Nursing MS

The Master of Science (MS) in Nursing program is a 39 credit degree program delivered in a fully asynchronous online format. Six (6) of these credits may be taken at UMass Dartmouth prior to matriculation. A total of six (6) credits may be transferred from another graduate program following the appropriate review and approval. One of these transferred courses may include a required elective.

The goal of the MS in Nursing program is to prepare the nursing graduate to be a leader in nursing education and/or in global public heath.

The nursing and healthcare education concentration prepares the individual for the nurse educator role in academic, clinical, or staff development settings. The concentration reflects the nurse educator and professional development competencies developed by national organizations. The graduate is prepared to design, implement, evaluate, and revise academic and continuing education programs for nurses.

The global public health concentration prepares the socially accountable individual to apply skills and knowledge using an ecological framework to improve health outcomes of families, groups, and populations. The graduate is prepared to work in various domestic and global settings, with diverse individuals, families, and populations, to improve healthcare outcomes through illness prevention, health promotion and health policy.

Both concentrations provide the student with the foundation knowledge of healthcare systems, healthcare policy, nursing research methods, and healthcare informatics. Advanced courses in the concentration allow the application of knowledge to be applied in various practice settings. The final practicum/capstone project prepares the student for a career using advacned nursing skills.

The MS in Nursing program prepares the nurse leader who:

1. Integrate, translate, and apply established and evolving disciplinary nursing knowledge, as well as knowledge from other disciplines to the practice of advanced specialty nursing.  
2. Integrate person-centered care that is culturally congruent, holistic, just, respectful, compassionate, coordinated, and evidence based.  
3. Apply the principles of public health prevention and disease management and evaluation to populations with both traditional and non-traditional partnerships from affected communities, public health, industry, academia, health care, local government entities, and others to shape care delivery to individuals, families, groups, and populations across the lifespan. 
4. Evaluate, synthesize, translate, apply, and disseminate nursing knowledge to improve health, transform health care, and guide nursing practice.  
5. Implement established and emerging principles of safety and improvement science as core values of nursing practice to enhance quality and minimize risk of harm to patients and providers through both system effectiveness and individual performance.  
6. Engages in intentional collaboration with care team members, patients, families, communities, and other stakeholders to promote health, guide clients through the illness experience, and improve the health system. 
7. Apply systems-based practice to influence health policy and care in the proactive coordination of resources to provide safe, quality, and equitable care. 
8. Utilize information and technology processes in gathering data and forming information to drive decision making in the support of professional nurses to manage and improve the delivery of safe, high-quality, and efficient healthcare services in accordance with best practice and professional and regulatory standards. 
9. Cultivate a professional identity that embraces integrity, accountability, compassion, altruism, courage, humility, inclusivity, and caring that exemplifies professional nursing. 
10. Participates in activities that build resilience, support personal health and wellbeing, and foster personal, professional, and leadership development through lifelong learning, self-reflection, the acquisition of nursing expertise, and the assertion of leadership. 

Clinical Practicum

The clinical practicum course is an essential component of the MS program. Practicum experiences offer the best opportunity to apply new knowledge and specialized skills in each concentration option. Students are required to complete a minimum of 126 hours of supervised practice in the final semester of their program of study. Clinical placements are determined by agency/ preceptor availability and student learning needs. It should be noted that the appropriate clinical preceptors are typically only available during weekdays (although some exceptions do occur).