Memorandum of Request Cover Sheet

From: Ad Hoc Master’s Essentials Task Force in Nursing

To: Dr. Jim Decker, Chair, ECU-Graduate Curriculum Committee

Date:September 13, 2012

Re: Core Master’s Nursing Course Changes, Program Curriculum and Catalog Revisions

The purpose of this memorandum is to provide an executive summary of proposed changes to the MSN program curriculum and catalog.

In response to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) document (dated March 21, 2011), The Essentials of Master’s Education in Nursing,the graduate faculty of the ECU College of Nursing (CON) have assessed, recommended, and approved the need to change the course descriptions and objectives in core courses. These changes update the course objectives and content. Further, these changes will be important for subsequent Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) accreditation reviews. The core course requirement is being changed from 12 to 13 semester hours.

As part of the CON continuous improvement process and to address AACN’sEssentials of Master’s Education in Nursing and CCNE accreditation criteria, the following revisions to courses and the Graduate Catalog are proposed for your consideration and approval:

Course Revisions:

The master’s curriculum is being revised.

Three courses are being revised, with the course title, course number, course description, course objectives, and course content changed:

  1. Current: NURS 6001 Philosophical Perspectives and Theoretical Bases of Advanced Nursing

Revised:NURS 6080Theory for the Practice of Advanced Nursing

  1. Current: NURS 6991Research Methods for Advanced Nursing

Revised:NURS 6081Research for the Practice of Advanced Nursing

  1. Current: NURS 6002Advanced Practice in Complex Health Care Organizations

Revised:NURS 6082Influencing Healthcare Quality, Safety, and Policy

Course Deletion:

One course is being deleted. Content from this 2 s.h. deleted course has been merged into the 3 s. h. revised research course listed in #2 (NURS 6081) above.

  1. Current: NURS 6992 Research Utilization Seminar [2 s.h.]).

-Memorandum of Request, cont’d next page-

Course Addition:

One new course is being added.

4. Proposed:NURS 6083Health Care Finance and Economics [3 s.h.]

The addition of this new course addresses new topics included in the AACN Essentials of Master’s Education in Nursing.

No changes were made to required core course NURS 6993 Advanced Nursing Synthesis.

In total, this brings the required core courses for master’s nursing concentrations up from 12 s. h. to 13 s. h.

Current Courses / s.h. / Proposed Courses / s.h. / Changes Made
NURS 6001 / 3 / NURS 6080 / 3 / Formerly NURS 6001, revised and renumbered / Theory
NURS 6991 + NURS 6992 / 3
2 / NURS 6081 / 3 / Formerly NURS 6991 and 6992, renumbered / Research
NURS 6002 / 3 / NURS 6082 / 3 / Formerly NURS 6002, revised and renumbered / Healthcare Q, S, & P
------/ -- / NURS 6083 / 3 / New course / Fin & Econ
NURS 6993
(no changes) / 1 / NURS 6993
(no changes) / 1 / ~~~~~No change~~~~ / Synthesis
Total Core s.h. / 12 / Total Core s.h. / 13 / Increased core by 1 s.h.

Please see the final documents appended to this Memorandum provided by the Ad Hoc Master’s Essentials Task Force in Nursing.

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