed for individuals with an earned bachelor’s degree in a field other than nursing who wish to enter the discipline as registered nurses. This program prepares students as registered nurses well-prepared for delivery of high-quality, comprehensive care with respect for individual uniqueness and within an evidenced-based framework grounded in principles of sound clinical judgment. Graduates will demonstrate advanced competency in health justice, nursing leadership, interprofessional teamwork, and nursing informatics, as well as introductory clinical teaching competencies.

The curriculum consists of a total of 65 credit hours across 4 semesters, with 1300 clinical hours across primary, post-acute care, acute and critical care, community-living, and community agency practice settings. Innovative curricular design will foster active clinically focused learning and practice of key affective, cognitive, and psychomotor skills essential for safe, quality nursing practice. High credit hours in three of the four semesters are strategically structured with peer-engaged, faculty-facilitated active learning to foster application of core concepts to exemplar clinical situations across the lifespan, minimizing lecture and reading. The final semester focuses on synthesis of conceptual and clinical learning including introductory clinical teaching and advanced competency in health justice, nursing leadership, interprofessional teamwork, and nursing informatics. Students will also select a focus track for this final semester that fosters additional competency in a population (pediatrics or adult complex care) and an elective in introductory clinical teaching, global health, nursing informatics and innovation, or advanced practice nursing.

In addition to preparing graduates for high-quality comprehensive care as Registered Nurses, it also prepares graduates who would like to pursue advanced nursing education. Options at VUSN include a Post-Masters Certificate (3 semesters for most) or a Doctorate in Nursing Practice plus a Post-Masters Certificate (5 semesters for most). MN applicants who decide after admission that they want to continue directly to the PMC or DNP+PMC, will have the opportunity to apply during the third semester of the MN curriculum. All MN graduates can use the 2-year seamless transition process for NI, NNP, or PNP-AC after obtaining the necessary nursing experience. 

Master of Nursing Curriculum Plan

MN to PMC and MN to DNP+PMC Curriculum Plans (Full and Part Time)

Program Outcomes

On completion of the MN program, students will be able to:

  1. Synthesize knowledge from nursing, the humanities, the biophysical and social sciences, and current evidence to engage in professional nursing practice.
  2. Promote health and prevent illness in diverse patient populations through targeted education in multiple settings across transitions of care.
  3. Provide safe, culturally responsive health care to individuals, families, communities, and populations in diverse settings, through use of critical thinking, clinical reasoning, ethical decision-making, and information management, both independently and in collaboration with health care teams.
  4. Demonstrate leadership in professional nursing practice through commitment to reflective practice, accountability for nursing actions, patient advocacy, and evidence-based practice.
  5. Engage in improvement of the health care delivery system through inquiry and action into socioeconomic, political, legal, and ethical issues affecting professional nursing practice.