Alverno and the Graduate Nursing Program
ALVERNO COLLEGE MISSION
Alverno College prepares women for lives of personal and professional distinction and meaningful engagement with the world. Alverno extends this mission by offering graduate and adult programs to women and men. Inspired by its Catholic, Franciscan, and liberal arts heritage, the College intentionally creates and inclusive community that engages students in active and collaborative learning and fosters academic excellence.
OVERVIEW OF JOANN MCGRATH SCHOOL OF NURSING AND HEALTH PROFESSIONS
Mission
The mission of the JoAnn McGrath School of Nursing & Health Professions at Alverno College is to prepare proficient, devoted professionals who are grounded in science to promote the well-being of diverse populations in global communities. Our essential focus is to design student learning opportunities to guide the education of unique individuals, highlighting personal and professional development of practitioners who are prepared for leadership and life-long learning.
Vision
The vision of the JoAnn McGrath School of Nursing & Health Professions is to develop professionals with global influence through innovative education.
Philosophy of Education
The Alverno College JoAnn McGrath School of Nursing & Health Professions believes the focus of our work is the learner’s personal and professional development. We prepare a nursing professional who is compassionate, ethical, proactive, proficient, and dedicated to lifelong learning in our diverse and ever-changing global communities.
An ability-based curriculum underlies the art and science of nursing education. Founded on the liberal arts, the curriculum integrates human connection, science, and technology to promote health and intervene holistically to human responses. Through innovative learning experiences, we assist the learner to cultivate, apply, and transfer comprehensive knowledge, skills, and abilities that lead to reflective nursing practice. Alverno faculty and staff believe education goes beyond knowing to being able to do what one knows. Sensitive to unique learning needs, nursing faculty commit to performance-based, multidisciplinary educational practice including public criteria, feedback, and self-assessment. Developmental and varied experiences contribute to learning and increasing professional competence.
The teaching/learning process is a collaborative partnership among learners, educators, health care systems, and the broader community. Educators and learners are mutually responsible to take ownership of and actively engage in learning experiences. Curricula continually evolve to incorporate current theory, research, science, standards, and evidence-based practices. As accomplished educators, learners, researchers, practitioners, and socialized professionals, Alverno faculty serve as role models of lifelong learning. Our goal is to promote a process of teaching and learning that provides guidance to students in the development of career goals and advancement of nursing practice.
Purposes of Graduate Nursing Program
The purposes of the Graduate Nursing Program are to provide advanced programs of study in nursing and opportunities for personal development that enable graduates to maximize their scope of practice to positively impact the health of individuals, families, and communities; improve healthcare quality and accessibility, especially to vulnerable populations; and advance the nursing profession. In doing so, graduate nursing faculty provide direction for the JoAnn McGrath School of Nursing & Health Professions consistent with the purposes of Alverno College: namely creating a community of learning, creating a curriculum, creating ties to the community, and creating relationships with higher education.
Overview of Advanced Practice Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) Degree and Post-Master's Certificate Programs
The advanced practice graduate nursing programs, available to women and men, carry on Alverno College’s tradition in the professional liberal arts, with particular focus on integrative, experiential, and reflective approaches to learning. The advanced practice MSN degree and post-master’s certificate curriculum supports students’ development of advanced knowledge and advanced competence in the abilities that frame the undergraduate curriculum at Alverno College: Communication, Analysis, Problem Solving, Valuing in Decision Making, Social Interaction, Developing a Global Perspective, Effective Citizenship, and Aesthetic Engagement. Practicum experiences and didactic courses are designed to support the learner in applying selected abilities with individuals, families, and groups across the developmental lifespan and in diverse health care settings. Alverno College offers the following advanced practice MSN degree programs:
- Adult-Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist
- Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner
- Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner
- Dual Adult-Gerontology Primary Care and Acute Care Nurse Practitioner
- Family Nurse Practitioner
- Neonatal Nurse Practitioner
- Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner
The following advanced practice post-master’s certificate programs are offered:
- Adult-Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist
- Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner
- Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner
- Family Nurse Practitioner
- Neonatal Nurse Practitioner
- Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner
Foundations of Advanced Practice MSN Degree and Post-Master’s Certificate Curriculum
Three American Nurses Association (ANA) documents espouse the basis for all nursing practice, and Alverno nursing faculty use these documents to underpin the curriculum and structure its content and learning experiences:
- Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice (3rd ed.; ANA, 2015)
- Guide to the Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statements: Development, Interpretation, and Application (2nd ed.; ANA, 2015)
- Guide to Nursing’s Social Policy Statement: Understanding the Profession from Social Contract to Social Covenant (ANA, 2015)
In addition, the following documents espouse standards, competencies, and criteria that specifically serve to ground the MSN curriculum:
- Standards for Accreditation of Baccalaureate and Graduate Nursing Programs (Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education [CCNE], 2018)
- The Essentials of Master’s Education in Nursing (American Association of Colleges of Nursing [AACN], 2011)
The following standards have been incorporated into the curriculum of the advanced practice MSN degree and post-master's certificate nurse practitioner programs:
- Standards of Practice for Nurse Practitioners (American Association of Nurse Practitioners [AANP], 2019)
- Nurse Practitioner Core Competencies Content (National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties [NONPF], 2017)
- Criteria for Evaluation of Nurse Practitioner Programs (National Task Force on Quality Nurse Practitioner Education [NTF], 2016)
- Crosswalk Table: Comparing the CCNE’s Standards for Accreditation of Baccalaureate and Graduate Nursing Programs (2018) and the National Task Force on Quality Nurse Practitioner Education (NTF) Criteria for Education of Nurse Practitioner Programs (2016) (CCNE, 2018).
The following standards have been incorporated into the Adult-Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist program curriculum:
- Statement on Clinical Nurse Specialist Practice and Education (3rd ed.; National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists [NACNS], 2019)
- Adult-Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist Competencies (AACN, 2010)
- Gerontology Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice (3rd ed.; ANA, 2012)
The following population-focused competencies and standards have been incorporated into the nurse practitioner programs, as appropriate:
- Adult-Gerontology Acute Care and Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Competencies (AACN & NONPF, 2016).
- Education Standards and Curriculum Guidelines for Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Programs, (National Association of Neonatal Nurse Practitioners [NANNP], 2017).
- Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Competencies and Orientation Toolkit for Neonatal Nurse Practitioners (2nd ed.; NANNP, 2014)
- Population-Focused Nurse Practitioner Competencies: Family/Across the Lifespan, Neonatal, Acute Care Pediatric, Primary Care Pediatric, Psychiatric-Mental Health, & Women’s Health/Gender-Related (NONPF, 2013)
Outcomes of Advanced Practice MSN Degree and Post-Master’s Certificate Curriculum
In the role of the Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN), the MSN program graduate and post-master’s certificate program graduate :
- Exhibits mastery of communication skills in multiple modes to build crucial inter-professional team relationships that promote collaboration to ensure safe and effective outcomes
- Provides holistic, patient-focused, evidence-based care
- Evaluates and applies informatics using current and evolving technology to facilitate and enhance optimal clinical care and organizational decision-making
- Skillfully engages in collaborative and trans-disciplinary leadership to (re)construct strategies for innovative and transformative change in complex healthcare settings
- Synthesizes current and emerging science and theory to design ethical and cost-effective approaches to care that consider the uniqueness of individuals, families, communities and populations
Advanced Practice MSN Degree and Post-Master’s Certificate Programs Admission Requirements
Advanced Practice MSN Degree Program Applicants:
- BSN degree conferred by a college or university accredited by a nursing accreditation agency approved by the U.S. Department of Education
- Unencumbered WI registered nurse (RN) license or multi-state compact licensure
- RN employment (full or part-time) (See Section VI: Employment Policy)
- Completion of an approved undergraduate or graduate-level inferential statistics course with a grade of “B” or better within 5 years of admission. Alternatively, the student may take an approved inferential statistics course during the first semester of study. BSC-257 and MSN-650 (preferred) are two Alverno course options that satisfy this requirement.
Advanced Practice Post-Master’s Certificate Program Applicants:
- MSN degree conferred by a college or university accredited by a nursing accreditation agency approved by the U.S. Department of Education
- Unencumbered WI registered nurse (RN) license or multi-state compact licensure
- RN employment (full or part-time) (See Section VI: Employment Requirement Policy)
Non-U.S. Applicants: minimum TOEFL score of 550
Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Program and Dual Adult-Gerontology Primary Care and Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Program Applicants Only:
- Minimum of one year of full-time acute care nursing work experience as an RN (or its part-time equivalent) within five years of admission
- Minimum of one year of full-time acute care specialty or critical care nursing work experience as an RN (or its part-time equivalent) within five years prior to entering track courses
- Current ACLS certification preferred on admission and required prior to and throughout clinical practicum courses
Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Program Applicants Only:
- Minimum of two years of full-time (or its part-time equivalent) clinical practice experience as an RN in the care of critically ill neonates or infants prior to and within five years of entering the NNP track
- courses. The majority of this practice experience must be obtained in a Level III and/or IV NICU.
- Current employment (full or part-time) in a Level III and/or Level IV NICU is a requirement for admission to and continued progression in the Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Program
- Current NRP certification required prior to clinical and throughout clinical practicum courses.
Summary of Graduate Advanced Practice Nursing Program Curriculum
All graduate students enrolled in an advanced practice MSN degree program must take the graduate nursing advanced practice program core courses and the set of courses specific to their program track. With the exception of the Capstone courses (i.e., MSN-755 and MSN-760), all core courses must be completed prior to enrollment in the track courses. Advanced practice MSN degree seeking students enroll in MSN-600 Orientation concurrent with their first semester; advanced practice post-master’s program students enroll in MSN-600a Orientation concurrent with their first track course. MSN-600 and MSN-600a are delivered online and must be completed by the student within two weeks (14 days) of the semester start date of graduate weekend college (WEC) as identified in the Alverno College Academic Calendar published on the College website.
Graduate students must take 3 semester credits (part-time status) to be eligible for financial aid; students must take 6 semester credits to be considered full-time. Further information about the curriculum is provided in the current Alverno College Bulletin.
