Online RN-MSN: Nursing Degree Curriculum
Curriculum Details
- Total major courses: 15–17
- Total credits: 51–153
- Specialization tracks: 5
- Semester duration: 15–16 weeks
Discover a direct path to new opportunities in nursing with the RN-MSN program from Sacred Heart University. You’ll graduate with two degrees in as few as 3.5 years, ready to provide compassionate care as you advance as a nurse administrator, nurse educator or nurse practitioner.
The online courses for this nursing degree begin with Sacred Heart’s signature core curriculum, The Human Journey, which enables you to provide holistic nursing care by exploring nurse and patient perspectives. All RN-MSN students must complete CIT 202 Human Journey II (3 credits) as part of the overall program.
The online classes for this nursing degree delve into an array of essential topics, including health care policy, evidence-based practice, care management and beyond. You will also deepen your nursing expertise by selecting a master’s-level specialization:
Major Requirements and Validation of Prior Learning (60 credits)
Credits
Validation of Prior Learning Students may be awarded 30-36 Nursing credits through the State of Connecticut Nursing Articulation Plan. Students who graduate from schools in other states can be awarded 30 credits through endorsement of these courses. Students will be advised of their status by the Nursing faculty with credits shown as NU 290.
This course is for RNs and requires the completion of CIT 202 as a prerequisite. The Human Journey in Nursing utilizes the four questions posed in the Catholic Intellectual Tradition Seminars to address nursing’s role in building a just society. Concepts such as human vulnerability, resiliency, spirituality, and cultural diversity will provide the platform from which discussions about the professions and the professional nurse’s role in shaping past, current, and future healthcare will be based. Reflection on service-learning experiences will personalize and professionalize the meaning and responsibility for addressing health inequities within the workplace and the perpetuation of health disparities in society. A prerequisite to NU 376 and NU 38.
Utilizing the conceptual framework of the Nursing program, this course focuses on comprehensive health assessment. Adequate data collection and careful analysis for diagnostic and planning purposes is stressed. The student will use the diagnostic reasoning process to formulate nursing diagnoses. Videotaping assessment skills is a required course component. A prerequisite to NU376 and NU 387.
NU 335 Information Technology for Nursing Practice
Applies for students in the following tracks: Family Nurse Practitioner, Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner
This course is for RNs and provides an introduction to information and technology needed for the practice of nursing today. It will focus on providing material to enable nurses to be computer literate by exploring the use of emerging information sources and communication technology and their impact on healthcare. Emphasis will be placed on trends and issues in clinical technology. It will also examine key issues such as security and the use of databases. A prerequisite to NU376 and NU 387.
NU 575 Health Care Information Systems
Applies for students in the following tracks: Clinical Nurse Leader, Nursing Education, Nursing Management and Executive Leadership
Nursing Informatics combines knowledge and skills from nursing science, computer science, information science, and cognitive science to identify, define, manage and communicate data, information, knowledge, and wisdom in nursing practice. Core concepts will be discussed in relation to the application of nursing informatics to support nursing practice and enhance outcomes of care. Major topics related to nursing informatics will be explored. The use of informatics to enhance patient care delivery, quality, and safety in healthcare systems will be emphasized.
This core course focuses on history, policy, and ethics in nursing and health care. It examines health care policy, including global health considerations, health care financing, quality and safety in health care, and the ethics of health care. Current practices in nursing and health care are viewed from the past and present as a way to contemplate the future. The course builds on a framework of critical thinking, as students explore aspects of the history of nursing and medicine, analysis of current policy development, and implications of the past for present and future actions in nursing and health care.
This course is one of the graduate core classes that provides the foundation for advanced practice nursing. The role of the advance practice nurse as a member of the profession will be emphasized. Students will be introduced to theories from nursing, natural, social, biological and organizational sciences to frame their future practice. Further, students consider issues of cultural diversity and competence to assure the delivery of culturally competent care and minimization of health disparities.
Students in the following tracks will take NU 575: Clinical Nurse Leader, Nursing Education, Nursing Management and Executive Leadership
Nursing Informatics combines knowledge and skills from nursing science, computer science, information science, and cognitive science to identify, define, manage and communicate data, information, knowledge, and wisdom in nursing practice. Core concepts will be discussed in relation to the application of nursing informatics to support nursing practice and enhance outcomes of care. Major topics related to nursing informatics will be explored. The use of informatics to enhance patient care delivery, quality, and safety in healthcare systems will be emphasized.
Students in the CNL, NE and NMEL tracks will complete this course.
This course examines the field of research and its relationship to problems related to nursing and health care. Each step of the research process is explored in-depth to develop the skills to apply research to practice. Students apply critical analysis to relevant research literature to determine its usefulness and application. Statistical methods and concepts are reviewed and integrated throughout the course to promote an understanding of those concepts within the context of health care research. Emphasis is placed on evaluating research evidence for nursing practice. Prerequisite: MA 131
Students in the CNL, NE and NMEL tracks will complete this course.
The primary focus of this course is on learning the process of evidence-based practice and how to incorporate it into nursing practice to achieve quality outcomes of care. Students will learn how to differentiate among evidence-based practice, research, and quality improvement methods of inquiry. Select evidence-based practice models will be explored as a basis for development of an evidence-based practice project in a practice setting.
Prerequisite: NU 601
This course is for the registered nurse student and is focused on the elements of care management of individuals and families across the health care continuum. This course will expand upon the concepts of care transitions from hospital to the community setting with an emphasis on the challenges related to transitioning such as financial management, resource utilization, and overall care coordination. Care management for individuals and families requires an understanding of family systems and the interaction of individuals with their family during healthy actual or potential health issues. A family assessment will be utilized to allow the registered nurse student the opportunity to develop a plan that will promote a safe and productive transition to the community. Students will engage in analytic discussions to further develop their understanding of family systems, systems of care, clinical practice and community nursing roles. Personal reflection on one’s own practice in contemporary nursing will be included in order to allow the student to think holistically, ethically and morally as they grapple with real-world challenges and contemporary care management issues in our healthcare environment. Pre-Requisites: Acceptance to the nursing major, NU305, NU315, NU325, NU335, NU345, NU355. Acceptance to the RN-MSN nursing major, NU305, NU315, NU325, NU335, NU345, NU355, NU401, NU430, NU 431, NU 433.
This course is for RNs and focuses on global communities as consumers of health services. The different perspectives, sensitivities and application of knowledge unique to nursing of populations, communities, and societies are identified. Effectiveness of nursing practice is explored in relation to the problems, priorities, attitudes, culture and resources of aggregates, groups, the community, and global health needs. Prerequisites: Acceptance to the RN to BSN Nursing Major, NU 305, 315, 325, 335, 345, and 355 or acceptance to the RN-MSN Nursing Major, NU 325, 401, 430, 431, 433, 475 and 376
Required Courses For Specializations
Credits
Advocate for superior patient care and lead a team of integrated health care professionals, including social workers, pharmacists, physicians and fellow nurses. This specialization includes these courses:
- NU 550 Family and Community Context for Health Care
- NU 553 Advanced Pathophysiology
- NU 554 Application of Comprehensive Health Assessment Methods
- NU 605 Pharmacology for the Nurse Leader
- NU 611 Care Management and Resources Across the Continuum
- NU 612 Disease Management and Outcomes Assessment
- NU 680 Clinical Nurse Leader Role Practicum
- NU 681 CNL Capstone
Complement your clinical experience with teaching skills and learn to design curricula, evaluate student performance and step into the role of instructor. This specialization includes these courses:
- NU 553 Advanced Pathophysiology
- NU 554 Application of Comprehensive Health Assessment Methods
- NU 588 Theoretical Basis of Teaching and Learning in Nursing Education
- NU 589 Curriculum Development and Evaluation in Nursing Education
- NU 605 Pharmacology for the Nurse Leader
- NU 619 Principles of Patient and Staff Education
- NU 690 Nursing Education Role Practicum
- NU 691 Nursing Education Role Capstone
Discover how to manage a budget, create and implement administrative processes, make certain your procedures meet professional standards and more. This specialization includes these courses:
- NU 511 Role Development for Nursing Management and Executive Leadership
- NU 521 Creating a Professional Work Environment
- NU 576 Management of Financial Resources
- NU 617 Health Care Delivery System
- NU 665 Quality and Safety in Practice
- NU 672 Nursing Management and Executive Leadership (NMEL) Practicum
- NU 673 Nursing Management and Executive Leadership (NMEL) Capstone
Learn to conduct physical examinations, diagnose illnesses and help patients improve or maintain their personal well-being. This specialization includes these courses:
- NU 550 Family and Community Context for Health Care
- NU 551 Advanced Pharmacology for the Nurse Practitioner
- NU 552 Advanced Health Assessment for the Nurse Practitioner
- NU 561 Primary Care I: Comprehensive Primary Care of the Adult
- NU 566 Advanced Pathophysiology for the Nurse Practitioner
- NU 606 Primary Care of Children
- NU 607 Primary Care for Women
- NU 621 Primary Care II
RNs who are interested in advancing into psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner roles can achieve their goals by earning their MSN online with Sacred Heart. This specialization includes these courses:
- NU 550 Family and Community Context for Health Care
- NU 551 Advanced Pharmacology for the Nurse Practitioner
- NU 552 Advanced Health Assessment for the Nurse Practitioner
- NU 566 Advanced Pathophysiology for the Nurse Practitioner
- NU 509 Advanced Psychopharmacology for the PMHNP
- NU 571 PMHNP I: Role Development of the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner
- NU 572 PMHNP II: The Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner’s Role with Children and their Families
- NU 573 PMHNP III: Advanced Role Development of the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner in Complex Systems
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