C.W. Post Offers New Master of Science in Nursing Education

November 18, 2005 - The healthcare system is growing more complex by the minute. As technologies and innovations expand, there is a growing demand -- not only for skilled healthcare professionals -- but for educators to teach, train and inform. With the average age of nurse educators reaching 57 and a shortage at hand, a new generation of nursing faculty is required. In response to that need, the Department of Nursing at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University has developed a program that has been recently approved by the New York State Education Department. The new Master of Science degree in Nursing Education and Post-master’s Advanced Certificate Program will provide nurses with the opportunity to obtain advanced nursing education as well as increase the number of nurse faculty and staff educators. Classes start January 23, 2006 at the C.W. Post Campus located in Brookville.

Providing nursing education at the graduate level benefits the nurses of the New York metropolitan area and the communities they serve. “We simply cannot produce more professional nurses if we do not have the faculty to teach them,” said Minna Kapp, M.Ed., Ed.D., the Department of Nursing chairperson and associate professor of nursing, adding that in order to be a nurse educator, a nurse must have a master’s degree in nursing. “Our program will prepare nurses to teach and cultivate new nurses.”

The 33-credit master’s degree program -- which is open to candidates who have a current New York State Registered Nurse license and a B.S. in Nursing from an accredited nursing program with a minimum grade point average of 3.0 -- is designed to be completed as a part-time course of study in just five semesters. Applicants with non-nursing bachelor’s degrees will be considered. The 21-credit Post-master’s Advanced Certificate program in Nursing Education can be completed in four semesters. It is open to qualified nurses who have a New York State Registered Nurse license and a master’s degree in nursing with a minimum GPA of 3.0.

Upon completing the program, graduates will be qualified to teach nursing education in schools of nursing (LPN, associate, baccalaureate and master’s degree programs), and to serve as staff educators in healthcare facilities. The program will also be open to nurses who want to become health education teachers in the secondary schools and who need specific education courses for their New York State teacher certification.

Classes will be taught by professors who have substantial professional experience and excellent credentials. Coursework includes Curriculum Development in Nursing; Teaching Strategies for Educators; Assessment and Evaluation in Nursing; Issues in Professional Nursing for Advanced Practice Nurses and Nurse Educators; and a comprehensive two-semester teaching practicum that provides the opportunity to learn from experienced nurse faculty and staff educators. Students will have access to state-of-the-art technology including a Learning Laboratory that functions as an experiential site where students can practice and sharpen their teaching skills.

The C.W. Post Department of Nursing offers a wide variety of degree programs, including the B.S. degree in nursing exclusively for R.N.s; an accelerated B.S./M.S. program in nursing; and a master’s degree in advanced practice nursing with concentrations in family nurse practitioner and clinical nurse specialist. The Department also offers a post-master's Advanced Certificate in Family Nurse Practitioner. The B.S. degree in nursing and M.S. degree in advanced practice nursing are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. The B.S. and accelerated B.S./M.S. programs are offered on campus and off-campus at North Shore University Hospital at Manhasset. The M.S. in Nursing program is offered on Campus and at the Metropolitan Jewish Health System in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. The courses utilize major clinical affiliates in Queens, the Bronx, and Nassau and Suffolk Counties.

For more information contact Dr. Minna Kapp at 516-299-2320. For more information about the programs, please visit www.cwpost.liu.edu/cwis/cwp/health/nursing.