APRN - Family Nurse Practitioner MS
Program Purpose
COLLEGE OF NURSING
College of Nursing Vision: Guided by the truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ, we exemplify the Healer's art by: leading with faith and integrity; advancing the science of nursing and healthcare; promoting health and wellness; alleviating suffering; and serving individuals, families, and communities.
College of Nursing Mission: The mission of the College of Nursing at Brigham Young University is to learn the Healer's art and go forth to serve.
College of Nursing Values: We value: Faith in Christ, Excellence, Accountability, and Christlike Service.
MS-FNP PROGRAM
FNP Program Vision: Care for the one, transform the world.
FNP Program Mission: Inspired by the example of Jesus Christ, the FNP program seeks to impact healthcare through exceptional clinical practice and transformative leadership.
Curricular Structure
The College of Nursing offers a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) Program leading to a Master of Science degree. Graduates are prepared to provide evidence-based nursing care to diverse individuals, families, and groups in managing health and illness across the continuum of care.
The graduate program builds on the cognates of the baccalaureate degree and assumes that students bring from their undergraduate programs the appropriate skills in written and verbal communication, mathematics, critical thinking, basic patient assessment, and problem solving. Entrance into the graduate program also assumes that students, having graduated from baccalaureate nursing programs, have had exposure to a basic level of nursing practice, understand the healthcare system, cultural, social, and political perspectives that impact health beliefs and healthcare, and an awareness of legal and ethical concerns in nursing practice. In order for students to be prepared to address complex statistical issues in evidence-based practice and to understand complex pathophysiological conditions, students must also have passed courses in fundamental statistics and pathophysiology.
The graduate curriculum is divided into four sections: the Graduate Nursing Core, the Advanced Practice Core, the Population Focus Core, and Capstone Experiences.
The Graduate Nursing Core is designed to equip students with the skills necessary to function as advanced practice nurses who understand how to translate the best evidence into clinical decision-making and clinical practice. Students learn about advanced practice ethics, professionalism, leadership, finance, biostatistics, epidemiology, and organizational systems. The Graduate Nursing Core also provides students with the background necessary to influence healthcare planning and healthcare policy. In addition, these courses prepare students in the use of informatics and healthcare technologies, and quality improvement and safety strategies, as well as how to work interprofessionally to plan care.
The Graduate Nursing Core includes 10-11 credit hours and the following courses:
Nurs 607: Informatics and Healthcare Technologies (1 credit)
Nurs 610: Quality Improvement and Safety (2 credits)
Nurs 611: Policy, Leadership, and Organizational Systems (2 credits)
Nurs 612: Ethics and Professionalism (1 credit)
Nurs 613: Healthcare Finance (1 credit)
Nurs 614: Biostatistics and Epidemiology (2 credits)
Nurs 615: Nursing Knowledge and Evidence-based Practice (1 credit)
Nurs 590R: Career Strategies (Elective) (1 credit)
The Advanced Practice Core provides students with the foundational knowledge and skills for advanced nursing practice. These areas include advanced pharmacology, advanced pathophysiology/genetics/genomics, and advanced physical assessment.
The Advanced Practice Core courses include 10-11.0 credit hours and the following courses:
Nurs 555: Pharmacology in Advanced Practice (3 credits)
Nurs 619: Advanced Pathophysiology and Genetics/Genomics (3 credits)
Nurs 620: Advanced Physical Assessment Lab (2 credits)
Nurs 621: Advanced Physical Assessment (2 credits)
Nurs 590R: Point of Care Ultrasound (Elective) (1 credit)
The Population Focus Core equips students with the knowledge and skills for advanced nursing practice as a Family Nurse Practitioner. The Population Focus Core progresses from novice to intermediate to advanced levels. Students learn about simple and complex patient conditions and common, chronic, and acute disorders. Pediatrics and gerontological content is housed in Nursing 633 and Nursing 634. During the clinical courses, students and faculty are able to track conditions of patients followed by students in clinical settings to have a clear understanding of changes needed in clinical assignments in order to maximize the breadth of learning necessary to practice as a FNP. As students move through the curriculum, they are better prepared to assume interprofessional collaborative and independent roles in healthcare to influence healthcare planning and to act as advocates for appropriate change in healthcare.
The Population Focus Core includes 27 credit hours and the following courses:
Nurs 624: Clinical Practicum #1 (7 credits)
Nurs 626: Clinical Practicum #2 (6 credits)
Nurs 627: Procedures and Diagnostics for the Advanced Practice Nurse (2 credits)
Nurs 633: Family Nurse Practitioner #1 (6 credits)
Nurs 634: Family Nurse Practitioner #2 (6 credits)
Capstone Experiences:
The project links the concepts and principles learned in the Graduate Nursing Core and Advanced Practice Core with the clinical practice experience and issues seen in the Family Nurse Practitioner Population Focus Core. The project provides students with experience identifying a gap in clinical knowledge and using best practice to implement a quality improvement plan that is publishable in quality. In addition, students participate in a clinical internship which provides a focused and in-depth experience in settings approximating actual FNP practice.
The Capstone Experiences includes 11 credit hours and the following courses:
Nurs 616: Project #1: Beginning the Process (1 credit)
Nurs 617: Project #2: Implementation, Data Collection, and Evaluation (1 credit)
Nurs 618: Project #3: Writing, Defense, and Dissemination (1 credit)
Nurs 635R: Family Nurse Practitioner Internship (5 credits)
Nurs 698R: Project (3 credits)
The MAP, Graduate Program Overview, Graduate Handbook, and Graduate Program Guide are all available by accessing the BYU College of Nursing website.
Co-curricular activities that support program goals and provide opportunities for graduate student engagement are appointments as members of College Councils, membership in professional organizations, scholarly activity, and presentations at professional conferences.
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge
1) Attains and applies advanced family nurse practitioner knowledge.
2) Demonstrates the Healer's art by providing exceptional person-centered care.
3) Champions population health while engaging in partnerships and advocacy.
4) Transforms health and systems of care through scholarly inquiry, application, and dissemination.
5) Integrates and implements quality and safety principles in care delivery.
6) Collaborates interprofessionally to optimize care.
7) Utilizes knowledge of organizations and systems to coordinate and optimize care.
8) Uses technology and informatics to direct patient care.
9) Embodies professionalism and accountability, fosters an environment of belonging, and recognizes the divine potential in self and others
10) Commits to personal and professional growth, mentoring, and leadership leading to lifelong learning and service.