The master's curriculum is designed to prepare clinical nurse
specialists and nurse practitioners who are able to function in
continuously changing environments or systems in which health care is
delivered. The curriculum reflects the philosophy espoused by the
faculty regarding the metaparadigm concepts of nursing. The curriculum consists of two components: core nursing
cognate courses and the clinical specialty in nursing.
The
first component of the curriculum consists of core courses in nursing,
the content of which systematically builds upon knowledge and skills
gained at the baccalaureate level. Ethics and advanced theories and
research relative to the health of individuals, families, groups, and
communities, and theories and research pertaining to management,
education, role, and health care policy are discussed. The essential
processes involved in concept analysis and theory development,
especially using nursing conceptual models, are addressed. The emphasis
in research is on the identification of a research problem, advanced
methods and designs used for hypothesis testing, and the organization
and management of qualitative and quantitative data.
The
second component of the curriculum concentrates on the preparation of
clinical nurse specialists and nurse practitioners in the areas of
adult and aged in primary care, adult and aged in acute care, advanced
practice in pediatrics, advanced practice in women's health, community
health nursing, family nursing, and psychiatric/mental
health nursing. The theory and practicum courses across all specialties
focus on levels of health, specifically health promotion, acute health
problems, and chronic health problems. Patterns identified in human
environment interaction at all levels of health provide the substantive
basis relative to theories, research, and practice addressed in the
specialty courses.
Broadly conceived, patterns are attributes,
characteristics, properties, and behaviors of individuals, families,
groups, or communities having recurring manifestations that are
directly or indirectly observable. As entities, patterns are relatively
stable, fairly predictable, and can be related to one another in
meaningful ways. Patterns can be identified in the literature as
concepts that meet the aforementioned criteria and that represent the
metaparadigm concepts of nursing. Of particular interest to nursing are
indices of health and illness that are associated with or result from
patterns.
Advanced specialized knowledge in each clinical
nursing area is derived from the scientific literature, and emphasis is
placed on examining and critiquing theories and research from the
literature in nursing, focusing on patterns. Advanced specialized
practice characterizes the role of the nurse practitioner who uses
knowledge gained from the two components of the curriculum in the care
of select populations in a variety of settings. The roles of the
clinical nurse specialist and nurse practitioner are multifaceted and
include that of expert practitioner, educator, researcher, and
administrator. The master's curriculum in nursing prepares clinical
nurse specialists and nurse practitioners who are leaders in their
field and who possess knowledge foundational to doctoral education in
nursing.
