Spring 2008 - UCLA School of Nursing

First MECN Graduates
Ready to Make Their Mark
Masters Entry Clinical Nurse Program Brings Talented
Individuals from Other Disciplines into the Profession
TIANNE LARSON (LEFT,
WITH HER FACULTY MENTOR,
DR. DOTTIE WILEY) HAD A
BACHELOR’S DEGREE IN
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS,
A MASTER’S IN ENVIRON-
MENTAL STUDIES, AND WAS
DOING GEOGRAPHIC INFOR-
MATION SYSTEMS MAPPING
WHEN SHE DECIDED TO
BECOME A NURSE.
The graduation this spring of the UCLA School of Nursing’s first class of Masters Entry Clinical
Nurse (MECN) students marks an important milestone – not just for the 52 men and women receiving
their degrees, but also for the health care community in Southern California and beyond, which
now begins to reap the benefits of a pipeline of bright and enthusiastic nurses, newly equipped with
the tools to work at the bedside and ultimately move into positions of clinical leadership.
The MECN program, launched in the fall of 2006, is designed for non-nurses who hold a baccalaureate
degree in another discipline. The accelerated pre-licensure program leading to a Master of
Science in Nursing (MSN) degree prepares these individuals to be nurse generalists who will work in
acute care settings. In addition to imparting the clinical skills these students will need to be effective,
the program prepares them for clinical nurse leadership positions by emphasizing concepts such as
evidence-based practice and the ability to look beyond one-on-one patient interactions toward a systems
approach to improving health care delivery.
“Administrators are very excited about these graduates and the value they will bring to their institutions,”
says Dr. Adey Nyamathi, professor and interim dean at the school and the Audrienne H.
Moseley Endowed Chair in Community Health Research. “They will have the ability to see patients
in the context of the unit and the larger systems – an important perspective at a time when patients
in the hospital setting are sicker and more complex than ever before. They can bring evidence-based
knowledge into their practice, which is essential to ensure quality care and sound decision-making,
and they have an understanding of the importance of cost-effective care. Because they are entry-level
nurses, it will take time before our graduates have extensive clinical skills, but once they have gained
that experience, all of these pieces will come together.”
14 UCLA NURSING