Chamberlain College of Nursing RN to MSN Degree
Chamberlain College of Nursing RN to MSN Degree
Chamberlain College of Nursing has campuses in six states and a vigorous online program for both BSN and MSN degrees. The available online option for this degree is the RN-BSN-MSN Bridge program, which allows licensed RNs who hold an associate's degree in nursing to complete both the BSN and the MSN in one academic package. The program merges the necessary undergraduate classes with the Master of Science in Nursing requirements to shorten the completion process for both degrees. Master's level courses are included during the undergraduate study portion of the curriculum. Chamberlain College has devised a program that makes earning both degrees a cost effective option that is also streamlined to minimize completion time.
RN to MSN Specialization Options
The online RN to BSN to MSN Bridge program at Chamberlain offers two areas of specialization. One is in Nurse Educator, a field that opens career opportunities in teaching within a classroom setting or training in a healthcare systems environment. One of the required provisions of a nursing license is a certain number of hours devoted each year to continuing education. Nurse educators often teach those courses and in some cases are involved in developing the curricula for them.
The other option for MSN area of concentration is the Executive Track, which provides the expertise for taking on a role as nurse administrator or moving solidly into the ranks of management with a job as Nurse Executive. This title is relatively recent as a MSN option, but it reflects the growth of senior policy jobs that require advanced nursing education. A graduate degree in nurse leadership or nurse administration provides the training for nurses to move into case management roles at insurance companies or policy making roles in a healthcare systems environment.
RN to MSN Curriculum
This is an eight semester program, requiring just under three years for completion. There are four classes in the chosen area of concentration that consume two of those semesters; the final semester is devoted either to a practicum or to a capstone project that can be completed online. Students spend the final year devoted to their specialty and completion of either on-site learning or a final project demonstrating their ability to handle the role for which they've been trained.
The core courses for this program include both undergraduate and graduate courses which exhibit varying levels of advancement in a number of subject areas. The course on Evidence Based Practice in Semester 3 leads to the course in Advanced Research Methods for Evidence Based Practice in Semester 5, a course immediately preceded by Advanced Statistics for Health Professionals. There is no escaping the use of sophisticated mathematics in advanced practice nursing today. There are two courses in Health Information Systems, one an undergraduate level course and the other part of the MSN program. There is also a course in Principles of Economics, and Health Care Policy in order to provide students with the perspectives that non-medical professionals in healthcare generally utilize.
