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Athabasca University

Master of Nursing: Generalist and
Master of Nursing: Nurse Practitioner

Regulations effective September 1, 2016.

If you were admitted to the Nurse Practitioner program in 2011 or earlier, use the Cohort 1 regulations.

For MN:NP student applications admitted between 2012 and 2015, the Cohort 2 regulations will apply.

Note: For new MN:NP student applications (admitted January 1, 2016, or later), the new regulations below will apply.

The Master of Nursing (MN) program contains two streams: Generalist and Nurse Practitioner.

The Generalist stream prepares nurses to assume leadership positions in the health system. The program prepares nurses to discern emerging trends, anticipate future health care directions, and provide leadership in planning, implementing and evaluating nursing practice, drawing on philosophical considerations, research methods and various tools of analysis. Students may elect to complete a teaching focus.

The Nurse Practice (NP) stream prepares nurses to assume a broader role in the provision of health services to clients of all ages, as family nurse practitioners. It provides theoretical and clinical preparation for nurses whose role will focus on advanced nursing practice. Students in the NP Stream are required to write a comprehensive examination upon completion of their NP courses. RNs seeking initial NP licensure should apply to enrol in the MN: NP stream.

MN Admission Requirements

By the application deadline, applicants for admission to both streams in the MN program must be registered nurses who are graduates of a four year Canadian (or equivalent) baccalaureate degree program in nursing from an accredited/recognized university.

Applicants to the MN Generalist stream require a minimum GPA of 3.0 in their final 30 credits of graduate or undergraduate study.

Applicants in the MN Nurse Practitioner stream require a minimum GPA of 3.2 in their final 30 credits of graduate or undergraduate study. MN:NP applicants must have obtained recently, a minimum of 4,500 verified hours of full-time equivalent work experience as a registered nurse prior to application. Applicants without a BN or BScN are not eligible to apply to the MN:NP program.

Admission to the Faculty of Health Disciplines Master's programs is competitive. Meeting the minimum requirements is not a guarantee of admission to the program.

To calculate your Graduate Admission GPA (the GPA AU will use for your entry into the program), please visit the Graduate Admission GPA page on the Faculty of Health Disciplines website.

For RNs with a degree other than a BN or BScN applying to the MN: Generalist program

For those applicants without a baccalaureate degree in nursing, the following courses (or their equivalent) must be successfully completed before admission to the MN: Generalist program:

 

Post-Baccalaureate Nurse Practitioners seeking admission to the Master of Nursing: Generalist Program

Registered Nurses with a Baccalaureate in Nursing or equivalent, a Canadian Nurse Practitioner (NP) license and an approved Post-Baccalaureate Nurse Practitioner Certificate will be admitted to the Master of Nursing: Generalist Stream and will complete the following courses:

MHST/NURS 603 Facilitating Inquiry (3)
MHST/NURS 607 Developing Successful Project and Program Proposals (3)
NURS 608 Philosophical Foundations of Nursing (3)
MHST/NURS 611 Dissemination Strategies (taken in final semester) (3)
NURS 614 Foundations of Advanced Practice Nursing (3)
  One elective (3)
Students will receive 15 credits for the Post-Baccalaureate Nurse Practitioner Certificate.

MN Program Requirements

Both the MN: Generalist and MN: Nurse Practitioner programs are composed of a total of 33 credits.

MN Routes

Students enrolled in the MN: Generalist stream may choose from a course-based or thesis-based route.

  • Course-based route: Students complete five core courses, four curriculum courses and two elective courses. Students may elect to complete a teaching focus.
  • Thesis-based route: Students complete one core course, two curriculum courses, one elective course, and four thesis-related courses.

Students enrolled in the MN: Nurse Practitioner stream must complete a course-based route consisting of one core course and 11 nurse practitioner curriculum courses. Students who wish to undertake a thesis will be required to take four additional thesis-related courses.

MN Courses: Generalist Stream

Core Courses

The following courses apply to the course-based route of the MN: Generalist stream:

NURS 608* Philosophical Foundations of Nursing (3)
NURS 609 Historical and Contemporary Trends and Issues in Nursing (3)
MHST/NURS 603 Facilitating Inquiry (3)
MHST/NURS 607 Developing Successful Project and Program Proposals (3)
MHST/NURS 611 Dissemination Strategies (taken in final semester) (3)

The following core course applies to the thesis-based route:

NURS 608* Philosophical Foundations of Nursing (3)

* NURS 608 is designed to be the first course you take in the program.

Curriculum Courses

Students enrolled in the course-based route of the MN: Generalist stream must complete four of the following CNHS graduate courses. Students enrolled in the thesis-based route must complete two of these courses:

MHST/NURS 601 Philosophical Foundations of Health Systems (3)
MHST/NURS 602 Transforming Health Care through Informatics (3)
MHST/NURS 604 Leadership Roles in Health (3)
MHST/NURS 605 Demystifying Policy Analysis and Development (3)
MHST/NURS 606 Health Systems and Services Evaluation (3)
MHST/NURS 610 Evidence-Based Practice in Health Care (3)
MHST/NURS 618 Community Development for Health Care Leaders (3)
MHST/NURS 620 Culture and Health: Critical Perspectives (3)
MHST/NURS 621 Coaching and Leading: The Human Side of Organizational Change (3)
MHST/NURS 622 Understanding Organizations: Theory, Analysis and Application (3)
MHST/NURS 623 Clinical Teaching and Learning (3)
MHST/NURS 624 Teaching in Health Disciplines (3)
MHST/NURS 625 Personalizing Learning through Collaborating and Mentoring in Health Care Environments (3)
MHST/NURS 695 Independent Study (3)
MHST/NURS 696 Independent Study (3)
NURS 519 Advanced Pathophysiology for Clinical Decision Making (3)
NURS 521 Pharmacotherapeutics for Nurse Practitioners (3)
NURS 614 Foundations of Advanced Practice Nursing (3)

Elective and Thesis Courses

Elective Courses: In addition to the core and curriculum courses, two electives are required in the course-based route. These electives may be completed prior to or concurrently with MHST/NURS 611. These elective courses may include: CNHS graduate courses, as listed in the above table of curriculum courses; other Athabasca University graduate level courses; or pre-approved graduate courses from other universities (refer to Letter of Permission to Complete a Course at Another University).

Thesis Courses: In addition to the core and curriculum courses, students enrolled in the thesis-based route must complete one elective course, two research methods courses (MHST/NURS 711 and either 712 or 713) and two courses during which the thesis will be completed (MHST/NURS 719 (3 credits) and MHST/NURS 720 (12 credits).

MHST/NURS 711 Advanced Methods for Health Research
and
(3)
MHST/NURS 712 Advanced Qualitative Methods for Health Research
or
(3)
MHST/NURS 713 Advanced Quantitative Methods for Health Research (3)
MHST/NURS 719 Thesis I: Proposal Development (3)
MHST/NURS 720 Thesis II: Conducting, Writing, and Dissemination of Research (12)

MN: Generalist Teaching Focus

Students in the course-based route may elect to complete a teaching focus. The teaching focus includes: five core courses as described above, three teaching focus courses (MHST/NURS 623, MHST/NURS 624, and MHST/NURS 625), two of the curriculum courses listed above, and one elective course as described above.

Course-based Teaching Focus
5 core courses
3 teaching courses
2 curricular courses
 
1 elective course
Total: 11

MN Courses: Nurse Practitioner Stream

All courses in the NP stream except NURS 518 are offered in each semester (Fall, Winter, and Spring). NURS 518 is offered in Winter and Spring Session.

Students in the Nurse Practitioner stream are required to complete the non-credit Orientation and Introduction to Scholarly Writing module prior to taking NURS 614.

Core Courses

The following core course applies to the MN: Nurse Practitioner stream:

MHST/NURS 610 Evidence-Based Practice in Health Care (3)

Curriculum Courses

The following 12 curriculum courses must be completed in the MN: Nurse Practitioner stream. Students are required to attend a one week on-site component in NURS 518 at their own expense.

NURS 000 Orientation and Introduction to Scholarly Writing (0)
NURS 614 Foundations of Advanced Practice Nursing (3)
NURS 516 Pharmacotherapeutics and Pathophysiology for Nurse Practitioners I (3)
NURS 517 Pharmacotherapeutics and Pathophysiology for Nurse Practitioners II (3)
NURS 518 Advanced Health Assessment for Nurse Practitioners (3)
NURS 522 NP: Women and Men's Health* (3)
NURS 524 NP: Children's Health* (3)
NURS 526 NP: Adult Health* (3)
NURS 528 NP: Older Adult Health* (3)
NURS 527 NP: Mental Health (2)
NURS 530 NP: Practice Consolidation* (3)
NURS 531 Controlled Drug and Substances for NP Prescribers (1)

*Clinical Practicum

Each of AU's life-stage courses (NURS 522, 524, 526, 528) requires the completion of 140 hours of on-site clinical practice. NURS 530 requires 180 hours of practice. A clinical practicum must be completed in each life-stage course. Students are expected to identify a Nurse Practitioner or Physician to act as a preceptor for each clinical course. Preceptor requests must be submitted to the Faculty of Health Disciplines six month prior to starting each course.

Note that in some jurisdictions, clinical placement opportunities may be limited. AU cannot guarantee that a placement will be available for the term, and in the place, in which a student wishes to take a clinical course. Students should begin the process of identifying potential clinical sites as early as possible. In some jurisdictions such as Manitoba, Alberta, and British Columbia, and parts of Nova Scotia, a centralized preceptor request system is used. In those jurisdictions, students should not contact preceptors employed by the Health Authority. To determine whether or not a preceptor should be contacted, please discuss this with the appropriate AU clinical practicum coordinator.

Elective and Thesis Courses

There are no elective or thesis courses included in the MN: Nurse Practitioner stream. Students who wish to undertake a thesis as part of the MN: Nurse Practitioner stream will be required to take four additional thesis-related courses, as described for the MN: Generalist stream. 

 

Information effective Sept. 1, 2016 to Aug. 31, 2017.

Updated September 19 2017 by laurab

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