Masters of Science in Nursing, Nurse Educator

Coursework for the Nurse Educator program is delivered over 12 consecutive months. Courses are administered over three semesters with two eight-week sessions per semester. Students complete an average of 4 courses per semester or 10 – 12 credit hours per semester (2 classes per 8-week session averaging 4 – 8 credit hours per session). Excluding the required clinical and nurse education practicums, students complete all the necessary courses online in an asynchronous, cohort-style format.

Following a virtual program orientation, students are required to complete 33 total credits of nursing coursework. This includes 12 Core Master of Science in Nurse credits and 21 Nurse Educator concentration credits. Students complete these credits over 12 courses, including a clinical practicum and nurse education practicum totaling 135 hours.

Our program requires students to complete 135 practicum hours. These practicum hours include a 45-hour clinical practicum and a 90-hour nurse education practicum. All students must complete these hours to graduate from the program successfully. These practicum experiences allow students to apply the skills they’ve learned throughout the program in a real-world clinical nursing and education setting.

Our world-class nursing faculty offers students a distinctive and transformative learning experience. Students and faculty alike engage in collegial and collaborative relationships with one another throughout the program. Students graduate from our program prepared to serve as leaders in nursing education, working in healthcare and university settings to educate registered nurses and nurse practitioners.

The University of Providence is regionally accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) and the Montana Board of Nursing (MBN). In addition, all baccalaureate and master’s degree programs at the University of Providence are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). View our Nursing Accreditation page for more information.

Applicants who wish to be accepted into the program must meet the following requirements:

• Hold an unincumbered registered nurse license.
  • License must be issued in the state the applicant resides in and works in.
• A completed Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree.
  • Degree must be issued through an accredited nursing university.
• A cumulative undergraduate grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 for a BSN degree**
  • Those who don’t meet the minimum cumulative GPA requirement of 3.0 or do not have a transcript with an officially calculated GPA may be required to complete a Graduate Record Exam (GRE). The program accepts the following GRE Scores:
    • Verbal: 150 | Quantitative: 149 | Analytics Writing: 3.5

In addition to the above requirements, students must submit their application to the Nurse Educator program through the NursingCAS application from the Graduate Admissions Page. All applications require the following supporting materials:

• A current version of the applicant’s curriculum vitae or resume
• A 500-to-750-word personal essay
  • Focus on the applicants’ professional goals for graduate studies in nursing.
• Official college transcripts
  • Transcripts must verify the type of degree earned and the date of degree completion.
• Two letters of reference
  • One Scholastic letter of recommendation
  • One Professional letter of recommendation

Applications for the Master of Science in Nursing, Nurse Educator program are accepted for the fall and spring semesters. All applications must be submitted through the NursingCAS Application on the Graduate Admissions Page:

• NursingCAS Spring 2024 Admissions Deadline: December 20, 2023
• NursingCAS Fall 2024 Admissions Deadline: August 16, 2024

The program’s mission is “to prepare graduates for accountable and professional nursing practice that is relationship-based, vigilant, theory-guided, and grounded in the best possible evidence.”

The program’s mission is supported by a conceptual framework consisting of the following constructs:

Relationship-Based Care

The University of Providence’s Masters of Science in Nursing, Nurse Educator Degree Completion Program honors the patient and family as the center of the care delivery team. In relationship-based practice, excellent patient care outcomes are achieved through collaborative and sacred relationships among the patient, his or her family, and the healthcare team.

Vigilance

Nursing vigilance is reflected in unwavering attention to both the patient and the care delivery environment. This vigilance protects patients from harm and ensures their safe passage as they journey through the continuum of their care experience.

Professional Accountability

The professional nurse is accountable for nursing outcomes of care delivery by ensuring vigilant care processes, maintaining expertise in practice, and creating healing care environments. The professional nurse is answerable for practice that consistently meets established standards. This accountability includes the steadfast pursuit of opportunities to coach and mentor other members of the inter-professional healthcare team. Nurses are at all times responsible for their own self-care, professional development, and proactive career management.

Change

Constant, complex change is the expected norm and sets the context for contemporary life in health care delivery. Professional nurses thrive in–and are prepared to lead and manage positive change in improving health, with patients, colleagues, and communities.

A graduate of the program will be a leader in healthcare. Graduates will be excellent communicators, clinicians, and leaders of change. A graduate is a lifelong learner and will enhance the nursing profession by providing nursing evidence-based practice that is population-centered, as well as grounded in spiritual, ethical, and compassionate care.

Nursing students at the University of Providence will learn these themes and more:

• Compassion, ethics, and spirituality
• Patient and family-centered care
• Leadership and effective advocacy
• Evidence-based practice
• Population and Community Health
• Transforming healthcare
• Safety and quality outcomes
• Professional accountability
• Collaboration and inter-professional teams
• Reflective practice and lifelong development

Nurse Educator students at the University of Providence will achieve these outcomes and more:

1. Integrates findings from the sciences and humanities for the continual improvement of nursing care across diverse settings.
2. Applies knowledge of organizational and system leadership practices.
3. Selects and applies quality improvement strategies to optimize safety and outcomes.
4. Utilizes clinical scholarship as a foundation for practice.
5. Applies technology to enhance care, promote lifelong learning, and facilitate data generation and use.
6. Promotes social justice and human dignity through policy and advocacy.
7. Leads and collaborates in interprofessional teams to improve individual and population health outcomes.

Nurse Educator students at the University of Providence will learn these skills and more:

• Nursing Research
• Organizational Leadership
• Statistics
• Assessment & Evaluation
• Developing Needs Assessments
• Curriculum Development

Core Master of Science in Nursing Courses

• MSN 515: Theoretical Foundations of Advanced Nursing Practice (3 Credits)
• MSN 522: Statistics, Research & EBP (3 Credits)
• MSN 530: Social Justice, Law & Policy in Healthcare (3 Credits)
• MSN 540: Organizational Leadership (3 Credits)

Total Core Master of Science in Nursing Credits: 12

Concentration Nurse Educator Courses

• MSN 505: Role of Nurse Education Across Diverse Settings (3 Credits)
• MSN 635: Informatics & Healthcare Technologies (3 Credits)
• MSN 652: Curriculum Development & Analysis (3 Credits)
• MSN 660: Innovative Teaching & Evaluation Strategies (3 Credits)
• MSN 670: Assessment & Evaluation In Nursing Education (3 Credits)
• MSN 684: Advanced Concepts In Assessment & Pathophysiology & Pharmacology (3 Credits)
• MSN 694: Advanced Clinical Practicum (1 Credit)
• MSN 696: Practicum In Nursing Education (2 Credits)

Total Nurse Educator Concentration Credits: 21 | Total Practicum Hours: 135

Advanced Health Assessment Hours: 45 | Teaching Practicum Hours: 90

** Upon admission to degree candidacy, a student may submit up to six (6) semester credits of appropriate graduate coursework with grades of “B” (3.0) or better from accredited graduate schools to satisfy degree requirements. The Program Coordinator, upon the advice of the Faculty Advisor, may accept transfer credits from an official transcript reflecting those credits. Acceptability of transfer credit rests on its relevance to the course of study being pursued and on the date of the instruction. Coursework older than six (6) years at graduation may not be submitted for transfer credit.

The University of Providence’s Nurse Educator program is administered over 12 months, with new cohorts accepted in the fall (August) and spring (January) enrollment periods. Students complete an average of 4 courses per semester or 10 – 12 credit hours per semester, totaling 33 credits. Students also complete 135 total practicum hours, with 45 hours as a clinical practicum and 90 hours as a nurse education practicum.

MSN-Nurse Educator Course Layout (Fall Enrollment)

Fall Semester: First 8-Week Session

• MSN 505: Role of Nurse Education Across Diverse Settings (3 Credits)
• MSN 530: Social Justice, Law & Policy In Healthcare (3 Credits)

Fall Semester: Second 8-Week Session

• MSN 522: Statistics, Research & EBP (3 Credits)
• MSN 515: Theoretical Foundations of Advanced Nursing Practice (3 Credits)

Spring Semester: First 8-Week Session

• MSN 540: Organizational Leadership (3 Credits)
• MSN 684: Advanced Concepts In Assessment, Pathophysiology & Pharmacology (3 Credits)

Spring Semester: Second 8-Week Session

• MSN 694: Advanced Clinical Practicum (1 Credit)
• MSN 635: Informatics & Healthcare Technologies (3 Credits)

Summer Semester: First 8-Week Session

• MSN 652: Curriculum Development & Analysis (3 Credits)
• MSN 670: Assessment & Evaluation In Nursing Education (3 Credits)

Summer Semester: Second 8-Week Session

• MSN 660: Innovative Teaching & Evaluation Strategies (3 Credits)
• MSN 696: Practicum In Nursing Education (2 Credits)

**Course listings are designed to demonstrate a ‘sample’ student schedule for a Nurse Educator student. Individual student schedules may not reflect the listed order of courses or start time**

Want to learn more about our Nurse Educator program? Follow the links below:

• Tuition & Fees at the University of Providence
• Graduate Admissions Information
• Master of Science in Nursing Program Handbook
• How to Apply to the Master of Science in Nursing Nurse Educator Program
• Master of Science in Nursing Nurse Educator Curriculum

At the University of Providence, we have created a platform designed to prepare currently practicing, aspiring nurses to serve as leaders in Nurse Education. Our dynamic curriculum offers valuable, in-demand courses specifically tailored to meet the current needs of nurse educators while giving students the tools to become lifelong learners in healthcare practices and applications. Our graduates will meet the needs of the current nurse educator workforce and be prepared to lead current and future nurses in providing quality, compassionate care to all patients through quality, evidence-based education.

Caregivers can find more information about these benefits on by visiting the Heal The World page.

Caregivers who enroll in our Master of Science in Nursing Nurse Educator program can receive discounted tuition rates as part of our ongoing partnership with Providence Health Services and additional employer education benefits now offered through the Guild Education Benefit. These incentives allow eligible caregivers and their dependents more ways to save on higher education. These include:

• Tuition reimbursement up to $5,250 per calendar year. This reimbursement is available to eligible caregivers at the start of each year and can be applied toward the Nurse Educator program.
• Direct pay through Guild Education helps eligible caregivers cover most up-front program costs. (Caregivers will be able to utilize this benefit starting in the Spring 2024 enrollment period.)

Caregivers can find more information about these benefits on by visiting the Heal The World page.

The University of Providence is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. Information can be found on the NWCCU website, and Comments can be directed to the NWCCU staff at the following address:

Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities

8060 165th Avenue NE, Suite 100

Redmond, WA 98052

(425) 558-4224

http://www.nwccu.org/

The baccalaureate and master’s degree programs in nursing at the University of Providence are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.

655 K Street, NW, Suite 750, Washington, DC 20001, (202) 887-6791.

https://www.ccneaccreditation.org/

The University of Providence is accredited by the Montana Board of Nursing. Information can be found on the Montana Nursing Board website, and Comments can be directed to the Montana Nursing Board staff at the following address:

Montana Board of Nursing

PO Box 200513

Helena, MT 59620-0513

(406) 841-2380

https://boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov/nursing/

The Post-Master Nurse Educator Certificate program is an online, asynchronous certificate program designed for completion in 8 months. This certificate program is completed over two semesters broken into two separate 8-week intensive sessions totaling one course per session. In addition to the online work, students will complete a 90-hour nurse education practicum required for graduation.

Applicants who wish to be accepted into the program must meet the following requirements:

• A completed Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree
  • Degree must be issued through an accredited nursing university.
• A cumulative undergraduate grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 for an MSN degree

Applications for the Master of Science in Nursing, Nurse Educator program are accepted for the fall and spring semesters. All applications must be submitted through the NursingCAS Application on the Graduate Admissions Page:

• NursingCAS Spring 2024 Admissions Deadline: December 20, 2023
• NursingCAS Fall 2024 Admissions Deadline: August 16, 2024

Nurse Educator Certificate Courses

• MSN 652: Curriculum Development & Analysis (3 Credits)
• MSN 660: Innovative Teaching & Evaluation Strategies (3 Credits)
• MSN 670: Assessment & Evaluation In Nursing Education (3 Credits)
• MSN 696: Practicum In Nursing Education (2 Credits)

Total Nurse Educator Certificate Credits: 11 | Total Practicum Hours: 90

The University of Providence’s Nurse Educator certificate is administered over eight months, with new cohorts accepted in the fall (August) and spring (January) enrollment periods. Students complete an average of 2 courses per semester or 5-6 credit hours per semester, totaling 11 credits. Students also complete 90 total practicum hours, with the 90 hours served as a nurse education practicum.

Post-Master Nurse Educator Certificate Course Layout (Fall Enrollment)

Fall Semester: First 8-Week Session

• MSN 652: Curriculum Development & Analysis (3 Credits)

Fall Semester: Second 8-Week Session

• MSN 660: Innovative Teaching & Evaluation Strategies (3 Credits)

Spring Semester: First 8-Week Session

• MSN 670: Assessment & Evaluation In Nursing Education (3 Credits)

Spring Semester: Second 8-Week Session

• MSN 696: Practicum In Nursing Education (2 Credits)

**Course listings are designed to demonstrate a ‘sample’ student schedule for a Nurse Educator Certificate student. Individual student schedules may not reflect the listed order of courses or start time**