Post Graduate Options

As a leader in nursing education, Saint Xavier University offers programs for the professional who wants to continue to develop specialized skills in nursing excellence.

Two programs are offered:

  1. Family Nurse Practitioner: This program enables a nurse who already holds a master’s degree in nursing to be prepared as a family nurse practitioner.
  2. Certificate in Nursing Education: This certificate program is designed to prepare experienced nurses with the knowledge and skills that are necessary to teach in classroom and clinical settings. Eligibility criteria for the certificate program include: 1) baccalaureate degree in nursing (BSN); and 2) Master’s Degree In Nursing (MSN) or related field OR 3) current enrollment in the MSN program at Saint Xavier. (The certificate will not be awarded until completion of the MSN degree.)

Family Nurse Practitioner – Post Graduate Option

The Family Nurse Practitioner Program prepares professional nurses as specialists in the delivery of primary care services to individuals and families in a wide variety of settings. The program emphasizes health promotion and wellness as well as the management of common and complex health problems. Graduates are eligible to take the Family Nurse Practitioner certification exam.

Advanced Practice Core Courses   Hours
NURSG 500 Population/Aggregate Health Issues: Assessment & Planning 3*
NURSG 572 Family Systems Assessment 2
NURSG 525 Pharmacology for Advanced Practice Nursing 1
NURSG 512 Pharmacology 2
Total Hours   5-8

FNP Clinical Courses   Hours
NURSG 502L Decision-Making in Primary Care Clinical Practicum 1 plus 45 clinical contact hours
NURSG 519 Family Health Promotion in Primary Care 3 plus 45 clinical contact hours
NURSG 538 Management of Common Problems in Primary Care 4 plus 135 clinical contact hours
NURSG 591 FNP Role synthesis 2 plus 45 clinical contact hours
NURSG 592 FNP Internship in Community Health 1 plus 45 clinical contact hours*
NURSG 593 FNP Clinical Elective 2 plus 90 clinical contact hours
Total Hours   16-17 Semester Hrs plus 540 clinical contact hours

*Students who hold a master’s degree in community health/public health nursing may not have to take this course.

Certificate in Nursing Education

The certificate program in nursing education is designed to prepare experienced nurses with the knowledge and skills that are necessary to teach in classroom and clinical settings. The program consists of three courses, totaling 9 semester hours of graduate-level credit. Each course is taught in a ten-week block, using a combination of classroom and online activities. The third course includes a practicum component, which provides opportunities for the student to work with a full-time faculty member.

Curriculum

Course content and activities reflect best practices in nursing education. The curriculum incorporates the Core Competencies of Nurse Educators© as defined by the National League for Nursing (NLN). Threaded throughout the courses are three core concepts that are essential to effective teaching of nursing students: clinical decision-making, communication, and cultural competence.

Courses    Hours
NURSG 550 Concepts, Theories and Issues in Nursing Education 2
NURSG 554 Learning Principles and Instructional Methods for the Adult Learner 3
NURSG 551 Nursing Education Role Practicum 4
Total Hours   9

Course Descriptions

NURSG 550: Concepts, Theories and Issues in Nursing Education
(2 semester hours)
Course Description: This course explores foundational principles of the scholarship of teaching, as the basis for examining learning theory, motivation, and teaching. Analysis of educational theories and teaching-learning methodologies are applied to the challenges of teaching nursing in classroom, online, and clinical settings. Characteristics of learners with diverse learning styles and backgrounds are discussed. Current trends in nursing education are explored, with emphasis on how nursing curricula evolve in response to societal and workforce demands and the curricular standards of accrediting bodies.

NURSG 554: Learning Principles and Instructional Methods for the Adult Learner
(3 semester hours)
Course Description: The development of teaching strategies and learning activities that enhance the presentation of content for nursing courses is explored in a systematic and comprehensive manner. Course planning, development, implementation, and evaluation are included. The focus is on ways to incorporate the core concepts of clinical decision-making, communication, and cultural competence into the curricular plan. Evidence-based educational strategies, including technology, are discussed and ways to integrate them into clinical and classroom activities are identified. Particular emphasis is placed on strategies for planning and implementing learning activities in clinical settings.

NURSG 551: Nursing Education Role Practicum
(4 semester hours: 1 semester hour seminar, 3 semester hours practicum)
Course Description: This course focuses on knowledge of evaluation design and strategies for evaluating learning outcomes in nursing education. Evidence-based practices for evaluation of learning in both classroom and clinical settings are examined. Instruments and strategies for evaluating learning outcomes are analyzed. Assignments are designed for learners to demonstrate the application of theoretical materials and strategies into clinical and classroom instructional situations. A particular focus is effective communication between teacher and student and sensitivity to varying needs of students based on culture and educational background. Ethical and legal implications of classroom and clinical evaluation are explored. Students spend the practicum in the role of clinical instructor with a group of baccalaureate nursing students enrolled in a clinical course. They will collaborate with the faculty mentor teaching the course and will participate in teaching activities that include presenting classroom lectures, making clinical assignments, clinical supervision of students, holding pre and post clinical conferences, and student clinical evaluation.

For further information, please contact the Saint Xavier University School of Nursing
at 773-298-3700.