RN to Masters (No Previous Bachelor’s Degree)  **  NEW FALL ’08  **

            The RN to Master’s program is for RN students wishing to pursue a Master’s degree in nursing in the Family Nurse Practitioner, Clinical Nurse Educator or Health Care Leadership track. The prerequisite for enrollment in this program is an active unencumbered Maryland or compact RN license.   Upon admission to the nursing major at Salisbury University, students may receive up to 61 academic transfer credits from their associate degree program.  After completing all non-nursing requirements for RN to MS students and 12 of the 18 nursing credits required, students having a GPA of 2.75 or greater may apply to the graduate nursing program.   If accepted, and after completion of the remaining 6 required nursing credits, students will take the 12 credits of graduate core courses (rather than 12 credits of SU nursing and non-nursing electives) and then continue with the courses in the specialty track they have selected.  Upon completion of their graduate program, students will be awarded 30 additional credits based on their active unencumbered Maryland or compact license and will receive a Master of Science degree in Nursing.  The RN to Master’s program provides the RN wishing to have a graduate nursing degree with a 12 credit efficiency over the more traditional route where the BS and MS in nursing are pursued separately.  

Ø      Non-Nursing Requirement

            Refer to RN Direct Transfer Program Checklist or the RN to Masters Checklist for the non-nursing requirements (including transfer credits, general education credits, and pre-requisite requirements).  These checklists are available from the Nursing Department and on this Nursing Website.  The 6 credits of non-nursing >300 elective courses listed on the RN Direct Transfer (RN to BS) Checklist are not required for RN to Master’s students.

Ø      Required Undergraduate Nursing Courses

            RN to Masters students are required to complete the following by enrollment (18 credits):

            NURS 319 Health Assessment (Fall)…………………………………..3 credits

            NURS 329 Research Methods (Spring)……………………………….3

            NURS 430 Community Health Nursing (Fall and Spring) ….3

            NURS 431 Community Health Nursing Practicum (Fall and Spring)….3

            NURS 440 Senior Seminar (Spring)……………………………………3

            NURS 441 Internship (Spring)…………………………………………....3

                        or

            NURS 442 Nursing Leadership and Management (Fall) …………2

            NURS 443 Nursing Leadership Practicum (Fall)……………………… 2

            NURS 490 Independent Study (Fall, Spring)…………………………...2

Ø      Graduate Nursing Core Courses

All graduate nursing students must complete a core of course that prepares them for evidence-based advanced nursing practice. Core courses include epidemiology, qualitative and quantitative research, advanced statistics and completion of a capstone/thesis requirement.

RN to Masters students who have been accepted into the graduate program complete the following core graduate courses:

            NURS 515  Epidemiology (Fall)…………………………………………3 Credits

            NURS 542  Qualitative Research in Health Care (Fall) .…3

            NURS 544  Quantitative Research in Health Care (Fall) ..3

            MATH 502 Applied Statistics (Fall)…………………………………….3

            NURS 590  Thesis ……………………………………………………….3

                 Or

            NURS 591  Capstone Project…………………………………………….3

Ø      Graduate Nursing Track

The RN to MS student must select from the three Graduate Tracks to complete their Master of Science in Nursing after successful completion of the core courses. These are

Family Nurse Practitioner Track

The Family Nurse Practitioner track prepares students for advanced certification as family nurse practitioners. In addition to the core courses, students in this track complete courses in advanced human physiology, advanced health assessment, family nursing, pharmacotherapeutics, adult health care management, women’s and children's health care management, and issues in advanced nursing practice.  The required courses include a total of 600 hours of clinical practice. 

A post-master’s family nurse practitioner certificate is offered to individuals with a previous master’s degree in nursing.  Students in this program must complete the following courses:  advanced human physiology, advanced health assessment, adult health care management, women’s and children’s health care management and issues in advanced nursing.

Students completing the family nurse practitioner program are eligible to take the AANP (American Academy of Nurse Practitioners) or the ANCC (American Nurses Credentialing Center) certification exam required for practice as a family nurse practitioner.

Health Care Leadership Track

Advanced practice in health care leadership prepares graduate nurses to assume positions of leadership in a variety of health care settings.  In addition to the core graduate nursing courses, students in the health care leadership track will also take courses in health care systems, health care informatics, management and leadership theory and practice and an elective. Graduates of this track with the required administrative experience will be eligible to sit for the American Nurses’ Credentialing Center exam in advanced nursing administration.

The health care leadership track can also be adapted to provide the necessary courses and experiences for students interested in pursuing a career in nursing education