Important

Return to table of contentsBachelor’s degree non-nurse to MSN-NPFor non-nurses who hold a bachelor’s degree in anon-nursing fieldStudents in these programs enter intensive, full-time(sometimes seven days a week) accelerated master’sdegree nursing programs, and are required to pass theNCLEX-RN exam and secure RN licensure after theirfirst year or two in the program. At some schools ofnursing these students may earn a generic MSN; atothers, including Yale University and the Universityof Washington, they may enter an NP master’s programafter obtaining RN licensure. Interestingly, AACN literatureexplains that schools created these compressedprograms to supply more potential faculty members forprofessor-starved RN programs. 119MSN to NP (post-master’s certificate)For registered nurses who already hold a Master ofScience degree in a non-NP nursing discipline.These programs are for RNs who already have a nursingmaster’s degree. Post-master’s NP students complete allNP-specific courses (often online) and clinical hours (intheir locale, as approved by the program administration)requirements, as well as any core courses they did nottake in their earlier program. These tailored programsalso provide ways for licensed NPs to attain additionalspecialization. 120Characteristics of current NP master’sprogramsA recent pharmacology-related curriculum survey ofNP programs, to which 149 programs responded, determinedthat 87.9 percent offer an FNP specialty, and48.3 percent have an adult nurse practitioner (ANP)specialty. That survey also found that 63.1 percent ofresponding schools required students to maintain agrade-point average above 3.1. In 48.3 percent ofthe programs, students took courses on-site, while46.3 percent of the programs offered some distancelearningcontent. Eight of the 149 programs surveyedwere conducted entirely through distance learning. 121(Several nursing schools offer post-master’s NP certificatesand master’s NP degrees through online coursework and clinical training in sites convenient to thestudent under the supervision of NPs or physiciansapproved by the school.) 122,123NP educational programs are typically geared towarda specific specialty, patient population or geographicalregion. As a result, students’ specialty courses vary fromschool to school and program to program. Any programthat is to receive federal funding, however, must followthe basic curriculum outlines provided in the mostrecent versions of the Criteria for Evaluation of NursePractitioner Programs and NONPF’s Advanced NursingPractice: Curriculum Guidelines and Program Standards. 125Program curriculum and clinical experienceFrom researching Web site information of top-rankedNP educational programs, it appears that a typical NPeducational program is front-loaded with didacticcourses, with students completing most of their classroomcourses before they begin their clinical education.The didactic components of the NP programs surveyedranges from 30 to 40 credit units. 126 The didactic curriculumvaries according to the NP specialty being studied.The clinical program is also geared toward the student’sspecialty track. Clinical-hour requirements for directpatient care range from 500 (University of Kentucky) 127to 720 (University of Arizona). 128 A clinical hour isa clock hour. Below is one example of an NP master’sdegree curriculum.119. Web. AACN. www.aacn.nche.edu/Media/FactSheets/AcceleratedProg.htm. Retrieved March 12, 2008.120. Web. American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP). “AANP Nurse Practitioner Program List Search.” www.aanp.org. Retrieved March 12, 2008.121. Sym D, Brennan C, et al. Characteristics of nurse practitioner curricula in the United States related to antimicrobial prescribing and resistance. Journal ofthe American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. 2007;19:477.122. Id.123. Some distance learning programs are University of Utah (master’s degree adult, family, pediatric and geriatric NP), University of Phoenix, University ofMassachusetts (post-master’s certificate, DNP), Indiana State (FNP master’s, post-master’s certificate), Clarkson College (FNP, ANP, master’s, certificate).124. Web. University of California San Francisco School of Nursing. http://nurseweb.ucsf.edu. University of Washington School of Nursing. www.son.washington.edu. University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. www.nursing.upenn.edu. All retrieved October 3, 2006.125. Web. National Task Force on Quality Nurse Practitioner Education. 2002. Criteria for Evaluation of Nurse Practitioner Programs, 2nd edition. www.nonpf.com/evalcriteria2002.pdf. p. 29. Retrieved January 15, 2008.126. Web. University of California San Francisco School of Nursing. http://nurseweb.ucsf.edu. University of Washington School of Nursing. www.son.washington.edu.University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing www.nursing.upenn.edu. University of Texas. http://son.uth.tmc.edu. University of Tennessee.www.utmem.edu/nursing/academic. The University of Kentucky. www.mc.uky.edu/Nursing/academic/msn/degreemsn.htm. All retrieved October 13, 2006.127. Web. University of Kentucky. www.mc.uky.edu/Nursing/academic/msn/degreemsn.htm. Retrieved October 13, 2006.128. Web. University of Arizona. http://nursing.arizona.edu/pdf/ANP_Program.pdf. Retrieved October 13, 2006.Scope of Practice Data Series: Nurse practitioners • V. Education and training of NPs27