R e s e a rch a n d Innovati on
New graduate programs respond to changing marketplace By Paula Wheeler As health care systems and providers adapt to policy reform,
Pediatric specialists can add the skills to care for adults and older
new care delivery models increasingly require more and better
adults, and vice versa. The program can be completed in 12 months.
primary care — something advanced practice nurses are well suited to provide. To help meet the growing demand for advanced nurse professionals, the College of Nursing is rolling out three new graduate programs that offer students efficient options for gaining these critical skills. Nursing continues to be a high-demand occupation, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A 2012 study in Medical Care predicts that the nurse practitioner population will nearly double by 2025, with the profession’s growth most notable in primary care. “Research has shown that advanced practice nurses can provide quality care for the majority of patient needs seen in a primary care setting,” says Dr. Maureen O’Brien, associate dean for graduate programs. These practitioners “can contribute substantially to ensuring that high quality health care is accessible and affordable for all who need it,” she adds. The college’s new post-master’s family nurse practitioner certificate program, which started this fall, prepares primary care nurse practitioners who already specialize in a given population to take the FNP certification exam and expand their scope of patient care.
O’Brien points to more primary care clinics springing up in retail establishments, such as Walgreens, as one driver of the growing demand for FNPs. “By completing this post-master’s program, students will have a greater depth of preparation and ability to care for patients across the full life span than they would if they had just earned a master’s degree as a FNP,” O’Brien says. The new generalist master’s for non-nursing graduates will debut in May 2014, replacing the current master’s direct-entry program for non-nursing graduates. An intensive and accelerated program, the GEM curriculum enables students with non-nursing bachelor’s degrees to become licensed for nursing practice and earn a generalist master’s degree in just 18 months. The current 15-month pre-licensure phase of the direct-entry program prepares students only to sit for the Wisconsin R.N. licensure exam. To earn their master’s degree, students then need to choose a specialty and complete, on average, an additional three years of education. “We found that some students really want the nursing degree, but they’re not sure what specialization they want to pursue at first. Or they want to come to our program, then go back to where they moved here from. This program meets those needs,” O’Brien explains. The GEM program also includes a higher percentage of graduate-level courses focusing on health and safety, quality, and outcomes management. The college’s new post-master’s doctor of nursing practice for nurse leaders program, largely built around distance learning and tailored for busy nurse executives, welcomed its first cohort this fall. A key impetus for the program is the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Magnet Recognition Program for nursing excellence and quality patient care. Magnet criteria require health care organizations to have a chief nursing officer trained at the doctoral level. “The combination of the competencies we can provide and the primarily online format makes the program attractive to busy nurse leaders,” O’Brien explains.
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