MS—Nursing (Specialty: Forensic Nursing)
Graduate Program Chair
Rachel Boersma, PhD, RN, CARN
Graduate Committee
Magda Bechar, PhD, RN
Robert Dumas, PhD, RN
Ann Scannell, ND, RN
The graduate program is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).
Program Description
The Master of Science in Nursing Degree Program is designed for registered nurses who wish to pursue advanced leadership positions in the community and the health care system. The graduate is prepared to contribute to the development of nursing science, to the improvement of health care, and to pursue doctoral study.
Program Objectives
Through course work and clinical experience, graduates are prepared to:
- Base advanced professional practice on the concept that humankind are unique, interacting, multidimensional beings
- Use the nursing process to guide care for specialized patient populations
- Demonstrate competence in the advanced practice role
- Actively promote professional standards, ethics and legal principles in nursing and health care
- Use a variety of strategies to influence policy-making relating to societal health needs
- Assume leadership roles with health consumers and providers to improve the planning and delivery of health care
- Demonstrate a new application of ideas related to research evaluation, problem identification, practice outcomes or research application
- Integrate and use theoretical and empirical knowledge from the sciences, humanities and nursing as a basis of advanced clinical practice and professional decision-making
- Demonstrate commitment to the evolving profession of nursing
The specialty in forensic nursing prepares nurses to apply:
- Knowledge and skills of nursing and forensic science to the investigation of trauma concurrently with emergency care and emotional support for victims of violent crime
- The nursing process to public or legal proceedings
- Aspects of health care to the scientific investigation and treatment of trauma
- Sensitivity to the health needs and concerns of diverse populations as a clinical nurse specialist
- Direct services such as legal documentation to individual and group clients, including insurance companies and law firms
- Consultation and education for groups, related agencies and communities
- Expert witness skills in investigations related to violence and trauma
- Skills for varied settings, including emergency health services, schools, correctional facilities, varied community health agencies, employee assistance programs in occupational health settings and law enforcement agencies
Note: This program is offered on a cohort basis. Contact the Office of Admissions for program start date.
Admissions Standards and Criteria
To apply for enrollment in the Master of Science in Nursing Program, a student must submit documents as outlined in the graduate admissions section as well as:
- An official transcript as a graduate of an accredited baccalaureate nursing program
- Three letters of recommendation including documenting a minimum of one year of recent successful clinical practice or part-time equivalent
- A current US RN license
- Written two-part essay to include:
Part I (no more than 300 words): Your reasons for wishing to attend graduate school or your reason for pursuing a post-master's certificate in a specialty area.
Part II (at least 1200 words): Your specific interests, the type of work you would like to pursue in this field, and how you intend to pursue employment or volunteer work in this area.
- CORI-Criminal Offense Record Investigation may be required by certain clinical agencies; the cost of funding a CORI may be at the student's expense
Part I (no more than 300 words): Your reasons for wishing to attend graduate school or your reason for pursuing a post-master's certificate in a specialty area.
Part II (at least 1200 words): Your specific interests, the type of work you would like to pursue in this field, and how you intend to pursue employment or volunteer work in this area.
CORI-Criminal Offense Record Investigation may be required by certain clinical agencies; the cost of funding a CORI may be at the student's expense
Program of Study - Master's Degree
The program is currently planned on a part-time, 6-7 credit per semester cycle. Classes are afternoons and evenings. The forensic courses are delivered on the internet. The core nursing courses are taught on campus. The course sequence is designed to:
- Complete a majority of core nursing courses with the exception of the scholarly inquiry requirement prior to or concurrent with any clinical specialty nursing course
- Support the clinical specialty nursing courses through prerequisite cognate courses
- Provide students the opportunity to select either a research project or thesis
- Cap the program with a practicum experience
It should be noted that nursing courses and required cognates may have prerequisite undergraduate or graduate course work.
Program of Study - Certificate
The RN, with an earned master's degree in nursing, must complete all required cognate and forensic nursing courses. Upon successful completion, they will receive a Certificate in Forensic Nursing.
Program Requirements
A. Core Nursing Courses (On-Campus)
NURS 7200 Nursing Theory 3 S.H.
NURS 7300 *Advanced Clinical Concepts 3 S.H.
NURS 7400 Contexts and Roles for Advanced Practice 3 S.H.
Core Nursing Courses (Internet)
NURS 7000 Nursing With Diverse Populations 1 S.H.
Scholarly Inquiry Requirement
NURS 7700 Nursing Research 3 S.H.
NURS 9010 Research Thesis or 3 S.H.
NURS 9100 Research Project 2 S.H.
Subtotal 15 or 16 S.H.
B. Required Cognates (Internet)
CJ 8410 Criminal Law: Substantive and Procedural 3 S.H.
CJ 9640 Technology and Legal Limitations 3 S.H.
Subtotal 6 S.H.
C. Required Nursing Courses (Internet)
NURS 8000 Introduction to Forensic Nursing 3 S.H.
NURS 8130 *Scientific Foundations for Forensic
Nursing Interventions 3 S.H.
NURS 8200 *Forensic Nursing: Caring for Victims 3 S.H.
NURS 8300 *Forensic Nursing: Caring for
Perpetrators 3 S.H.
NURS 9500 *Practicum in Forensic Nursing 3 S.H.
Subtotal 15 S.H
Total for Degree 36 or 37 S.H.
* These courses have a clinical component for a total of 420 hours.
Health Requirements and Liability Insurance
Health Requirements and Records - These should be sent to the graduate program chair and must be received prior to the commencement of any graduate nursing courses with clinical components
- Annual physical exam documentation
- Annual PPD (TB test) and proof of a negative chest X-ray if the PPD test was positive
- Two doses of measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine or serologic proof of immunity
- A booster dose of TD within the last 10 years
- Three (3) doses of hepatitis B vaccine and a copy of dated immune titer and Proof of chicken pox or immunization
Personal Liability Insurance
Students must have professional malpractice coverage if enrolled in any clinical course. Currently, the College provides this personal liability coverage for all nursing students. If this College coverage should change, students will be responsible for purchasing their own professional liability insurance.
CPR
Current CPR Certification /recertification for health professionals (The department recommends that certification be through the American Heart Association's Health Care Provider certification process)
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