I. The Loewenberg School of Nursing offers graduate programs leading to the Master of Science in Nursing with concentrations in (1) Nursing Administration, (2) Nursing Education, and (3) Family Nurse Practitioner.

Program objectives are: (1) ability to use theory and research from nursing and other disciplines to improve health care and the systems in which it is provided; (2) advance the profession and health care through the use of core nursing competencies* in advanced professional practice as nurse practitioners, nurse educators, or nurse executives; (3) develop professional practice sites that are ethically grounded, committed to excellence, evidence-based and valued by the consumer: (4) influence health policy to ensure the health and well-being of individuals, aggregates and communities.

*Core Nursing Competencies include: a) critical thinking, b) communication, c) assessment, d) technical skills, e) teaching, f) caring, g) management, h) leadership, and i) knowledge integration skills.

Students may not enroll for courses as graduate non-degree except by permission of the instructor and with approval of the Director of Graduate Studies.

II. MSN Degree Program

1. Admission to both the Graduate School and the Loewenberg School of Nursing is required. Admission to the program will be based on competitive selection from the pool of applicants. Multiple criteria will be used when considering applicant admission including but not limited to, undergraduate and graduate grade point averages, professional experience, and letters of recommendation.
1. Admission Requirements for all MSN Applicants:
1. Admission to the University of Memphis Graduate School
2. Admission to the Loewenberg School of Nursing graduate nursing program.
3. A TOEFL score of 600 (250 computer based score) for students who speak English as a second language
4. An undergraduate minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.8 on a 4.0 scale.
5. Letters of recommendation from three persons qualified to judge the applicant's ability to practice in an advanced role. One of these must be from an academic source.
2. Students admitted to graduate coursework must have and maintain while in the program:
1. An unrestricted license to practice as a registered nurse in Tennessee;
2. Current CPR certification;
3. Evidence of Heptavax, MMR, polio, and tetanus vaccination;
4. Rubella and varicella titers;
5. Freedom from tuberculosis as evidenced by a negative PPD or health provider examination;
6. Evidence of current professional malpractice insurance in the amount of $1,000,000 per occurrence and $3,000,000 in the aggregate.
3. Standardized Admission Test

The standardized admission test is successful completion of the NCLEX licensing examination.
4. Admission Requirements for BSN Applicants

Completion of BSN.
5. Admission Requirements for RN/MSN Applicants with a BA/BS non-nursing major
1. An unrestricted registered nursing license to practice in Tennessee
2. Completion of a 13-unit RN/MSN nursing bridge sequence: NURS 3107, NURS 4120/6120, NURS 4127/6127, NURS 4110/6110; NURS 4327/6327. RN/MSN graduates will not be awarded the BSN degree.
6. Admission Requirements for Generic MSN (non-registered nurse) applicants to MSN courses
1. Completion of (12 hour) nursing support sequence: BIOL 2010/2011, BIOL 2020/2021, MMCS 1230/1231 with a grade of 3.0 or higher.
2. Completion of undergraduate foundation, provider of care, coordinator of care courses with a cumulative grade point average of 2.8 or higher. The BSN degree will be awarded when these undergraduate courses and the TBR minimum general education degree requirements are completed.
3. Unrestricted license to practice as a registered nurse in Tennessee.

The Nurse Practice Acts in several states require that nurses hold an earned degree (AAS/BSN in nursing) or a diploma in nursing prior to successful completion of the NCLEX examination in order to obtain a registered nursing license in that state. Generic master's students who licensed via a certificate program and then continued on to obtain an MSN as the first nursing degree would not be able to be licensed in those states.

2. Program Requirements
   1. Students enrolled in the MSN program must complete 36-44 semester hours (based on concentration area) with the minimum overall grade point average of 3.0. Fifteen hours (15) are in the core curriculum with the remaining required hours in a specialty concentration. Students are required to earn a grade of B (3.0) or better in all nursing courses.
   2. Before being recommended for graduation, every candidate for the master's degree in nursing is required to either pass a final comprehensive examination or complete the oral defense of a thesis. The written examination will place emphasis on the student's area of concentration and will be administered by selected nursing faculty each semester. The candidate must be registered in the semester the comprehensive exam is taken.
   3. When the student elects to complete a thesis, the candidate must enroll for thesis credit each semester until the thesis is completed. Students must register for thesis credit in the semester in which they defend.
   4. Family Nurse Practitioner students must complete a minimum of 500 clock hours to meet the academic and practicum requirement for national certification.
   5. All requirements for the MSN degree must be completed in 5 calendar years.
3. Retention Requirements
1. Students in the Loewenberg School of Nursing graduate program must comply with all retention standards of the University of Memphis Graduate School.
2. Graduate students must maintain a 3.0 GPA ("B"). Grades of "D" and "F" will not apply toward any graduate degree, but will be computed in the GPA. No more than 7 hours of "C-", "C," or "C+" will be applied towards meeting degree requirements.
3. Academic disqualification from the graduate nursing major will occur when the student:
   1. fails to maintain a 3.0 GPA in graduate school.
   2. fails to earn a grade of "B" (3.0) or better when repeating a course.
   3. willfully misrepresents patient data or clinical practice.
   4. willfully places any patient in physical or emotional jeopardy.
   5. is placed on probation by the Tennessee Board of Nursing.
   6. fails to disclose a felony conviction.
   7. fails to disclose disciplinary action or diversion by the Tennessee Board of Nursing.
   8. fails to complete all degree requirements within five years of entering graduate nursing coursework.

6110. Nursing Research. (3). Overview of nursing research: components of research, critiques of existing studies, emphasis on interpretation and applications of research findings. PREREQUISITE: Admission to MSN program.

6120. Contemporary Issues and Trends in Nursing and Health Care. (3). Factors that influence nursing and health care; promotes integration and synthesis of knowledge from previous nursing and general education courses to explore societal and political components that affect delivery of health care. Three lecture hours per week. PREREQUISITE: Admission to MSN program.

6127. Community Health Nursing. (3). Overview of community-based health-care delivery system at local, state, and national levels; theories and principles of nursing care of communities and aggregates in public health and home health-care settings; expands nursing role to coordinator of care. Three lecture hours per week. PREREQUISITE: Admission to MSN program.

6327. Nursing Leadership and Management for RNs. (3). Theories of leadership, management, and change basic to functioning within existing systems; applications of conceptual models of nursing to contemporary practice. PREREQUISITE: Admission to MSN program.

7010. Theoretical Foundations for Advanced Nursing Practice. (3). Exploration of theory development in nursing; analysis of selected nursing and related theories; relevance of theory to practice, education, research, and administration; includes process of theory development. PREREQUISITE: Permission of instructor.

7012. Pharmacology for Advanced Practice. (3). Focus on pharmacological actions of drugs commonly prescribed in primary care settings; emphasizes pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic principles of drugs, side effects, therapeutic dosages, and drug interactions; integrates legal, ethical, and economic factors of prescriptive authority. PREREQUISITE: Undergraduate pharmacology course; admission to MSN Advanced Practice.

7013. Pathophysiology for Advanced Practice. (3). Exploration of theoretical foundations of phenomena that alter health status across the life span; provides foundation for practitioner courses related to diagnosis and treatment of disease processes. PREREQUISITE: Undergraduate course in pathophysiology.

7014. Advanced Health Assessment. (3). Focuses on development of diagnostic reasoning skills, emphasizing application of these skills in the presence of adnormal findings uncovered during physical examination of individuals across the lifespan. PREREQUISITE: Undergraduate course in health assessment; admission to MSN Advanced Practice.

7015. Biostatistics. (3). Introduction to biostatistics and epidemiology with emphasis on application to health-care sciences; topics include descriptive statistics, probability and probability distributions, hypothesis testing, analysis of variance, regression correlation, and nonparametric methods, using appropriate statistical software. PREREQUISITE: Permission of instructor.

7016. Research Methods in Nursing. (3). Principles of nursing research, analysis of quantitative and qualitative research methods, generation of clinical research problems, critiquing published research; emphasis on development of research skills to analyze a body of evidence as basis for advanced clinical and organizational decision making. PREREQUISITE: Permission of instructor; PRE- or COREQUISITE: NURS 7015.

7020. Primary Care of Families I. (4). First in series providing practical and theoretical basis for diagnosis and management of acute and chronic health problems in primary care settings; focuses on prevention and treatment of health problems of individuals and families across the lifespan and on development of knowledge base for clinical decision making in advanced nursing practice. PREREQUISITES: NURS 7013, 7014; COREQUISITES: NURS 7012, 7029.

†7029. Primary Care of Families I Practicum. (4). Supervised advanced clinical practice in a combination of primary care clinical settings with individuals and families across the lifespan. COREQUISITE: NURS 7020.

7030. Primary Care of Families II. (4). Continuation of NURS 7020. PREREQUISITES: NURS 7012, 7020, 7029; COREQUISITE: NURS 7039.

†7039. Primary Care of Families II Practicum. (4). Continuation of NURS 7029. COREQUISITE: NURS 7030.

7050. Seminar in Advanced Professional Nursing Roles. (3). Emphasis on health-care issues and policies that influence health, theories and models of advanced professional nursing, and analysis and differentiation of advanced professional nursing roles. PREREQUISITE: permission of instructor.

†7059. Advanced Practice Residency. (4). Supervised full-time advanced clinical practice in a primary care setting with immersion into role of Family Nurse Practitioner; allows for role synthesis and application of concepts in the practice setting. PREREQUISITES; NURS, 7030, 7039, ECON 7710; PRE- OR COREQUISITE: NURS 7050.

7130. Complex Alterations in Adult Health. (3). Integrates scope and standards of adult health nursing and advanced clinical practice; analyzes adult health-care environment; explains adult health concepts and interventions; evaluates vulnerable populations encountered by the adult health nurse prepared at the master's level. PREREQUISITES: NURS 7010, 7013, 7016.

7132. Case Management in Adult Health. (3). Overview of theories and models of case management, analysis of case management models and resource allocation, and application and evaluation of case management models to target populations concerning adult health. PREREQUISITES: NURS 7130, ECON 7710.

7140. Complex Alterations in Behavioral Health. (3). Integrates scope and standards of behavioral health nursing and advanced clinical practice; analyzes behavioral health-care environment; explains behavioral health concepts and interventions; evaluates vulnerable populations encountered by the behavioral health nurse prepared at the master's level. PREREQUISITES: NURS 7010, 7013, 7016.

7142. Case Management in Behavioral Health. (3). Overview of theories and models of case management, analysis of case management models and resource allocation, and application and evaluation of case management models to target populations concerning behavioral health. PREREQUISITES: NURS 7140, ECON 7710.

7150. Complex Alterations in Maternal-Child Health. (3). Integrates scope and standards of maternal-child health nursing and advanced clinical practice; analyzes maternal-child health-care environment; explains maternal-child health concepts and interventions; evaluates vulnerable populations encountered by the maternal-child health nurse prepared at the master's level. PREREQUISITES: NURS 7010, 7013, 7016.

7152. Case Management in Maternal-Child Health. (3). Overview of theories and models of case management, analysis of case management models and resource allocation, and application and evaluation of case management models to target populations concerning maternal-child health. PREREQUISITES: NURS 7150, ECON 7710.

7160. Complex Alterations in Critical Care. (3). Integrates scope and standards of critical care nursing and advanced clinical practice; analyzes critical care health-care environment; explains critical care concepts and interventions; evaluates vulnerable populations encountered by the critical care nurse prepared at the master's level. PREREQUISITES: NURS 7010, 7013, 7016.

7162. Case Management in Critical Care. (3). Overview of theories and models of case management, analysis of case management models and resource allocation, and application and evaluation of case management models to target populations concerning critical care. PREREQUISITES: NURS 7160, ECON 7710.

7240. Curriculum Design in Nursing. (3). Principles of developing and organizing curriculum designs for multiple health-care settings and nursing education systems; includes analysis and comparison of associate, baccalaureate, graduate, and service-based nursing curricula. PREREQUISITE: Admission to MSN Nursing Education.

7242. Educational Strategies for Nursing Education. (3). Instructional strategies relevant to teaching across selected nursing and health-care settings; analysis of instruction and teaching practices including classroom, seminar, and electronic formats. PREREQUISITE: Admission to MSN Nursing Education.

7244. Evaluation Methods in Nursing Education. (3). Analysis of testing, benchmarking, and evaluation methods in the clinical practice of nursing across classroom, seminar, and electronic formats; includes evaluation methods to ensure competency in the clinical area. PREREQUISITES NURS 7240, 7242.

7249. Education Residency. (3). Immersion into role of nurse educator, allowing for role synthesis and application of concepts in a practice setting. PREREQUISITES: NURS 7240, 7242; COREQUISITE: NURS 7050.

7330. Nursing Administration I. (3). Comprehensive analysis of concepts required for effective performance of the nurse executive's role in organizations with varied environments; management as a sub-function of the total organization; systems interacting with objectives, planning, and control; organizational designs and interpersonal relationships. PREREQUISITES: Admission to MSN Administration program or permission of instructor.

7331. Nursing Administration II. (3). Synthesis of concepts used for effective performance of nurse executive's role; analyzes utilization of human and financial resources and organizational development with application to nursing executive positions; includes theories and concepts related to intra- and entrepreneurial principles and skills for advanced nursing role; examines role of nurse executive as consultant to health-care organizations. PREREQUISITE: NURS 7330.

7332. Resource Allocation in Nursing and Health Care. (3). Assesses fiscal environment of health-care organizations: critiques financial management processes; analyzes costing and budgeting; compares financial statement analysis, cost analysis, resource planning, and resource control; evaluates management of health-care organizations' financial resources. PREREQUISITES: All core courses; NURS 7331, 7334; ACCT 7000, 7110.

7334. Quality Management. (3). Analysis of quality management system models in nursing and health care, including problem and documentation, development of strategies for improvement, intervention and evaluation; focus on quality improvement process in relation to organizational outcomes. PREREQUISITE: NURS 7330.

7339. Administrative Residency. (3). Immersion into the role of the nurse administrator, allowing for role synthesis and application of concepts in the practice setting for the nurse administrator concentration. PREREQUISITES: All core courses; NURS 7331, 7334; ACCT 7000, 7110; PRE- or COREQUISITES: NURS 7030, 7332.

†7996. Thesis. (3). Directed study in the completion of the thesis. PREREQUISITE: Permission of instructor.

†Grades of S, U, or IP will be given.