Students are precepted by certified nurse practitioners, and mentored by nursing faculty who are themselves certified nurse practitioners and active in clinical practice. The primary goal of the curriculum is to provide students with specialized education in primary health care nursing and the foundation necessary for scholarly inquiry, clinical excellence, research, and leadership as well as the preparation essential for doctoral study. The program is situated in the Graduate School for Health Studies which provides a unique opportunity to work and study within an interdisciplinary environment, modeling the essential team work of the health care setting. Through systematic inquiry, graduate students obtain the expanded clinical and theoretical knowledge essential for critical analysis and synthesis of client data. Professional nursing license to practice in one of the states in the U.S. and eligibility for licensure in Massachusetts.
Clinical experience is defined as providing direct care to clients with acute or chronic illness.
Individual consideration is given to applicants with bachelor's degrees in fields other than nursing. Evidence of satisfactory completion of a National League for Nursing or American Nurses Association accredited nurse practitioner program. For RNs without their Baccalaureate Degree Students are admitted directly into the graduate nursing program and work closely with the RN-MS Program Coordinator. Decisions on progression to the graduate program are made upon completion of all prerequisites with the exception of a humanities course and statistics course that can be completed during the senior sequence. Students do not receive an undergraduate degree as they are considered graduate students and therefore, are not required to meet all the undergraduate requirements for the bachelor of science degree.