Master of Science in Nursing | Family Nurse Practitioner

Duration

5 Semesters (Full Time)
Format

Online
LOCATION

Online

Program Overview

The Master of Science in Nursing program prepares students for their role as an advanced practice nurse who functions as the primary care practitioner to individuals across the lifespan in a variety of inpatient and outpatient clinical settings.

The degree offers an emphasis on practice as a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP), to enable students to take their career to a higher level. Through this program, you can develop the knowledge and skills to assume advanced practice roles.

The didactic courses provide the knowledge, theoretical concepts, and research that inform today’s patient care and evidence-based practice. The clinical courses enable students to gain skills in clinical decision making and differential diagnosis, patient teaching, assessments, and interventions.

Our degree enables graduates with the knowledge and skills required to sit for the FNP national certification board examination offered by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) or the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP).

A 7-semester part-time option is also available to complete your degree.

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Accreditation Status Update

The master’s nursing program at the University of Charleston at the Charleston campus located in Charleston, West Virginia, is accredited by the: Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN).

3390 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 1400 Atlanta, GA 30326
(404) 975-5000

The most recent accreditation decision made by the ACEN Board of Commissioners for the master’s nursing program is initial accreditation.

View the public information disclosed by the ACEN regarding this program on the ACEN website.

The Mission

The mission of the Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) program is to prepare ethical, safe, and effective advanced practitioners of professional nursing across the lifespan.

Application Deadline

Applications for the MSN-FNP program are reviewed and evaluated on a rolling basis upon completion of the application file. Applications will be reviewed until the cohort is filled at which point applicants will be given the option to waitlist for the current term or defer their application to a future term.

To apply to the program, students must:

Have a BSN from an accredited institution with a minimum final GPA of 2.50 as evidenced by the final, official transcript with the BSN conferral. The institutional transcript documenting the BSN conferral will be the only transcript required for a complete application packet. (BSN in progress may be considered for a conditional admission status.)
Have a current, active, unencumbered US registered nurse (RN) license (Authorization to Test may be considered for a conditional admission status)
Have a personal commitment to the rigor and time of the program
Submit a written statement of purpose
Submit the contact information for two (2) professional recommenders
Submit a resume/curriculum vitae (CV)

Transfer Students

The Capito Department of Nursing accepts transfer students for the master’s degree program. In order to gain admission to the graduate nursing program students must:

Have a GPA of 2.50 or greater in the master’s degree program from which the student wishes to transfer.
Transferred courses must have been taken for credit.
Students may transfer nursing courses where a ‘B’ or higher has been obtained except any courses where APEA is used with standardized testing.
Individual consideration for course acceptance will be evaluated prior to transfer credit being confirmed
No more than 9 credits will be accepted for transfer.
Credit for other graduate nursing courses earned more than five (5) years ago cannot be transferred.
Course syllabi and transcripts are required for review by the program faculty in order to determine the number of possible transfer credits accepted. Course equivalency will be evaluated by the faculty currently teaching the UC version of the course. The designated faculty will make a recommendation to the Program Director regarding the substitution.

Program Highlights

Designed for the working RN, the program takes just 5 full time semesters to complete, with a total of 42 credits needed.
There are 750 required clinical hours that are completed in the last 3 semesters of the program. (This works out to be just 2 calendar days per week, which is designed by and built for working nurses.)
Two annual starts: Spring and Fall. (Spaces in this program are limited, so applying early is highly recommended.)
Program is online with no residency required.
The program can be completed in 5 semesters full time, or in 7 semesters part-time.

Part-Time Option – 7 Semesters

Semester 1

Course	Credits
NURSM 501 Advanced Practice Roles	3
NURSM 502 EBP Research	3

Semester 2

Course	Credits
NURSM 504 IT in Advanced Practice	3
NURSM 510 Advanced Pathophysiology	3

Semester 3

Course	Credits
NURSM 515 Advanced Pharmacology	5
NURSM 503 Advanced Leadership	3

Semester 4

Course	Credits
NURSM 505 Healthcare Policy	3
NURSM 520 Advanced Assessment	5

Semester 5

Course	Credits
NURSP 625 Primary Care I	5

Semester 6

Course	Credits
NURSP 635 Primary Care II	5

Semester 7

Course	Credits
NURSP 645 Transitions: Advanced Nursing	5
NURSM 525 FNP Capstone	3

Program Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the program, the master’s graduate should be able to:

Program Outcome 1 Deliver safe, high quality, patient-centered and population care through an advanced understanding of nursing and relevant sciences through health promotion and preventative measures.

Program Outcome 2 Implement the role of the advanced practice registered nurse through lifelong learning, reflective practice, and enlightened living informed by evidence and research.

Program Outcome 3 Advocate for policies that lead to change in quality health outcomes through interprofessional collaboration in the delivery of primary care.

Program Outcome 4 Integrate ethical, critical thinking and decision making in the leadership role to plan, implement, and evaluate primary care interventions with culturally and age diverse populations.

Program Outcome 5 Apply patient healthcare technologies and informatics in practice within a systems framework to promote effective communication and to organize care.

Synthesize principles of advanced nursing practice to deliver evidence-based care that ensures patient safety as well as socially relevant, culturally applicable, ethically appropriate, and improve health outcomes.
Justify clinical reasoning and relevant sciences to provide patient-centered care for diverse communication populations across the lifespan.
Take part in health care changes within a systems framework to influence safe practice, enhance patient safety, and promote health equity.
Combine technological literacy, interprofessional collaboration, and advanced practice to improve clinical practice outcomes.

Please note:

The University of Charleston is not regulated in Texas under Chapter 132 of the Texas Education Code.
The Higher Learning Commission and NC-SARA are the agencies that approve and regulate the school’s programs in West Virginia where the school is physically located and in which it has legal authorization to operate.
Any complaints can be filed with HLC at https://www.hlcommission.org/Policies/complaints-and-other-information-regarding-institutions.html and NC-SARA at https://www.nc-sara.org/student-complaints

Download the Graduate Nursing Student Handbook