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Heike Doody
Norwich Graduate, Class of 2016
Norwich Graduate, Class of 2016
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Master of Science in Nursing: Leadership, Education & Informatics
Make a Difference as a Nurse Leader
The healthcare industry needs nurses with leadership, passion, and expertise. That’s why the Norwich online Master of Science in Nursing program was created and has evolved to meet these critical demands. Our program is designed to help you build the essential skills needed to pursue advanced roles in healthcare systems leadership, nursing education, or the growing field of nursing informatics.
With changing health care legislation and an aging workforce, expert nursing professionals are needed now more than ever. Whether your goal is nursing informatics, nursing leadership, or nursing education, our online Master of Science in Nursing program can help you prepare for critical leadership positions aligned with your career goals and interests.
Download a free brochure for more information about this program.
Degree
- Master of Science
Concentrations
- Healthcare Systems Leadership
- Nursing Education
- Nursing Informatics
Quick Info
1
Week Residency
Visit campus for culminating experience
15
Students
Maximum number of students per class
18
Months
Average time to program completion
8
June
Next Start Date
11
May
Application Deadline
Why Norwich
The master's degree program in nursing at Norwich University is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (http://www.ccneaccreditation.org).
Learn from doctoral-level faculty.
Apply newly acquired skills in real-time and drive positive change within your organization well before you graduate.
Qualify to sit for the National League for Nursing (NLN) Nurse Educator Certification Exam through our Nursing Education track.
Qualify to sit for the ANCC Informatics Nursing Certification Exam through our Nursing Informatics track.
Enroll with no GRE or GMAT requirements.
Apply to one of four start dates per year.
Benefit from a university recognized as offering Best Value with respect to high academic quality and low net cost of attendance, according to U.S. News & World Report.*
*Rankings are based on undergraduate programs and on students who received the average level of need-based financial aid.
Accreditation & Recognition
Norwich University is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (formerly the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc.).
The master's degree program in nursing at Norwich University is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (http://www.ccneaccreditation.org).
Recognized for academic excellence, U.S. News & World Report ranks Norwich University in the top 100 for Regional Universities in the North. Rankings are based on undergraduate programs.
Scholarship Opportunities
Norwich University offers a range of opportunities to help you lower your overall tuition costs. Contact our admissions team today to learn more about the below options. Please note that scholarships are not additive. In addition to the below scholarships, students may also be eligible for discounts if their organization partners with Norwich University.
Achievement Scholarship
Recognizing your past academic and professional achievements, the Achievement Scholarship is for newly enrolled students. You could receive a $4,200 scholarship, which will be distributed equally over the courses of the program. To be considered for this scholarship opportunity, submit your application package (application form, resume, letter of intent, and essay (if applicable)) for your program of interest at least one week prior to the upcoming application deadline. The Scholarship Selection Committee will review all application materials and select the recipient.
Norwich Alumni Scholarship
Norwich University alumni and their spouses, parents, and children are eligible to receive our Alumni Scholarship. The scholarship is award for each term of enrollment at $425 per term.
Active Duty Military Scholarship
Active duty, National Guard, and Reserve personnel are eligible to receive a $250 award for each term of enrollment in an online master’s degree program.
Help us learn more about your experience and see if you qualify for the Master of Science in Nursing program.
Curriculum
Core Curriculum
Norwich’s online Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) program begins with 6 three-credit core courses that focus on the roles of the advanced nurse, health care systems, practice and policy, theoretical foundations of practice, research for evidence based practice and quality improvement practice, informatics and technology. Each core course is 11 weeks in length. The remaining courses are focused on the specialty of your choice: nursing education, nursing informatics, or healthcare systems leadership.
Note: If you enrolled in the MSN program on or prior to September 2020, please refer to this curriculum map.
Our nursing graduates can:
Pursue a range of leadership roles in nursing education, nursing informatics, or healthcare systems leadership.
Demonstrate a broad-based knowledge of health systems and essential skills in communication, data analysis and policy implementation, problem solving, critical thinking, research, evidence-based practice, and management.
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Healthcare Systems, Nursing Leadership and Advanced Nursing RoleNR523 3 credit hours
This course examines the healthcare system and guides students to assess and analyze the healthcare system in the context of advanced practice nursing and the role of advanced practice nurses. The student explores organizational and system science, change theories and social change theories in its application to healthcare. Healthcare leadership including theory and styles as well as contemporary approaches, ethical practice and leadership strategies are examined. Inter/intra professional communication, teamwork, consultation, diversity and collaboration are discussed as cornerstones for patient safety, optimal health outcomes and accountability in health care. The student analyzes and evaluates the intersection of current and emerging healthcare system challenges and advanced practice role dimensions.
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Health Policy, Advocacy and Economics in HealthcareNR524 3 credit hours
This course examines healthcare delivery in the United States, to include the role of public policy, advocacy, and industry regulation. Health policy perspectives and the analytical tools to understand the national policy-making environment are integrated throughout the course. Key policy issues and core constructs for analysis include national health expenditures and cost containment strategies, patient access and health disparities, health care quality and performance improvement, and workforce policy. Health care reform, future directions and trends, and policy innovations are examined for their impact on advanced nursing practice, service delivery, and health outcomes. Health systems of other developed and developing countries are examined to gain a global perspective and appreciation for a variety of health system attributes.
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Quality Improvement and Patient SafetyNR533 3 credit hours
This course introduces the student to the fundamentals of quality improvement science, and its application to quality and safety in healthcare. The student examines quality improvement models in the delivery of healthcare and measures for quality improvement initiatives. Foundations of health care quality and the science underlying patient safety and quality improvement, design and select effective health care measures are explored. The course includes analysis and processes related to patient safety problems using tools such as human factors analysis and discusses systematic quality improvement approaches including the Model for Improvement (MFI) and Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) models to address quality improvement challenges, and strategies to lead a culture of change.
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Informatics & Healthcare TechnologiesNR534 3 credit hours
This seminar reviews concepts important to implementing and sustaining effective use of technology in the clinical environment. Security and privacy for the protection of privileged information, effective policy development, testing and implementation are examined. Concepts of change management as well as informatics role in community/population health monitoring and management are explored. The student studies the use of technology to generate new evidence, the potential influence of emerging technologies on clinical practice and the importance of developing a caring practice in a high technology environment.
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Advanced Nursing Research and Evidence Based PracticeNR593 3 credit hours
This course focuses on the use of the research process in developing new nursing knowledge and applying to an evidence-based practice. The student examines and develops research questions considers theoretical frameworks, methods of data collection and analysis, and the interpretation and use of study findings in providing evidence based care of individuals, families, and communities. The importance of scientific integrity and ethical standards are emphasized and ethical issues in the conduct of research are explored. The student is prepared to critically appraise and utilize research, and identify researchable problems within the context of his/her own practice.
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Epidemiology and Population HealthNR514 3 credit hours
This course provides a foundation of key concepts essential to population-focused nursing, the aggregate, community or population as the unit of care. The focus of the course is on health promotion/disease prevention with emphasis on the advanced nursing role in clinical prevention of disease and care of populations. Applying concepts of primary, secondary, and tertiary health promotion across the lifespan, the student relates the basic concepts of epidemiology to multiple domains of population health, using epidemiology to better understand, characterize, and promote health at a population level. Disease prevention and health promotion of populations are examined through the study of the occurrence and distribution of health-related states or events, including the study of social determinants of health.
Nursing Education
The Nursing Education concentration prepares students to fulfill the Advanced Practice Role of the Nurse Educator for developing, delivering and evaluating curriculum, as well as providing direct care patient education across a variety of healthcare settings. During their program, students will engage in both a direct care practicum and a precepted teaching practicum in a classroom, clinical, skills laboratory or an education department in a patient care setting. Coursework in teaching and learning theory, engaging educational approaches, learning assessment, curriculum development, and contemporary teaching techniques ready students for implementing education in both academic and direct care settings.Completion of the education track also enables students to be eligible to take the National League for Nursing (NLN) Nurse Educator Certification Exam.
Note: If you entered in the nursing education concentration on or prior to June 2017, please refer to this curriculum map.
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Curriculum Design in NursingNR563 3 credit hours
In this course the student focuses on the relationship between institutional vision, mission, and values on curriculum design, development, and revision within the context of a curriculum that is relevant, evidence-based and unified. The theoretical foundations, essential components, and accreditation standards for curriculum development for a pre-licensure program are examined. The role of outcome competencies is addressed in the development and evaluation of an educational program to meet contemporary healthcare needs. Models of systematic program evaluation or other outcome standards will be analyzed.
*This course is currently under development and subject to change.
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Innovations in Teaching and LearningNR564 3 credit hours
This seminar prepares the student to apply theoretical concepts related to how adults learn and how teachers teach to prepare students with highly developed critical thinking skills to meet the demands of complex nursing practice in the contemporary healthcare environment. The course includes emphasis on adult learners, the self as the teacher and the teacher and learner characteristics that support successful learning. Principles of teaching and learning, critical thinking applied to the variety of learning environments including simulation, distance learning and the clinical setting and the use of technology are explored as well as teaching methods in the cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains of learning.
*This course is currently under development and subject to change.
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Assessment and Evaluation StrategiesNR565 3 credit hours
This course focuses on the assessment, measurement, and evaluation of learning outcomes as measures of learner progress and program quality. Content includes foundations of educational measurement and evaluation, development of learner performance outcomes for clinical practice, test construction and clinical performance evaluation tools, critical thinking, values and ethics related to educator role. The student examines continuous quality improvements of education programs using standards from external professional bodies and accreditation agencies.
*This course is currently under development and subject to change.
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Advanced Nursing PracticumNRxxx 2 credit hours
This course focuses on preparing the student to expand on the baccalaureate nursing foundation and advance knowledge to gain expertise in a specific nursing practice. The student will complete a mentored 60-hour clinical practicum to achieve professional, specialty, and course-related objectives. This direct care practicum experience will provide the student an opportunity to synthesize learned concepts to apply the nursing process to improve patient outcomes.
*This course is currently under development and subject to change.
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Implementing the Nurse Educator RoleNRxxx 2 credit hours
Selected teaching learning theories are examined and applied to the role of nurse educator and nursing education practice. Students establish nurse education practicum goals and objectives and are required to obtain a nurse educator mentor. The 60-hour practicum involves application of previously learned concepts through teaching in both the clinical and classroom environments.
*This course is currently under development and subject to change.
Nursing Informatics (18 credits)
The Nursing Informatics concentration prepares students to integrate nursing science with multiple information management and analytical sciences to identify, define, manage, and communicate data, information and knowledge in nursing practice. Nursing Informatics supports nurses, consumers, patients and the interprofessional healthcare team in making decisions to achieve desired outcomes and improve the quality and safety of patient care. They also play a crucial role in the development, implementation, and optimization of clinical applications, including nursing clinical documentation, computerized practitioner order entry and electronic medical/health records.
Coursework allows students to analyze nursing information requirements, design system alternatives, manage information technology, identify and implement user training strategies, and evaluate the effectiveness of clinical and/or management information systems in health care. The program can help prepare students for leadership roles in their organizations to conceptualize, design, and research of computer-based information systems. Completion of this concentration affords eligibility qualification to sit for the ANCC Informatics Nursing Certification Exam.
Healthcare Systems Leadership (18 credits)
The Healthcare Systems Leadership concentration incorporates coursework and clinical experiences to help prepare nurses for career advancement into a range of administrative/leadership positions at various levels of management, from acute care settings to community-based healthcare organizations. Courses focus on the concepts of system science and integration, change theory and social change theories, and healthcare, and will include topics such as leadership, health policy, research, quality improvement, epidemiology and informatics. During their studies, students will analyze the principles of leadership and leadership science including theory, styles, contemporary approaches and strategies, as well as resource management in the healthcare environment.
Note: If you entered the nursing administration track on or prior to June 2017, please refer to this curriculum map.
Residency
Our online Master of Science in Nursing program ends in a residency at the historic Norwich University campus in Vermont. During this time you will have the opportunity to meet with fellow students, faculty, and program staff in both formal classroom and informal settings. Academic recognition ceremonies and commencement cap off the week, and family and friends are encouraged to attend.
Norwich covers the cost of all meals and accommodation on campus.
Admissions
At a Glance
- No GRE/GMAT required
- Undergraduate GPA of 3.00 or higher
Next Start Date
Monday, June 7, 2021
Application Deadline
Monday, May 10, 2021
Contact Admissions
Mon - Fri: 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. EST
Call: 1-877-348-8153
Email: info@online.norwich.edu
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Transfer CreditsYou may receive the equivalent of up to 12 semester credits for study conducted elsewhere. Norwich complies with VA regulations and guidelines as it pertains to transfer credits. -
International AdmissionsNorwich University welcomes students from all countries who want to study through our online programs. You must complete all steps in the admissions process. -
Norwich Alumni BenefitsReconnect with Norwich to complete your master's degree. As apart of our alumni community, you are eligible for a $2,500 scholarship and other benefits.
Non-Discrimination Statement
Norwich University, in compliance with Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendment of 1972, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex, or physical handicap in any of its policies, practices, or procedures.
Tuition & Fees
About
Norwich provides a top-notch educational experience; we also work hard to help make it affordable. There are many ways to get financial aid and several strategies to help you finance your education. Norwich is committed to making this often-difficult process easier for you.
Tuition at a Glance
- Credit Hours: 36
- Cost Per Credit Hour: $800
Financial Aid Resources
Ways to Pay
Do You Qualify for a Tuition Discount?
We Accept Military Benefits
2020-21 Tuition and Fee Schedule - Master's Programs
| Rate Per Credit |
Term
Tuition |
Additional Expenses | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
|
$800
|
$4,800
|
Technology - $300/term |
$31,200
|
Careers & Outcomes
Career Opportunities for MSN Graduates
Health care is a $1.6 trillion industry, and it’s only growing (U.S. Census Bureau). Professionals who are able to keep up with health care’s rapid changes and increased requirements are not just in demand, but well-compensated. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median wage for health care occupations and technical roles within health care was $63,420 in May 2016.
Our online Master of Science in Nursing can help you pursue roles as a health policy expert, nurse administrator, or clinical nurse leader. You could even take a role in shaping health policy, leading change through information analysis, educating other nurses and health care professionals, and providing advanced care to patients in a health care setting.
Our graduates include work in a variety of roles, including*:
Career Roles
- Associate Professor of Nursing
- Chief Nursing Officer
- Chief Quality Officer
- Clinical Educator
- Clinical Research Specialist
- Director of Clinical Services
- Director of Student Health Clinic Wellness Center
- Nurse Consultant
- Nurse Director
- Nurse Educator
- Nursing Supervisor
- Risk Manager/ Corporate Compliance Officer
- Surgical Nurse Manager
Our alumni have gone on to positions in top organizations, including*:
Places of Work
- Mount Eagle College and University
- Catskill Regional Medical Center
- ECPI University
- MDT College of Health Sciences
- Einstein Medical Center
- Koinonia Homes, Inc.
What our graduates have to say:
of responding MSN graduates earn a salary of more than $70,000, while nearly 25% earn more than $90,000 per year.*
of responding MSN alumni agreed that their degree gave them a competitive edge in the job market.*
of responding MSN alumni were offered leadership opportunities at their place of employment since graduation.*
Read more about our MSN student outcomes.
*Source: Norwich University Master of Science in Nursing Graduate Survey, fielded March 2016
Faculty & Staff
Program Coordinator
Janice F. Hansen, RN, MSN, MA
Janice F. Hansen is the program coordinator for the Master of Science in Nursing program. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Hartwick College in Oneonta, New York and her MA in Education with an emphasis on curriculum and instruction from Castleton State College in Castleton, Vermont. She continued her studies and earned a MSN with a specialty in medical and surgical nursing from Russell Sage College in Troy, New York. Hansen has an impressive background as an educator, practitioner, and administrator. For more than 13 years, she has held numerous positions at Norwich University both in the undergraduate nursing program and in the online Master of Science in Nursing program. In the education realm, she has held faculty positions in nursing programs throughout New England. As an administrator she has served as the director of education, as a nurse manager, and director of a clinical service in area medical centers. As a practitioner, she has served as the manager of community and occupational health services for the Rutland Area Visiting Nurse and Hospice.
Hansen also serves on the Advisory Board for Norwich's Master of Public Administration program.
Program Staff
Featured Faculty
Faculty
Alumni
Get to know the graduates of Norwich's online Master of Science in Nursing program.
Featured Alumni
The faculty provided a learning experience that was student-centered and rich with support. I believe that I am well prepared to take on the new challenges ahead in my career as a nurse educator because of the education that I gained at Norwich University.
I have been promoted to the job that I wanted but didn’t think I could have the opportunity to get previously.
Faculty members incorporated academics with real-world clinical practice. Each faculty member mentored me to acquire the knowledge and develop skills to take on the complexities of a dynamic healthcare industry.
Frequently Asked Questions
Learn More About our Online Master of Science in Nursing
