Curriculum
The master’s curriculum is organized by clinical specialty. The first year of the Graduate Entry Prespecialty in Nursing is described separately.
All course descriptions are listed in numerical order in the section entitled Course Listings. Required courses for each specialty are listed in the description of each specialty. The charts describe schedules for full-time study. The course plan for scheduled part-time study may be obtained from the Student Affairs Office. The School reserves the right to offer course substitutions and to amend the overall curriculum.
Fall-term courses are noted by “a” following the course number, spring-term by “b,” and summer-term courses by “c.” Yearlong courses have no letter designation.
Elective courses: Students may elect School of Nursing courses offered by specialties other than the one in which they are enrolled or by other schools or departments within Yale University, with the permission of the course instructor and of their specialty director. See pages 80–82 for nonspecialty affiliated School of Nursing electives.
Clinical Specialties
The Master’s program is designed to prepare effective nurse clinicians and nurse scholars capable of improving practice through sound clinical judgment and scholarly inquiry. In general, the first year in each clinical specialty includes basic clinical skill development, assessment and therapies, theories and concepts in nursing practice, and an introduction to research. The final year provides advanced clinical management skills, role development, integration of practice and theory, concepts of leadership, consultation, teaching, change, and policy. Students have the opportunity to take electives across specialties within the School and at other schools in the University.
The specialties offered in the Master's program are:
- Adult Advanced Practice Nursing, with Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, Clinical Nurse Specialist, and Oncology Nurse Practitioner options available
- Family, Adult/Gerontological, and Women's Health Primary Care
- Nurse-Midwifery
- Nursing Management, Policy and Leadership
- Pediatric Nurse Practitioner
- Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing - both adult and family.
Each student is assigned a faculty adviser who is a clinical expert in the student’s chosen field of specialization. Within the specialty area, emphasis is placed upon the development of clinical judgment. In addition to clinical experience, conferences with individual faculty advisers, group conferences with specialty faculty members, and courses presenting scientific data and content relevant to the specialty area provide opportunity for in-depth study.
The following is a list of core courses for all clinical specialties of the master’s program except Nursing Management, Policy, and Leadership. Course descriptions can be found on pages 83–110.
Year one
525a, Nursing Research as a Basis for Evidence-Based Practice
525b, Praxis Seminar
529a, Statistics for Clinical Nursing Research
533a, Advanced Pathophysiology
554a, Advanced Health Assessment across the Life Span
895b, Clinical Pharmacology
Year two
717a, The Contexts of Care
721a/b, Scholarly Inquiry Praxis
The required research and statistics courses in the first year of specialization (525a, 525b, 529a) provide a foundation for evidence-based clinical practice. These courses expand students’ critical thinking abilities and knowledge by providing an introduction to the research methodologies and statistical analyses essential to identifying, providing, reviewing, and evaluating evidence-based advanced nursing care to diverse populations within a variety of settings. Students also develop the ability to select and evaluate appropriate techniques of measurement, and statistical techniques utilizing computer analysis. The praxis seminar, offered in the spring term, assists students in identifying a specific clinical problem for examination, critically reviewing the literature and preparing a scholarly inquiry praxis.
All students are required to complete a scholarly inquiry praxis for the M.S.N. degree. Several options are available for students to meet academic requirements for the scholarly inquiry praxis. They include the state of the science paper (such as a clinical paper, integrated literature review or concept analysis), the master’s thesis, an aesthetic production, or a historical praxis. Students choose one praxis adviser who has primary responsibility for the direction of the scholarly inquiry praxis. The scholarly inquiry praxis, which is to be completed in the final year of specialization (721a/b), is designed to provide a learning experience in which the student integrates knowledge of clinical management, scholarly inquiry, and leadership in the course of identifying and describing a clinical research problem that should be addressed in order to ensure best practices and quality patient outcomes. Specific information on the preparation of the written component of the scholarly inquiry praxis is provided by the associate dean for academic affairs.
During the final year the student is expected to expand and consolidate knowledge and skill in the specialty and to assume increasingly independent responsibility for the management of patients and/or systems. In addition to the required curriculum, elective courses are available in the School of Nursing, the Graduate School, and other professional schools within the University that provide theoretical preparation in areas of education and administration, research, advanced clinical work, or further study in related fields. The student prepares a program of study in consultation with a faculty adviser.
The curriculum of clinical specialties is intended to prepare students to apply for certification through credentialing agencies. Please note that there is no program in the nation that can meet each state’s individual certification requirements. The School recommends that students review all state requirements and consult their academic adviser to plan how they can meet those requirements while enrolled in the School.
Requirements
The degree of Master of Science in Nursing (M.S.N.) is conferred upon students who have satisfactorily completed the chosen course of graduate study at Yale and have met the other conditions prescribed by the School of Nursing. To be eligible for the degree, students in the Graduate Entry Prespecialty in Nursing must successfully complete a minimum of 80.9 credit hours* and have passed the National Council Licensure Examination—Registered Nurse (NCLEX-RN), which is taken by the end of the first specialty year. Students who are registered nurses satisfactorily complete a program of study that includes a minimum of 40 credit hours to be eligible for the degree. Transfer credits are not accepted; however, selected courses may be waived based on review and approval by faculty. Each student must also submit to the faculty a scholarly inquiry praxis based on investigation of a nursing-related health care problem.
*One hour of credit per term is given for each hour of classroom work per week; one hour of credit per term is given for three hours of clinical work per week.
General Enrollment Information
New students are enrolled in the master’s program only once per year (in September). Fall and spring terms are sixteen weeks in length and the summer term is eleven weeks long. All students are required to maintain active Connecticut R.N. licensure and CPR certification for the medical professional while enrolled in the School of Nursing (GEPN students are to obtain their Connecticut R.N. license before the start of their second specialty year). Full-time study is required for students in the Graduate Entry Prespecialty in Nursing and is offered in all specialties. RNs have the option of full- or part-time study. The course schedule for part-time study is predetermined and will be either three or four years depending upon the specialty. General descriptions of the part-time study schedule can be obtained from the School’s Web site. Conversion from part-time to full-time study or the reverse is not normally permitted.
Nonmatriculated part-time study is available with the course instructor’s permission. A nonmatriculated student is limited to three courses per term. Students are permitted to apply up to six courses toward a degree program or a post master’s certificate at the discretion of the specialty director and assistant dean of academic affairs.
All potential RN candidates whose highest degree in nursing is an associate’s degree and who also hold a BS degree in another field, will be required to take a community health course in order to be enrolled into the Yale School of Nursing’s master’s degree program. An e-learn course that meets the objectives for N513c, Seminar in Community Health Nursing and Public Health, such as the one offered by the New York State Nurses Association Continuing Education is acceptable. In addition to providing proof of community health content, the applicant will have to complete a community health related project that can be part of course work prior to graduation. The nature and extent of this project will be co-determined with the respective specialty director.
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