Programs

Improve your teaching and leadership skills with the Nurse Educator Post-Master's Certificate Program.  The UMass Medical School Graduate School of Nursing's program is designed for individuals who have earned their master's degree in nursing from a program accredited by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission or the Collegiate Commission on Nursing Education.  This 11-credit program provides formal education for teaching skills and strategies that address student, program, and patient outcomes as well as leadership skills to improve health care.

Course content within the PMC addresses the Core Competencies of Nurse Educators identified by the National League for Nursing (NLN).  Graduates of this program are eligible to take the Certified Nurse Educator exam offered by the NLN after completing two years or more of full-time employment in the academic faculty role.

Program Highlights:

• World Class Faculty
• Commitment to Quality
• Tradition of Leadership in Nursing Education and Health Care

Course Requirements:

Required courses include UMOL-N620 Teaching and Curriculum Development (3 credits), UMOL-N622 Advanced Instructional Methods (2 credits), UMOL-N623 Identifying and Measuring Outcomes (3 credits), and UMOL-625B Teaching Practicum (3 credits).

Acceptance into the Graduate School of Nursing is not required for students wishing to enroll in UMOL-N620 Teaching and Curriculum Development.  Students wishing to continue taking courses beyond this initial course must be admitted into the Graduate School of Nursing

Learn more about this program:
To receive more information and connect with the program manager, please click on inquire now to the right.

Sample a Course

Please note the blended learning format requires students to attend in-person, face-to-face sessions at select locations in Massachusetts in addition to the online sessions.

Please see Fee Schedule below.

Type of Fee	Amount
*Fee per credit	$475.00

Click here to browse our course listings.

*The program is 11 credits.

Admission to the Graduate School of Nursing (GSN) is granted by the faculty. A successful applicant will typically have a master's degree in nursing from an NLNAC- or CCNE-accredited institution, a GPA of 3.00 or above, CPR Certification for Health Providers, and demonstrated competency of advanced health assessment.  The GRE is not required. 

1. Applicants are required to submit a complete application in advance of posted deadlines. Applicants may continue to be accepted after the posted deadline if space is available. Applications are considered as soon as they are complete.
2. Once an application is complete, qualified applicants are interviewed.
   
3. The completed application and interview evaluation is then reviewed by the Academic Standards and Admissions Committee, which recommends applicants for acceptance by the full faculty.
4. Admissions: On an ongoing basis

Please click here for details.

Course Details

UMOL-N620: Teaching and Curriculum Development for Nurse Educators

N620 Advanced Nursing Science: Teaching and Curriculum Development for Nurse Educators presents theoretical and evidence-based teaching theories, technologies, and skills.  The course addresses the nurse educator knowledge and competencies identified by the National League for Nursing.  Emphasis is placed upon contemporary approaches to educating nurses in various settings with different learners.  Nurse educator roles, theories of learning, curriculum development and research in nursing education are included.  Learning activities include required readings and web-site explorations, online discussions, small group projects, brief field experiences, and individual teaching presentations. Students will be expected to critically respond to class content both in writing and verbally.  Assessment of the student's ability to think and write critically is a major form of student assessment during this course.

UMOL-N622 Advanced Nursing Science: Advanced Instructional Methods

This course provides the student with opportunity to synthesize and apply diverse classroom and clinical teaching strategies. Emphasis is placed on contemporary  student-centered instructional methods including problem-based learning, distance education, and other evidence-based approaches. Course content continues to build nurse educator knowledge and competencies identified by the National League for Nursing. UMOL N622 offers two (2) graduate credits and is available each fall semester. It is a fully online course using Blackboard Vista. Course activities include readings, online critical discussions, small group and individual written assignments.

UMOL-N623: Identifying and Measuring Outcomes for Nurse Educators

The emphasis in this course is on identifying, measuring and achieving outcomes in academic and health care settings.  Student assessment and evaluation strategies, including test development and clinical outcome evaluation, are included in course content. In addition, program outcome evaluation and performance improvement processes enhance the student's ability to function effectively in a health care or academic organization.  Students will learn formative and summative clinical evaluation strategies, creating test questions, administering tests and interpreting test results, legal and ethical concerns related to student evaluation, nursing education accreditation standards, developing program evaluation plans, regulatory processes in health care settings, and approaches to developing performance improvement projects.

Course Pre-requisites:
UMOL-N620 Teaching and Curriculum Development or permission of instructor.

UMOL-N625B Advanced Nursing Science: Teaching Practicum

This practicum offers the student the opportunity to enact the role of the clinical nurse educator and begin to synthesize leadership concepts into the academic environment.  The prerequisite courses provide a theoretical foundation for the application and synthesis activities that characterize clinical learning and leadership in a practice profession.  Philosophical and experiential issues specific to clinical instruction and leadership in nursing education are emphasized in seminar discussions.

Course Pre-requisites
Matriculated student.  Completion of UMOL N 620 and UMOL N 622; UMOL N 623 may be taken concurrently, or permission of instructor.