Overview
Highlighted throughout the program is scholarly inquiry, healthcare systems, ethics, policies, nurse and patient education, health disparities, and social justice in relation to the pressing health issues facing our state, nation, and global community.
Central to the curriculum is a set of core courses for the development of leadership skills in practice, research and education through theory, research methods, health care policy, program development, and evaluation. A concentrated area of study is obtained by selecting the electives the program offers or from across the university campuses (Bothell, Tacoma, Seattle).
The program integrates fieldwork with a capstone project. One hundred hours of faculty-led project-based fieldwork prepares students for roles that require a graduate education by applying concepts examined throughout the program in a real-world context bringing learning and research to practice. Fieldwork takes place in leading hospitals, nursing schools, and community health agencies. Examples include quality assessment, program development and implementation, clinical and academic education, curriculum assessment/development, development of professional development training, research, and population health projects. The program culminates with a hands-on capstone project derived from the advanced fieldwork experience.
Graduate prepared to…
- Evaluate the adequacy of underlying knowledge from nursing science, related fields, and professional foundations as it informs advanced practice.
- Competently assess and manage health-related issues within a defined population or care system, and evaluate the effectiveness of these advanced nursing practices.
- Utilize knowledge and skills in professional practice among diverse and multicultural populations.
- Demonstrate competence in the development of inquiry relevant to practice, education, or administration.
- Develop and utilize leadership strategies that foster the improvement of healthcare.
- Demonstrate critical interrogation of positionality, recognition of implicit biases, as well as knowledge and application of anti-racism principles to promote health equity.
- Articulate ethical issues and responsibilities involved in nursing practice.
Credit structure
Students complete 51 credits. All students complete 35 credits of core nursing coursework which includes 100 hours of advanced fieldwork and a capstone project, and 16 credits of electives depending on which curriculum option they complete.
Core coursework
- Disparity and Social Justice in Healthcare
- Ethics and Policy in Advanced Nursing Practice
- Healthcare Systems Leadership for
Advanced Roles - Translational Research I & II
- Advanced Pathophysiology, Pharmacology, and Health Assessment
- Advanced Practice Management and Administration in Healthcare Organizations (may be elective)
- Introduction to Advanced Fieldwork and Capstone
- Advanced Fieldwork and Capstone Project
Curriculum philosophy
The program curriculum is consistent with the UW School of Nursing’s Philosophy and Conceptual Framework of Graduate Education and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing’s “Essentials of Master’s Education for Advanced Practice Nursing.” In order to gain a complete understanding of the program review the following.
