Master of Nursing Program Information

Return to: Degree Requirements

Faculty

Dean of Nursing: Dunnington

Professors: Janiszewski Goodin, Shields

Associate Professors: Blakely, Patterson

Assistant Professors: Janssen, Fernandez, Poellet, Scholz Mellum, Taylor

Instructors: Campbell, Depass-Surgeon, Hoag, Kinder, Long, Satre, Segovia, Shepherd, Stevens

MSN Nursing Handbook can be found here: https://www.capital.edu/uploadedfiles/content/audience_navigation/current_student/msn%20graduate%20handbook%202017%202018.pdf?n=2961

Introduction and History

The Nursing Program was established in 1950 as a department in the College of Arts and Sciences.  In 1965, it became the Department of Nursing, an integral academic unit of the university.  The undergraduate nursing curriculum provides students the opportunity to blend a strong liberal arts foundation with professional studies.  The MSN graduate program was established in 1994 and provides the registered nurse the opportunity to advance through interdisciplinary education.  The faculty members are skilled professionals as well as dedicated teachers.  Student experiences in a wide variety of health care facilities throughout Columbus and Franklin County provide a broad base of knowledge and skill for professional practice.

Innovation

Over the years, innovation, creativity, and service have characterized the Department of Nursing. The Department pioneered the incorporation of nursing research at the undergraduate level, was in the forefront of the wellness movement in nursing education and in precepted learning experiences for students.  At the height of the national interest in the space program, the Department, with the help of the United States Air Force, was the first in the free world to offer a number of its student’s short-term study in aerospace nursing.

The Department has long demonstrated a strong commitment to the transcultural aspects of nursing with increasing emphasis within the curriculum. Off campus study opportunities that include clinical experiences are offered in Scotland and Sweden.  Informatics education for nurses has been a cutting edge aspect of our Post-Licensure program for several years.  Faculty and students regularly respond to requests for participation in studies from master and doctoral students from other institutions and conduct institutional and professional research consistent with the mission of the University.

Holistic Focus

Since its inception, the Department of Nursing has been committed to the practice of holistic nursing. Recognition of this commitment and excellence in the provision of holistic education is demonstrated through earning endorsement of all four nursing programs from the American Holistic Nurses Certification Corporation (AHNCC).  As of this writing, Capital University is the only nursing program with all programs holding this endorsement.

Honorary Degrees

A desire to recognize and celebrate nursing’s contributions to society has been operational through the nominations of outstanding nurses for honorary degrees from Capital University.  To date, seven nurses have been so honored.  They are:

• Pearl Tucker, Col., USAF, Retired
• Geraldine Price, Director of the Division of Nursing at the Ohio Department of Health
• Dorothy Cornelius, Executive Director of the Ohio Nurses Association, past ANA and ICN President
• Juanita Thiele, founder of the Department, a leader in nursing education & global service
• Mary Jane Sievwright, nursing leader in Jamaica and ICN
• Sister Roni Daniels, advocate for the homeless and health care provider in Washington, D.C., Haiti and the Dominican Republic
• Kevin Sowers, President, Duke University Hospital

Nursing Honorary

A chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing, Theta Theta, was chartered at Capital University in 1986.  Capital’s Theta Theta Chapter was subsequently recognized with a major award, the chapter Key Award, from the International Honor Society in 1991.  This honor is impressive for so young a chapter since only 26 chapters in undergraduate nursing programs were selected from among the over 300 chapters worldwide. 

Junior and senior traditional students, BSN Completion students, graduate students, and community nurse leaders are eligible by invitation for election to Theta Theta Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing based on scholarship and leadership.  The Chapter offers programs for the nursing community each year.

Facilities

Faculty offices, classrooms, assessment rooms, nursing skills, and computer laboratories are located in the Battelle Memorial Hall of Science and Nursing.  The assessment rooms and laboratories are equipped to allow students to develop their skills in simulated clinical settings in preparation for actual practice in health care facilities.  The Helene Fuld Health Trust Learning Resources Laboratory provides state-of-the-art microcomputers for student use.

Accreditation

The Department of Nursing is approved by the Ohio Board of Nursing to offer the pre-licensure BSN program.  Both the undergraduate and graduate nursing programs are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).  Capital University is a charter member of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) and is a member of the North American Consortium of Nursing and Allied Health for International Cooperation (NAC-NAHIC).  All Nursing programs have been endorsed by the American Holistic Nursing Credentialing Center (AHNCC).

Nursing Program Mission

Educating professional nurse leaders for lives of service promoting health and healing within our diverse community.

Philosophy and Foundations

Capital University is a comprehensive, private, church-related university philosophically committed to providing a liberal arts education within a caring environment. Based on the University’s fundamental commitment to its Lutheran heritage, the Department of Nursing encourages the development of the total person: intellectual, physical, psychosocial, moral, ethical, and spiritual. Recognizing the unique worth of each student, the faculty support individualized attention to assist students as they develop and work toward the attainment of their individual learning goals. Through collaborative experiences, students participate actively in the learning process in a caring culture that values self-care and learning.

The faculty of the Department of Nursing embraces the core values of holistic nursing as the fundamental tenets within the discipline of nursing. The goal of holistic nursing is whole person healing. Holistic nurses recognize the totality of the human being - the interconnectedness of body, mind, emotion, spirit, social/cultural, relationship, context, and environment. The holistic nurse is an instrument of healing and a facilitator in the healing process. Holistic nurses assist individuals and groups to obtain or maintain optimum levels of health using the clinical reasoning process. Professional nurses enter into therapeutic partnerships with individuals and groups and incorporate nursing roles such as clinician, educator, advocate, leader, consultant, and role model. Holistic nurses support people in finding balance, harmony, and peace throughout their experience.

Professional education is geared toward the attainment of a specialized body of knowledge pertaining to a discipline through commitment to the social, ethical, and scholarly standards of the profession. It fosters the acceptance of responsibility for critical thinking, clinical judgment, and decision making congruent with the level of practice. Nursing education develops students who provide culturally sensitive, evidence-based, ethically, and spiritually appropriate health care services.  The practice of holistic nursing requires nurses to integrate self-care, self-responsibility, spirituality, and reflection in their own lives. The pre-licensure nursing programs provide opportunities for the development of creativity, maturity, and the growth of intellectual and cultural perspectives. The post-licensure graduate programs extend the development of these qualities in both depth and scope.

Nursing knowledge is acquired through empirical, personal, ethical, aesthetic, and social knowing. Education occurs in an environment of scholarly inquiry and is dedicated to preparing students to care about and for individuals through the lifespan. They also develop respect for the inherent worth of every human being, reflect upon personal values and attitudes, and demonstrate commitment to lifelong learning and to the profession. Preparation for baccalaureate professional nursing practice is based on a program of studies that includes nursing science, physical and behavioral sciences, and the humanities. Synthesis of theories, principles, and research from nursing and related disciplines enhances nursing’s specialized body of knowledge. Preparation for graduate professional nursing practice is based on a program of studies that includes the application of theories, research, and advanced clinical skills within a multidisciplinary context and develops awareness and the ability to provide leadership for the profession of nursing. Within nursing coursework, students become competent with a variety of skills, learn to make clinical judgments based on analysis of empiric data and the individual context for each patient. They also develop respect for the inherent worth of every human being, reflect upon personal values and attitudes, and demonstrate commitment to lifelong learning and to the profession. In addition to creatively using knowledge from the sciences and liberal arts, nurses produce knowledge that contributes to a distinctive science of nursing.

MSN Graduate Program Admission

Admission to the Master of Science Program is open to nurses who are licensed in the state of Ohio and have graduated from a program of nursing academically accredited by two sources: 1) the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC) or the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE); and 2) a higher learning commission Regional Accrediting body.  Admission will not be denied on the basis of race, religion, age, sex, color, disability, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, or political affiliation.  Applicants are required to provide information pertaining to their academic, intellectual, and professional abilities through college transcripts, personal references, and a writing sample.

MSN Graduate Program Admission Criteria

• All official transcripts from previous undergraduate/graduate course work 
• Current, unencumbered, unrestricted Ohio RN License
• Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing
• 3.0 undergraduate GPA on a 4.0 scale
• Undergraduate prerequisites: statistics and research methods 
• Submit a 1 to 2 page summary that addresses a specific vision for your future and how an advanced nursing degree will support your goals.  Please incorporate 1) the strengths you currently bring to your practice, 2) a clinical situation you wish to improve, and 3) why you have chosen Capital University
• Current resume
• Three professional written references
• Clinical Nursing Specialist (CNS) applicants are required to schedule an interview with the Associate Dean of the Post-Licensure Programs as part of the admission process
• TOEFL score of 550 or above (for international students)

MSN Graduate Program Application Procedure

Prospective students are encouraged to apply within 8 weeks of the beginning of the next term. The following activities are included in the application process:

• Complete the Application for Admission on the MSN website: www.capital.edu/msn/.  Please contact the Adult and Graduate Education office at 236-6996 with any questions regarding the application procedure.
• Request official transcripts from all previous colleges and universities.

Forward all admission materials to:

Capital University

ATTN: Office of Admissions

1 College and Main

Columbus, OH  43209

MSN Graduate Program Acceptance of Admission

Once an admission file is completed, it is reviewed by the Graduate Nursing Program Admissions Subcommittee.

Students will be notified in writing of their acceptance.  Following notification the student is required to complete and return the Acceptance of Admission Form to the Admission Office within 10 days. Once a student has accepted admission they can schedule classes through the Admission staff. 

At the time of admission the student will be assigned a faculty adviser with whom they should meet with in the first semester of study to establish a curriculum plan.  

MSN Graduate Program Provisional Acceptance

Candidates may be admitted provisionally until all entrance requirements are completed.  The letter of admission status states the specific conditions that need to be completed and the time frame allowed.  Upon completion of these conditions by the dates indicated, full admission is granted.  Students are to return the acceptance of provisional admission form within 10 days.  Upon receipt of this form, course registration is initiated by the Admission staff.

Non-degree:

There are four categories of non-degree status:

• Students enrolled in the traditional program junior level status, 3.5 GPA or higher, and approval of the Graduate Associate Dean.
• BSN graduates who are interested in enriching their professional practice with Graduate courses.  These students can take up to 6 credits, which will count toward the MSN if they choose to apply for graduate study.
• Masters prepared nurses with an interest in a concentrate focus.  These individuals complete one or more concentrates as post-masters study.
• BSN or MSN nurses who are enrolled in a certificate program offered by the Department of Nursing.

Dual Degree

Dual degree students must gain admission to and complete degree requirements for both programs.  Since each school admits students separately, admission to one program does not guarantee admission to the other program.

A student choosing a dual degree option must complete the appropriate dual degree application as a notice of intention to seek the dual degree.  For more information on the admission process, please contact the Admission Office.

• Undergraduate Fast Track to MSN: Undergraduate nursing majors who hold a GPA of 3.5 in the last year of their baccalaureate curriculum may earn up to nine hours of credit by enrolling in any of the following graduate courses:  NURS-500:  Advanced Healthcare Statistics; NURS-510:  Nursing Science and Theory; NURS-520:  Advanced Nursing Research; NURS-530:  Healthcare Informatics and Technology.  Registration in courses is limited to space availability.  After the student is granted admission to the MSN program, courses are then used to fulfill graduate requirements.

Audits

Students may audit a course on a space available basis.  This requires completion of the Audit Request Form found online at the Registrar’s webpage: www.capital.edu/registrar-forms. The form requires the appropriate instructor’s signature and the signature the Associate Dean of the Graduate Nursing Program.  Candidates in the Nursing Program cannot audit any course required for degree credit.  Normally, an auditor is not required to submit assignments or take examinations.  The transcript does not reflect audited courses and no grade or credit is given.  To audit a course at the Law School or Trinity Lutheran Seminary, please contact those schools directly.

The Graduate Program Focus

The organizing theme of the graduate curriculum is “leadership at the multidisciplinary frontier of health care.”  The MSN graduate program is designed to build on the strengths of the Department of Nursing and university faculty, to offer students alternatives to practitioner programs, and to avoid duplication with the other graduate programs in Columbus.  An initial needs assessment, faculty beliefs about knowledge and skills, literature reviews, and professional standards influenced curriculum design.  Courses are reviewed annually and updated based upon on student need and feedback, community and national health care priorities, policy initiatives, and changes in accreditation standards.

Department of Nursing faculty members recognize that multidisciplinary nursing education and practice offer the potential for achieving the most efficient and effective health care outcomes if the strengths of each discipline can be integrated and implemented by individuals with a knowledge base in more than one discipline.  Multidisciplinary education at the master’s level prepares students to assume leadership roles to effectively work with health care teams in acute and long-term health care settings, corporate settings and complex organizations, the community, and in independent practice.

Department faculty and the graduate curriculum emphasize the development of holistic practitioners who have the empiric and ethical-political knowledge and skills as well as the personal self-reflective ability and aesthetic appreciation to provide mindful leadership that empowers clients and co-workers.

Goals of the Graduate Program

Our nation is experiencing a crisis in health care-cost, access, and quality of care all demand urgent attention.  America needs holistic practitioners who can think critically, reflect deeply and who can balance economic realities with the human need for compassion and service. Leadership in creating the health care system of the future necessitates commitment to holistic care and teamwork in order to solve human health problems in complex systems with declining resources.  Self-responsibility and self-care are fundamental to the development of this leadership capacity and thus integral to program goals. Similarly, engagement in cultural and political advocacy is essential to holistic care.

At Capital University, the academic disciplines of nursing, business, and law are uniquely positioned to provide leadership at the multidisciplinary frontier of health care in addressing the pressing health needs of the community in the 21st century.  Thus, this unique graduate program will blend the holistic perspective of nursing with the legal, business, ethical, educational and spiritually grounded expertise already present within the university community.

At the completion of MSN graduate program, the student will be prepared to accomplish the following behaviors and achieve the related outcomes:

Goal 1: Analyze the theoretical foundations of nursing and related science relevant to advanced holistic nursing practice / education / administration. Outcomes: Design direct care/ educational or other programming for individual and community populations based on social determinants of health, and sciences relevant to specific concentrate of study (caring, organizational, educational, other); and Apply appropriate theory and frameworks to guide practice.

Goal 2: Demonstrate leadership of Interprofessional teams to plan, implement and evaluate system initiatives that improve clinical, educational or organizational outcomes. Outcomes: Identify problems relevant to area of practice/ concentrate; Synthesize and communicate current research and practice evidence / knowledge related to identified problems; Use a team based approach to program development and implementation as appropriate; Apply leadership principles to implement changes that improve quality of clinical and educational outcomes; and Demonstrate behavior that is culturally responsive, safe, timely, effective, efficient, equitable, and patient / student centered.

Goal 3: Use the best available evidence to guide practice decisions.

Outcomes: Actively and ethically participate in research to improve area of clinical / practice expertise; Address social determinants of health to plan and evaluate health care/ educational interventions as appropriate; Evaluate ethical implications of evidence based practice decisions for individual clients / aggregate populations and recommended program changes; Identify specific databases and current research relevant to a defined clinical / educational / organizational problem; Perform rigorous critique of current research and disseminate meaningful evidence to improve practice outcomes; and Apply holistic framework when evaluating research and clinical evidence to implement practice changes within concentrate of study.

Goal 4: Apply the concepts of information exchange, nursing informatics and systems theory to the advanced practice role. 

Outcomes: Analyze databases to answer clinical / educational / administrative questions; Identify ethical principles for health information management systems and practices; and Integrate and coordinate current and emerging technologies to improve patient care systems and health education as appropriate to concentrate.  

Goal 5:  Integrate health policy processes to promote safety and quality of health delivery systems and advocate for social issues of health disparity and equality.

Outcomes: Participate in policy development at the institutional, local, state and/ or federal levels to improve health / educational outcomes related to discipline / practice of nursing and healthcare; Develop advocacy strategies to influence health care; Analyze how policies influence the structure and financing of health care practice and health outcomes; and Examine legal and regulatory processes related to individual and system practice that reflect ethics of caring.

Goal 6: Apply holistic philosophy to enact advanced practice role.

Outcomes: Value unitary science as foundational to development of advanced practice role; Identify the ethics of caring and its contribution to unity of self, others, nature and life forces as central to holistic nursing; Integrate ethical, aesthetic, empiric and personal ways of knowing into practice and educational decision-making; Explore and adopt holistic self-care practices to achieve balance in personal wellbeing and professional life; Participate in reflective practice to improve clinical practice, clinical leadership, learning   and personal wellbeing; and Use selected integrative therapies in current practice/ educational settings.

Learning Outcomes by Concentrate

Each concentrate has specific anticipated outcomes beyond the general outcomes for graduate study.  By concentrate, these include:

Administration                                                       

The graduate will:

• Demonstrate basic knowledge of the business functions of marketing, accounting, finance, operations and human resources.
• Recognize the importance of organizational behavior in impacting the delivery of nursing care in health care systems.
• Stimulate and effectively cope with change in health care systems.
• Utilize analytical and critical thinking to address workforce issues.

Adult Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist

The graduate will:

• Assume the role of clinical nurse specialist for adults living with chronic illness through end of life transition.
• Incorporate standards of holistic care into clinical practice.
• Practice integrative interventions that improve quality of life and symptom management.
• Collaborate with others to design and implement system changes that improve practice.
• Demonstrate advanced professional behaviors reflective of autonomy, intellectual independence, accountability and commitment to a philosophy of holism.

Legal Studies                                                   

The graduate will:

• Understand the basic concepts of the legal system in the United States.
• Analyze the impact and influence of the legal system on health care and nursing policy and practice in the United States.
• Influence the development and implementation of health care policy and health care law.
• Facilitate an understanding of the law and health policy for individuals and organizations.

Nursing Education                                               

The graduate will:

• Assume the role of professional nurse educator for academic settings, continuing education, or staff development.
• Apply selected teaching-learning theories for the preparation and continuing development of nurses.
• Implement a variety of teaching-learning strategies in diverse learning experiences.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of the teaching-learning process.
• Critically examine trends and issues in nursing education.

Organization of the Graduate Curriculum

The curriculum content is arranged into four quadrants:  the graduate core, the nursing core, the concentrate core, and synthesis and application work.  The specific credit hour requirement varies depending upon the concentrate. Specialization comes through the courses and clinical work students select in the concentrate and in the student’s use of the acquired skills and knowledge in the application/synthesis work. Students progress through the nursing core and graduate core before beginning coursework in the area of concentration.  The graduate core, the nursing core, and the concentrate should be completed before the synthesis and application work is begun.  Full time students may enroll in concentrate and synthesis courses concurrently.

Basic Curriculum Plan for the MSN

Total Hours: 38-47 (Minimum hours vary by concentrate)

Graduate Core

Courses in the graduate core are designed to provide students the content and skills required for leadership in an advanced practice role and to engage the student in active learning to develop their critical thinking.  The courses are conducted with an interdisciplinary focus to help students appreciate more fully the complexity of health care leadership.  They focus on organizational behaviors (MBA-613), statistical applications for health care research and evidence based practice (NURS-500) and the ethical and political background to advocate for their clinical populations, nursing staff and nursing students (NURS-650 or MBA-740).  The graduate core courses are appropriate for any student doing graduate work in a discipline that requires knowledge of group behavior and cultural influences on behavior, statistical evaluation of health care research, and ethical-political problem solving.  These courses can be taken with nursing core courses.

Nursing Core

The nursing core is comprised of Nursing Science and Theory (NURS-510), Foundations of Holistic Practice (NURS-515), Advanced Nursing Research and Evidence Based Practice (NURS-520), and Healthcare Informatics and Technology (NURS-530).  These courses are designed to ground students in principles of holistic practice, introduce them to the use of theory and theoretical thinking related to their leadership development, conduct and apply research evidence to their clinical setting and understand the expanding use of informatics within the profession.  These courses can be taken with graduate core courses.

The Department of Nursing faculty encourages students from the School of Management & Leadership, the Law School, and Trinity Lutheran Seminary who wish to focus on health care applications to cross-enroll in the graduate nursing core courses.  The holistic perspective of nursing as a caregiving discipline enhances today’s business, law, and seminary curricula.  The learning experience and competency of graduate students with diverse backgrounds, expertise, interests, and goals is enriched through such interdisciplinary interaction.

Concentrate

The concentrate provides students with the opportunity to study in an area of their selected interest.  The number of credit hours required in the concentrates varies, as do the degree of elective versus required courses and prerequisites.  Students whose concentrate courses are provided by another unit outside of the Department of Nursing register with their academic adviser in the Department of Nursing and with guidance from their adviser in the respective concentrate area.  The student is billed at the rate of the unit offering the course.

Synthesis, Application, & Capstone

Clinical Nurse Specialist

Clinical Nurse Specialist students demonstrate mastery of their concentrate by completing NURS-780.  This 2 hour seminar capstone course is designed to provide students with an opportunity to develop, implement, and evaluate an evidence-based change or program to improve clinical practice. Specific projects will be negotiated between the course faculty and the student clinical preceptor.  Guidelines for the capstone are distributed as part of the course syllabus.

Administration, Education, Legal Studies, and Theology Coursework

Administration and Legal Studies students enroll in NURS-640 or NURS-641 and Education students enroll in NURS-720 to allow students to apply specialized knowledge and skills in their respected fields. Theology students work closely with their adviser to develop a synthesis experience specific to their learning needs. Administration, Education, Legal Studies, and Theology student all enroll in NURS-722 Capstone Experience as their final course prior to graduation.

Return to: Degree Requirements