Objectives* Earn a degree accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) in as few as 18 months;
* Build a solid foundation in business practices to manage both human and fiscal resources;
* Complete the program online without interrupting your personal or professional life;
* Experience a learning model that combines relevant theory with real-world application for immediate results; and,
* Learn from an institution whose core values - challenge, rigor, structure and discipline - derive from the influence of a long and proud military history.
Course descriptionThe Master of Science in Nursing program is made up of six, six-credit seminars for a total of 36 credits. Each seminar is approximately 11 weeks in length and the program ends with a one week residency and graduation ceremony at Norwich University in June. The program is designed so you can complete all coursework in 18 months. Your graduation date will be 18-24 months from the time you first enroll.
Semester 1:
Health Systems Analysis: Policy, Environment, and Structure
Seminar 1
This seminar content supports the American Association of Colleges of Nursing's (AACN) Essentials for Advanced Nursing Practice in Nursing Administration, and includes an historical overview of health care systems, health care policy, the structure of health care delivery systems, health care financing, health promotion and disease prevention in health care, trans-cultural diversity and related social issues, and an assessment of your own leadership competencies. The latter will aid you in preparing for a master's education by delineating your own strengths and weaknesses. This seminar will provide you with a foundation to practice in an advanced role as a practitioner, administrator, or educator.
Theoretical Constructs of Leadership Roles in Nursing
Seminar 2
This seminar prepares you with the theoretical foundation to function in management level nursing roles across a variety of nursing specialties and health care settings. You will be prepared to understand, evaluate, and utilize appropriate theories within your own practice. Theoretical constructs will include nursing and other relevant theories from the social, organizational, and behavioral sciences.
Specific theories addressed include: systems, change, nursing management, and leadership theories, as well as ethical principles in health care and professional role development. Theoretical concepts are augmented by individual projects that require you to examine your practice settings using the above constructs.
Semester 2:
Evidence-Based Practice
Seminar 3
This seminar prepares you to become proficient in the utilization of research, the critical evaluation of research, identification of researchable problems within a variety of practice settings, and the application of research to clinical problems. The course incorporates both quantitative and qualitative research methods, application of statistical analysis of data, the utilization of information systems for accessing, storing and analyzing data, identification of researchable clinical problems, critical analysis and application of existing research, and application of theoretical constructs to frame a research proposal. Class assignments related to evidence-based practice are augmented as you identify a researchable nursing problem within your own practice settings and develop a related research proposal.
The Health Care Organization
Seminar 4
This seminar incorporates expanded content in systems theory, market forces impacting financial transactions in health care, quality control and improvement, leadership in health care organizations, characteristics and competencies associated with successful health care organizations, concepts which focus on governance, organizational behavior, organizational communication and information management, as well and legal and ethical aspects of managing in a health care organization. Class work is augmented by a case study that incorporates an organization's challenges specific to health care delivery within the contemporary financial and social environment.
Semester 3:
Nursing Resource Management
Seminar 5
This seminar focuses on the critical aspects of human resource management, including legal and ethical aspects of policy implementation. Aspects of hiring, disciplinary action, performance improvement and workforce management are examined. health care finance incorporating the unit based budget preparation and management to organizational financial management is addressed. Basic operations management and quality improvement issues from the unit-based perspective to national accreditation standards at both the service and organizational levels are explored.
Competition for market share is reviewed as marketing of health care services is studied. In this seminar you utilize your workplace environment for the exploration, development and, application of seminar content.
Business Planning and Strategic Management in Nursing Administration
Seminar 6
This seminar presents typical strategic management concepts in the context of health care, specifically, the nursing environment. The seminar is designed to pull together the many concepts learned in the previous seminars. You will present an integrated, high-level analysis of your own workplace environment that will be shared with your superiors at work and your classmates at the residency.