Master of Science in Nursing: Family Nurse Practitioner

Program Contact: Erica Colavolpe, 203-582-7246

The Family Nurse Practitioner program prepares you to diagnose and manage most common illnesses for patients of all ages and to assume the responsibility inherent in prescribing medications. After graduation, you'll be eligible to sit for the national family nurse practitioner certification exam. This program can be completed either part time or full time, and enables graduates to significantly expand their current roles as advanced practice nurse in a multitude of health care settings. The program is online with three distinct, focused immersions on campus. 

MSN: Family Nurse Practitioner 

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Course Listing
NUR 520	Advanced Health Assessment Across the Lifespan	3
NUR 520L	Advanced Health Assessment Across the Lifespan Lab	2
NUR 522	Advanced Pathophysiology	3
NUR 639	Advanced Specialty Assessment and Diagnostic Reasoning for the Nurse Practitioner in Primary Care	3
NUR 502	Principles of Epidemiology and Biostatistics	3
NUR 530	Advanced Pharmacology	3
NUR 631	Clinical Practicum and Seminar I for the Primary Care Nurse Practitioner	3
NUR 634	Reproductive Health Problems in Primary Care	3
NUR 501	Nursing Scholarship and Evidence-Based Practice	3
NUR 636	Common Problems in Primary Care	3
NUR 651	Clinical Practicum and Seminar II for the Family Nurse Practitioner	3
NUR 652	Primary Care of the Child and Family I	3
NUR 642	Complex Problems in Primary Care	3
NUR 653	Clinical Practicum and Seminar III for the Family Nurse Practitioner	4
NUR 654	Primary Care of the Child and Family II	3
NUR 655	Clinical Practicum and Seminar IV for the Family Nurse Practitioner	3
NUR 669	Transition to Practice for the APRN	1
NUR 503	Advanced Practice Nursing Leadership	3
NUR 504	Healthcare Technology and Innovation	3
Total Credits		55

Curriculum Note

The semester-by-semester Learning Pathway for this program is available in the School of Nursing.

The curriculum for this program is subject to modification as deemed necessary by the nursing faculty to provide students with the most meaningful educational experience and to remain current with professional standards and guidelines.

Student Learning Outcomes

Graduates of the MSN program are prepared for higher level professional practice and leadership roles in a variety of healthcare settings, as well as advanced study at the doctoral level.

Specifically, graduates will be able to:

1. Synthesize information, evidence, and the decisions of individuals and teams to inform critical thinking to enhance decision-making.
2. Analyze adaptive thinking and apply when faced with challenges by exhibiting flexibility, creativity and critical analysis. 
3. Incorporate ethical principles into evidence-based decision making in advanced nursing practice.  
4. Design equitable, holistic, person-centered, and evidence-informed care coordinated to improve the health of diverse communities and populations.
5. Implement evidence-based and emerging principles of safety and improvement science to enhance care delivery at the individual, organizational, and systems level.
6. Demonstrate advanced use of informatics and healthcare technologies in data-informed decision-making and the enhancement of secure, efficient, effective, and regulated healthcare delivery.
7. Integrate holistic self-care practices that promote well-being, resilience, and lifelong learning to sustain clinical practice and promote well-being in care environments.
8. Exhibit advanced leadership and advocacy by influencing care delivery and advancing the nursing profession through role modeling, collaboration, and policy engagement.

Admission Requirements

• At least one year of full-time RN experience (approximately 2000 hours). 
• Earned BSN with 3.0 GPA
• Undergraduate statistics with grade C or better (or conditional acceptance & take at Quinnipiac)

Applicants should submit the following to the Office of Graduate Admissions:

1. Official transcripts from all schools previously attended.
2. Official recent results of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or International English Language Testing System (IELTS) for international applicants.
3. CV or resume. 
4. Copy of unencumbered and unrestricted RN license. 
5. Competitive applicants will provide a minimum of one reference from professional supervisors or faculty who can speak specifically to the applicant’s professionalism, strengths and opportunities, and clinical experience in selected specialty. 
6. Personal Statement (see application) 

Applications for full-time and part-time study are accepted on a rolling basis. Final deadlines are generally two weeks prior to the start of classes. Applications are evaluated once all materials are received by Quinnipiac. Students are encouraged to submit their applications as early as possible for their desired semester. Class sizes are limited.

All accepted students are required to complete a background check and urine drug screen following acceptance and before the start of classes. Acceptances are conditional until satisfactory completion of both.

The Nurse Practitioner programs at Quinnipiac University are currently accepting applications from students residing in the following states: Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, and Pennsylvania. Potential students residing in other states should contact Graduate Admissions to inquire further regarding future opportunities for applications from students in other states. Due to requirements of the New York Office of the Professions, students are unable to complete clinical requirements for APRN licensure programs in the state of New York. New York students should plan to complete clinical requirements in Connecticut or New Jersey.

At this time, the School of Nursing only makes clinical placements for students in Connecticut. Students outside of the state are required to identify their own clinical sites and preceptors. The School of Nursing provides guidance and recommendations to students for identifying potential preceptors in other states.

Any student who plans to relocate to a new state during their program must inform their program director immediately as this may impact the student's ability to continue their out-of-state clinical practice. If the school is not approved to place students in the new state, this may jeopardize student progression in the program unless they are able to complete clinical rotations in an approved state.

Progression Requirements

Students are expected to take courses in the order they are presented on the curriculum pathways. In order to preserve quality in our clinical placements, we are not able to accommodate a change in program specialty in the nurse practitioner programs.

According to Quinnipiac University policy all graduate students are expected to maintain a grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.00 on a 4.00 scale. Full-time graduate students are required to achieve a 3.00 GPA each semester. Part-time graduate students must have an overall GPA of 3.00 upon completion of nine credit hours and must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.00 thereafter. The grading scale of the Graduate Nursing Program is consistent with that of the university.

A student who earns less than a 3.00 in a semester (after nine credits for part-time students) will be automatically placed on probation and must achieve both a semester and cumulative GPA of 3.00 or greater in the following semester in order to progress in the program. Failure to achieve and maintain a semester and cumulative GPA of 3.00 in all following semesters results in dismissal from the program.

The minimum passing grade in nursing courses is a B minus (B-). A student who earns less than the minimum passing grade in one nursing course, but who has a semester GPA of at least 3.00, will be required to retake the course when it is offered again at Quinnipiac University. The student may not proceed into courses for which the deficient course is a prerequisite. Thus, the student will be placed in another student cohort and the student’s program completion date will be delayed. The student must achieve the minimum passing grade or better and must also achieve the minimal passing grade in all subsequent nursing courses. Failure to meet this requirement results in dismissal from the program.

A student who earns unsatisfactory grades in two or more nursing courses in any semester is not eligible to repeat the courses and will be dismissed from the program. At the end of each semester, the directors of the graduate nursing programs reviews the cumulative GPA and academic record of all graduate nursing students. The directors of the graduate nursing programs notifies both the senior associate dean and the student in writing, of the student’s failure to meet academic requirements. Students who are performing at an unsatisfactory level will be: a) placed on probation, b) suspended, or c) dismissed in accordance with the terms of the Academic Progression Policy. Students placed on academic probation remain in their program but must also complete a learning plan to help them achieve the academic standards of the School of Nursing. A copy of this learning plan, signed by the director of the graduate nursing program and the student, will be placed in the student’s file and should be reviewed periodically with the advisor. Students should meet with their advisors to identify learning strategies to help them accomplish the goals in the learning plan. In order to promote student success, students may be asked to audit courses if there has been an interruption to the continuity of their curriculum plan.

Clinical progression policy

In addition to course grade requirements, unsafe clinical practice and/or unprofessional conduct are grounds for failure in any clinical course and may result in immediate removal from the clinical site. Students who demonstrate unsafe or unprofessional conduct in a clinical practice site will undergo academic review and may be dismissed from the program.

Nurse practitioner students

Nurse practitioner students in clinical practica must receive a grade of B minus (B-) or better on the final faculty and preceptor clinical evaluations in order to pass the course and progress into the next semester. If a student is not performing satisfactorily in clinical according to the preceptor and/or faculty site visitor, a final faculty visit and evaluation of clinical performance will be made by a full-time faculty member, and this final grade must be B minus (B-) or better to pass the course.

Appeal Process

1. A student wishing to appeal a progression decision must write a letter via email to the appropriate program director within 5 business days of receiving notice of their inability to progress.
2. Appeals will be considered by a Progression Appeals Committee and chaired by the senior associate dean. Results will be communicated in writing to the student via email.
3. A student wishing to appeal a course grade should follow the grade appeal process.