169295_BluCol_AcadCatalog_REV Jan18 2019_PROOF

for the MSN program will be determined by completion of three graduate semester hours per term with no grade below a B. Students must maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.0 on a 4 point scale. If a student’s GPA falls below 3.0 at the end of any semester, the student will not be allowed to continue in the program. In order to continue in the program, students must petition the Vice President for Academic Affairs, who will convene an ad- hoc committee to decide the student’s status in the program. If approved to continue in the program, the student must create a plan for completion to be approved by the Dean of the School of Nursing. Grading, grade appeals and grade changes will be consistent with the institution’s existing academic policies. Core Course Requirements Core courses are designed to help students acquire graduate-level academic skills, and begin to explore advanced practice knowledge. Assignments are designed to help students become proficient in abstract, analytical, creative, and critical thinking. These outcomes are achieved through academic writing, seminar participation, and literature research. The remainder of the courses assumes these abilities as a base and focus of integration and ap- plication of advanced content. The core curriculum was developed after careful review of a cross-section of similar programs in other colleges and universities, discussion with area health care leaders, an examination of needs of prospective MSN graduates, and a review of the health care needs in the region. The strategy behind the core curriculum is to provide a sharply focused series of courses supplemented by electives that provide students with maximum flexibility in designing their individual requirements. The core curriculum of 26 credit hours for the Leadership/Education and Family Nurse Practitioner specialty areas in the MSN program is as follows: Course Title Credit Hours NUR 5003 Foundations for Advanced Practice 3 NUR 5022 Advanced Nursing Research Strategies I 2 NUR 5103 Advanced Pathophysiology 3 NUR 5113 Advanced Pharmacology 3 NUR 5112 Health Assessment Didactic 2 NUR 5111 Health Assessment Practicum 1 NUR 5013 Health Care Informatics 3 NUR 5021 Advanced Nursing Research Strategies II 1 NUR 5002 Human Diversity, Health Promotion & Disease Prevention 2 NUR 5032 Advanced Nursing Research Analysis 2 NUR 5053 Financial, Ethics, Organizational Behavior, & Health Policy Management 3 NUR 5061 Capstone 1 Total: 26

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