MNU launches new master's program

Registered nurses who want to get an advanced degree will have a new venue to pursue their goal in January.

MidAmerica Nazarene University announced it will launch two master’s programs at the beginning of 2010. The university’s Master of Science in Nursing program will offer two tracks, health care administration and nursing education.

“There’s a need for increased nurse educators nationwide. This is one avenue to fill that national need,” said Susan Larson, Ph.D., RN, interim dean for MidAmerica’s school of nursing and health sciences. “The administration saw the vision of what could develop from offering this program and provided the resources to fulfill that.”

MidAmerica hired Karen Wiegman, Ph.D., RN, to serve as chair for graduate studies in nursing and health science.

“I’m starting to meet with students and develop plans of study,” Wiegman said.

Students who enroll in the master’s program at MidAmerica will take courses in seven-week modules and attend class one day a week. The program will take full-time students one year to complete and part-time students two years to complete.

To apply to the program, nurses must have a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from an accredited university; a 3.0 grade point average; successful completion of undergraduate health assessment, research and statistics courses; and an active registered nurse license.

Larson said nine students have already enrolled in the master’s program. The program can hold up to 35 students.

“We’ve had several alums who have signed up,” Larson said.

The program’s health care administration track will prepare nurses to work in leadership positions within health care systems. The education track will prepare nurses to become nursing professors.

Wiegman said both areas are in high demand.

“We need nursing faculty so badly,” Wiegman said.

Most nursing schools turn away qualified applicants, in part because the schools do not have enough faculty members to enroll more students.

Wiegman said nurses also need to be trained to serve in leadership roles.

“We will always need nurses at the bedside, but they can be so much more and do so much more,” Wiegman said.

Hospitals often promote nurses to management positions without the proper business and management training, Wiegman said.

The master’s program at MidAmerica will train nurses to serve at the highest levels of leadership.

“My question is why isn’t the CEO a nurse?” Wiegman said.

For more information on MidAmerica’s graduate level programs, visit www.mnu.edu/graduate-programs/msn-program.

Trackback(0)

TrackBack URI for this entry

Comments (0)

Write comment