Nursing (MSN)

Dr. Eve Rice, DNP, APRN, CPNP
Director, School of Nursing
Location: McCord Building, Room 218
Phone:  931-221-7438
Email: ricem@apsu.edu

 

Dr. Michelle Robertson, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC
Graduate Nursing Coordinator, Professor of Nursing
Location: McCord Building, Room 328
Phone:  931-221-7489
Email: graduatenursing@apsu.edu
Website: www.apsu.edu/nursing

 

The Austin Peay State University Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree consists of three concentrations: Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP), Nurse Educator (NE), and Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP). All concentrations are designed to advance the education of Registered Nurses in various stages of their careers. 

 

The APSU Graduate Nursing Program strives to ensure that graduate students are successful in their professional and academic goals. The program prepares competent graduates to significantly contribute to improving community health through advanced practice and nursing education. Graduates of the MSN program demonstrate advanced-role professional behaviors, integration of evidence-based guidelines and decision-making, and promotion of quality care and advocacy in advanced, professional nursing roles. 

 

 

Program-Specific Admissions Requirements

 

All applicants for the Graduate Nursing Program must complete and show evidence of the following:

1. $45 application fee. (Non-refundable)
2. Official transcripts from all colleges attended (graduate and undergraduate) verifying that a bachelor’s degree in nursing has been earned with an overall GPA of 2.9 on a 4.0 scale.
3. Applicant Resume.
4. Applicant Goal Statement (e.g., reasons for pursuing graduate studies). The personal goal statement should be a one-page essay. It must be written in your own words. It should contain the following:
   1. Details on your decision to obtain a Master’s degree in nursing
   2. Description of your particular interest in and potential for contributing to the nursing profession, specifically as a Master’s prepared nurse.
   3. Career objectives
   4. Plan to be successful in the MSN program, specifically address your goal of full or part-time study and the many hours required studying and in clinical.
5. Licensure Verification (proof of an unencumbered, current license to practice as a Registered Nurse in Tennessee or the state in which the clinical assignments are completed). Documentation must include the licensure expiration date.
6. Military documents, if applicable.
7. Successful completion of a three-semester hour or four-quarter hour undergraduate-level Statistics course is required.
8. Admission decision will be rendered from APSU’s School of Nursing Graduate Curriculum, Admission, and Retention committee. Applicants are required to formally accept offer of admission.

 

The Graduate Nursing program admits twice each calendar year:

• Summer Admission:  Application due May 1 (Courses begin in Summer II term)
• Spring Admission:  Application due October 1 (Courses begin in the Winter term)

 

Some University Programs have additional requirements and information included in the Program Handbook.  Program Handbooks, which are incorporated into herein by reference, are available by selecting the following link:  Master of Science in Nursing.

 

Non-Degree Status

There are no graduate nursing courses open to students not admitted to the Graduate Nursing Program.
 

Clinical Requirements

Prior to beginning and throughout clinical/practicum rotations, students must:

• Maintain proof of an unencumbered, current license to practice as a Registered Nurse in Tennessee or the state in which the clinical assignments are completed.  A student that does not reside in the state of TN must be evaluated prior to admission to determine if the student is eligible for admission. If admitted, it is the out-of-state student’s responsibility to continually monitor the State Board of Nursing’s requirements to complete clinical experiences in the state.
• If a current student is relocating out of state, or moving to a new state, they must contact the Graduate Nursing Coordinator for approval to attend clinical. Due to individual state Board of Nursing regulations, clinical rotations cannot be completed in all states.
• Hold personal professional liability insurance (1/6 million) and health insurance.
• Must present proof of immunity to MMR, Varicella, and Hepatitis B.
• Must provide documentation of current Tetanus and Flu immunization.
• Must provide documentation of current TB test to include initial 2 step tuberculin skin test.
• Undergo a criminal background check within 90 days of first clinical rotation start date.
• Complete annual HIPAA and OSHA safety training.
• Provide documentation of health history and physical examination prior to participating in clinical rotations.
• Provide evidence of current health care provider CPR certification.
• Must follow the procedures to complete affiliation agreements.
• If a clinical site has additional requirements, the student must meet those additional requirements in order to attend. This may include, but is not limited to drug testing and COVID-19 vaccination.

Graduate Nursing Specific Policies

The Graduate Nursing program has certain policies that are more rigorous than those that exist for other graduate programs. These include:

1.  Length of Program: MSN students must complete all degree requirements within 12 full academic semesters. At any time, should a graduate nursing student not be enrolled for two consecutive semesters (including summer semesters), the student must seek readmission to the Graduate Nursing program.

2.  Withdrawals:  MSN degree students cannot have more than three course withdrawals while enrolled in the MSN Program. After the third withdrawal, the student will be placed on academic probation. Should a fourth withdrawal occur, the student will be dismissed from the MSN program.

3.  Incomplete Grades:  Incomplete “I” grades will only be awarded under rare and extraordinary circumstances that were not reasonably foreseeable and are beyond the student’s control. All “I” grades must be approved by the Graduate Nursing Coordinator.

All requirements to satisfy the “I” grade must be completed within 60 days from the end of the semester in which it was received. Otherwise, the “I” will convert to an “F.”

4. Progression Policy:  Graduate nursing students complete all required courses with a grade of B or better. If a student’s grade is lower than a B, the course may be repeated. However, no more than one required course can be repeated during the program. In repeating a course, the previous grade, as well as the grade earned from the repeated course, will be included in the calculation of the GPA. Students will be dismissed from the Graduate Nursing program if they do not meet the requirements in this policy.

5. Competency Test Requirement for graduation: 

Every graduate nursing student is required to pass a final comprehensive examination before graduation. The examination measures role competency and emphasizes the student’s area of concentration. The examination is conducted during the semester the student expects to graduate. The candidate must be registered in the semester the comprehensive exam is taken.  Students who are not successful in passing the comprehensive examination during the expected graduating semester are required to enroll in NURS 5992 the next semester and are required to complete a remediation plan before retaking the examination. At the conclusion of NURS 5992, if the student has not passed the comprehensive examination, no graduate nursing degree will be awarded.