The Essentials of Master’s Education in Nursing

March 21, 2011

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction 3

Master’s Education in Nursing and Areas of Practice 5 Context for Nursing Practice 6 Master’s Nursing Education Curriculum 7

The Essentials of Master’s Education in Nursing I. Background for Practice from Sciences and Humanities 9 II. Organizational and Systems Leadership 11 III. Quality Improvement and Safety 13

IV. Translating and Integrating Scholarship into Practice 15 V. Informatics and Healthcare Technologies 17

VI. Health Policy and Advocacy 20 VII. Interprofessional Collaboration for Improving Patient

and Population Health Outcomes 22 VIII. Clinical Prevention and Population Health for

Improving Health 24 IX. Master’s-Level Nursing Practice 26 Clinical/Practice Learning Expectations for Master’s Programs 29 Summary 31 Glossary 31

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References 40 Appendix A: Task Force on the Essentials of Master’s Education in Nursing 49 Appendix B: Participants who attended Stakeholder Meetings 50 Appendix C: Schools of Nursing that Participated in the Regional Meetings

or Provided Feedback 52 Appendix D: Professional Organizations that Participated in the Regional Meetings or Provided Feedback 63 Appendix E: Healthcare Systems that Participated in the Regional Meetings 64

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The Essentials of Master’s Education in Nursing March 21, 2011

The Essentials of Master’s Education in Nursing reflect the profession’s continuing call for imagination, transformative thinking, and evolutionary change in graduate education. The extraordinary explosion of knowledge, expanding technologies, increasing diversity, and global health challenges produce a dynamic environment for nursing and amplify nursing’s critical contributions to health care. Master’s education prepares nurses for flexible leadership and critical action within complex, changing systems, including health, educational, and organizational systems. Master’s education equips nurses with valuable knowledge and skills to lead change, promote health, and elevate care in various roles and settings. Synergy with these Essentials, current and future healthcare reform legislation, and the action-oriented recommendations of the Initiative on the Future of Nursing (IOM, 2010) highlights the value and transforming potential of the nursing profession.

These Essentials are core for all master’s programs in nursing and provide the necessary curricular elements and framework, regardless of focus, major, or intended practice setting. These Essentials delineate the outcomes expected of all graduates of master’s nursing programs. These Essentials are not prescriptive directives on the design of programs. Consistent with the Baccalaureate and Doctorate of Nursing Practice Essentials, this document does not address preparation for specific roles, which may change and emerge over time. These Essentials also provide guidance for master’s programs during a time when preparation for specialty advanced nursing practice is transitioning to the doctoral level.

Master’s education remains a critical component of the nursing education trajectory to prepare nurses who can address the gaps resulting from growing healthcare needs. Nurses who obtain the competencie