Nursing, Master of Science

The MSN Program prepares nurses for advanced roles of Nurse Educator, Nurse Administrator, Clinical Nurse Specialist, and Family Nurse Practitioner. Courses involve advanced knowledge and the critique and application of theory and research as a scientific base for nursing.

Requirements

Role Options

The MSN curriculum allows RN students to choose one of a variety of nursing role options: Nurse Administrator, Nurse Educator, Family Nurse Practitioner, Adult-Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist, Neonatal Clinical Nurse Specialist, or Pediatric Clinical Nurse Specialist. Each student must select one of the role options upon application to the university.

MSN Program Admission Requirements for RNs

1. Completion of a baccalaureate degree program with an ACEN or CCNE accredited upper division major in nursing (BSN) from a regionally accredited institution or the equivalent.
2. Overall grade point average of 3.0 (on a four-point scale) or higher in the last 60 semester (90 quarter) units of upper division course work attempted.
3. Registered nurse licensure in the United States, unencumbered, unrestricted, with no disciplinary action pending or imposed.
4. Completion of a statistics course including probability and inferential; an introductory research course or equivalent; and an upper division (BSN level) health assessment course, including a "hands on" (not computer simulation) skills lab.
5. The various role options may have clinical experience preferences or requirements. Refer to information posted on the School of Nursing website for that role option.
6. Residence in a state in which the School of Nursing at California State University, Dominguez Hills is permitted to deliver online education.

Program Structure

The MSN program consists of 15 units of core courses, plus role/specialty courses. The total number of units varies according to the role option:

• Nurse Administrator (30 units)
• Nurse Educator (36 units)¹
• Adult-Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist (43 units)
• Neonatal Clinical Nurse Specialist (43 units)
• Pediatric Clinical Nurse Specialist (43 units)
• Family Nurse Practitioner (48 units)

¹

Nurse educators develop expertise in a nursing clinical practice area by selecting a three-unit elective in an advanced clinical focus related to family or gerontology nursing. The course should be taken prior to entry into role-emphasis courses. A direct patient care clinical experience is included in the final role performance (clinical) course.

Courses should be completed in the sequence suggested in the MSN plans of study on the School of Nursing website. Some courses are offered only once per year or every other year. Students wishing to accelerate their study or pursue full time study should seek advice and approval from their Advisor and the Assistant Director of Graduate Programs.

The practice-based role performance (clinical) courses provide students an opportunity to apply knowledge, practice skills, acquire competencies, and learn the full scope of the role. The School maintains affiliations with a wide variety of healthcare agencies. The clinical sites vary according to the program requirements and students’ personal goals. Program faculty take responsibility for approvals of the clinical sites and specific preceptor(s). The selection of the preceptor is a collaborative effort by the School of Nursing, the health care agency, and the student. Most preceptorships take place during business hours Monday through Friday. We recommend that students begin the process of securing a preceptorship two semesters in advance. Students are required to purchase a subscription to an online system that houses clinical placement information and clinical documents needed for the clinical agencies. Details of the mandatory clinical compliance documents (immunizations, physical exam, health insurance, CPR card, etc.) and the deadlines are outlined in the current Graduate Clinical Handbook posted on the School of Nursing website.

All students conclude their 30-48 units of master's preparation with a culminating activity (See MSN Degree Requirements).

Academic Regulations

Students that do not attend mandatory program orientations or class/clinical meetings, whether on-campus or virtual meetings, will be disenrolled.

To be eligible for automatic progression to the next semester a graduate student must:

• Earn a minimum of a B or Credit grade in each graduate course
• Maintain a 3.0 GPA or better on a 4.0 scale in all MSN courses

A student who earns a grade of B- or less or No Credit in a course has not successfully completed that course and must contact the Role Option Coordinator to discuss program planning and progression status. It is expected that the failed course will be repeated immediately (the next semester it is offered). For the few courses that are not offered in both the fall and spring, the student may be allowed to progress for one additional semester until he/she can enroll in the course needing to be repeated.

The role/specialty didactic and role performance (clinical/practicum) courses are sequenced; therefore, if a role/specialty or role performance course is not successfully completed, continuation in the role/specialty course sequence is not permitted until the course is successfully repeated. Because the role option is structured as a cohort group, membership in the subsequent cohort and enrollment to repeat the failed class will be on a space available basis.

A course may be repeated only once. Failure to successfully complete a course on the second attempt will result in an automatic dismissal from the nursing graduate program. A maximum of two courses may be repeated in the program; a third failure will result in automatic dismissal. A student may not graduate from the MSN degree program with a cumulative GPA of less than 3.0.

Transfer Request

A student may fail one MSN core course or prerequisite course and seek transfer to another MSN role option only once and after meeting with the new faculty advisor. Transfer requests are not permitted after two failed courses. Approval of the transfer is dependent upon posted required criteria such as acceptance by the new faculty advisor, professional experience, GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale, and in good standing. The student may be required to take additional prerequisites and/or elective coursework for the new role option.

MSN Degree Requirements (30-48 units)

The program requires 30-48 units of approved graduate study that includes six role options. The curriculum consists of core courses, role/specialty courses, role performance (clinical/practicum) courses, electives and the culminating activity.

Graduate Course Prerequisites

Some MSN courses require the successful completion of prerequisites not offered as part of the graduate program. However, the prerequisite courses are available as undergraduate nursing courses. See the course descriptions.

Core Courses

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
MSN 502	Advanced Nursing Roles	3
MSN 513	Healthcare Policy/Economics	3
MSN 514	Health Promotion and Disease Prevention	3
MSN 530	Research Utilization in Advanced Nursing Practice	3
MSN 531	Nursing Ethics	3
Total Hours		15

Culminating Activity

The culminating activity consists of an oral presentation supported by PowerPoint slides documenting the student's achievement of the MSN program learning outcomes. The presentation is delivered via conferencing technology to a panel of faculty. MSN students who elect to do the culminating activity in the semester following completion of MSN coursework must register in MSN 600 Project Continuation Course to meet the continuous enrollment requirement.

Role Option Courses (15-33 units)

Nurse Administrator Option (15 units)

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
MSN 532	Nurse Administrator: Societal Institutions	3
MSN 538	Nurse Administrator: Resource Management	3
MSN 555	Quality Improvemnt in Hea Care	3
MSN 560	Nurse Administrator: Role Performance I	3
MSN 570	Nurse Administrator: Role Performance II	3
Total Hours		15

Nurse Educator Option (21 units)

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Required Courses
MSN 521	Advanced Health Assessment	2
MSN 522	Advanced Health Assessment Lab	1
MSN 529	Nurse Educator: Curriculum and Teaching	3
MSN 539	Nurse Educator: Testing and Evaluation	3
MSN 559	Nurse Educator: Role Performance I	3
MSN 565	Pathopharmacology for Nurse Educators	3
MSN 569	Nurse Educator: Role Performance II	3
Electives
MSN 523	Family Assessment: Theory and Practice	3
or MSN 533	Theoretical Aspects of Aging
Total Hours		21

Clinical Nurse Specialist Option- Adult-Gerontology (28 units)

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
MSN 521	Advanced Health Assessment	2
MSN 522	Advanced Health Assessment Lab	1
MSN 526	Pharmacology	3
MSN 528	Advanced Pathophysiology	3
MSN 533	Theoretical Aspects of Aging	3
MSN 535	Clinical Management and Differential Diagnosis of Adult Acute Health Problems	3
MSN 547	Clinical Nurse Specialist Role Performance I	3
MSN 548	Clinical Nurse Specialist Role Performance II	4
MSN 549	Clinical Nurse Specialist Role Performance III	3
MSN 550	Theoretical Foundations of Clinical Nurse Specialist Practice	3
Total Hours		28

Neonatal Clinical Nurse Specialist Option (28 units)

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
MSN 521	Advanced Health Assessment	2
MSN 522	Advanced Health Assessment Lab	1
MSN 526	Pharmacology	3
MSN 528	Advanced Pathophysiology	3
MSN 536	Advanced Neonatal Nursing I	2
MSN 537	Advanced Neonatal Nursing II	4
MSN 547	Clinical Nurse Specialist Role Performance I	3
MSN 548	Clinical Nurse Specialist Role Performance II	4
MSN 549	Clinical Nurse Specialist Role Performance III	3
MSN 550	Theoretical Foundations of Clinical Nurse Specialist Practice	3
Total Hours		28

Pediatric Clinical Nurse Specialist Option (28 units)

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
MSN 521	Advanced Health Assessment	2
MSN 522	Advanced Health Assessment Lab	1
MSN 526	Pharmacology	3
MSN 528	Advanced Pathophysiology	3
MSN 540	Clinical Management of Acute Pediatric Health Problems	4
MSN 547	Clinical Nurse Specialist Role Performance I	3
MSN 548	Clinical Nurse Specialist Role Performance II	4
MSN 549	Clinical Nurse Specialist Role Performance III	3
MSN 550	Theoretical Foundations of Clinical Nurse Specialist Practice	3
MSN 561	Primary Care of the Family II: Pediatric Health	2
Total Hours		28

Family Nurse Practitioner Option (33 units)

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
MSN 521	Advanced Health Assessment	2
MSN 522	Advanced Health Assessment Lab	1
MSN 526	Pharmacology	3
MSN 528	Advanced Pathophysiology	3
MSN 556	Primary Care of the Family I	4
MSN 558	FNP: Role Perform I	3
MSN 561	Primary Care of the Family II: Pediatric Health	2
MSN 562	Primary Care of the Family II: Women's/Gender Health	2
MSN 568	Family Nurse Practitioner: Role Performance II	3
MSN 576	Primary Care of the Family III	4
MSN 578	Family Nurse Practitioner: Role Performance III	3
MSN 588	Family Nurse Practitioner: Role Performance IV	3
Total Hours		33

Program Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the M.S. degree program in Nursing, graduates will be able to:

1. Integrate advanced nursing knowledge and theories/models with a focus on improving direct/indirect person-centered and population health outcomes.

2. Synthesize, translate, apply, and disseminate scientific evidence to improve health and health care delivery.

3. Appraise and utilize healthcare technology and information systems to enhance nursing decision making and quality of care, including risk reduction and patient safety.

4. Use leadership and systems thinking skills to collaborate with interprofessional team members and stakeholders to coordinate safe, quality, and equitable care to diverse individuals and populations.

5. Demonstrate role specific professional identity, ethical practice, and personal/professional development.

Clinical Nurse Specialist – Adult/Gerontology

1. Demonstrate advanced clinical practice for the adult-gerontology population in the three spheres of the clinical nurse specialist: client/patient, nursing, and organization/system.

Clinical Nurse Specialist – Neonatal

1. Demonstrate advanced clinical practice for the neonatal population in the three spheres of the clinical nurse specialist: client/patient, nursing, and organization/ system.

Clinical Nurse Specialist – Pediatric

1. Demonstrate advanced clinical practice for the pediatric population in the three spheres of the clinical nurse specialist: client/patient, nursing, and organization/ system.

Family Nurse Practitioner

1. Utilize advanced practice nursing and primary care knowledge and skills, to assess, diagnose, and provide safe and effective care to diverse patients of all ages and their families in primary care settings. 
2. Demonstrate readiness to take the national certification examinations for Family Nurse Practitioners.

Nurse Administrator

1. Apply concepts and theories of organizational management and nursing administration to the design of complex healthcare delivery systems.
2. Integrate concepts of health policy, regulation, and financing to the organization of healthcare delivery, with a focus on responsible management of resources.

Nurse Educator

1. Apply teaching and learning strategies based on educational theory, evidence-based practices, and knowledge of nursing education trends and professional standards in the selected role performance setting.
2. Demonstrate entry-level nurse educator competencies in the selected role performance setting.