M.S. in Nursing-Nurse Administrator

Be a Change Leader with an MSN in Nursing Administration

As a registered nurse, you have an insider’s perspective on what works in healthcare – and where improvements can be made. If you aspire to lead quality improvement initiatives, champion strategic change or manage teams, Franklin University’s M.S. in Nursing-Nurse Administrator track can help you realize your goal. You’ll gain the knowledge necessary to provide strategic planning and administrative oversight, while helping to create a clinical environment that supports advanced training and education for nurses. 

Program Overview

As healthcare delivery continues to grow more complex, nurses in leadership roles play a critical role in improving patient outcomes, realizing operational efficiencies and preparing for the challenges that lie ahead. Nurse leaders are being sought in all facets of healthcare, from hospitals and clinics, to community and public agencies, to industries like insurance and higher education, in order to lend insight into long-term planning and quality improvement initiatives. Not only will the M.S. in Nursing-Nurse Administrator track enable you to broaden your professional impact, the transition from patient-care to a managerial position may also afford you a more flexible work schedule and a multitude of career options in a variety of settings. 

As a graduate-level nursing student, you will strengthen your critical thinking and problem-solving skills in order to lead healthcare in the future. You’ll examine the advanced role of the nurse leader in the administration of healthcare delivery, management of change and interdisciplinary collaboration. You’ll earn your degree in as few as 16 months, by completing 6-week online courses. You’ll conclude your studies with a 12-week practicum that will be completed on-site in a healthcare setting. 

Program Outcomes

  1. Synthesize theories and knowledge from nursing and related disciplines to develop a theoretical basis to guide practice in an advanced nursing role.

  2. Apply leadership skills and decision making in the provision of high quality nursing care in diverse settings.

  3. Provide leadership across the care continuum in diverse settings to promote high quality, safe, effective patient centered care.

  4. Appraise, use, and participate in the extension of nursing knowledge through scientific inquiry. Integrate current and emerging technologies into professional practice.

  5. Integrate current and emerging technologies into professional practice.

  6. Demonstrate responsive leadership, collaboration, and management to influence the advancement of nursing practice and the profession of nursing and to influence health policy.

  7. Employ collaborative strategies and effective communication to advocate for the role of the professional nurse as a member and leader of interprofessional teams.

  8. Integrate clinical prevention and population health concepts to provide holistic, comprehensive nursing care for individual, families, and aggregates.

  9. Demonstrate an advanced level of understanding of nursing and relevant sciences and integrate this knowledge into practice.

Curriculum & Course Descriptions

Major Area Required
NURS 612 - Role of the Master's Prepared Nurse (3)

This course assesses the various roles of the master's prepared nurse. The influence of the health care delivery systems, health care policy, diversity, ethics, quality, safety, theory, evidence based practice, and information systems on the role of the master's prepared nurse will be explored.

NURS 650 - Population Focused Care (3)

Theories, principles, and strategies of population-based health care are used to design, implement, and evaluate services and plans of care to promote, maintain, and restore health in a defined population. Students focus on population aggregates in structured or unstructured settings across service environments. Strategies to evaluate outcomes and costs are emphasized. Prerequisite NURS 612 or 613.

NURS 693 - Evidence Based Practice & Quality Improv (3)

This course will explore and analyze methods to improve nursing practice and health outcomes. Collaborative efforts and ethical concerns are considered. Emphasis is placed on critically evaluating evidence-based practice and quality assurance initiatives.

NURS 795 - MSN Capstone (4)

The purpose of this capstone course is to provide the student with the opportunity to examine the role of the master's prepared nurse in a health care or education setting. Using a combination approach of seminar and precepted clinical experience, the student focuses on the integration and application of major concepts covered throughout the graduate nursing program and assists in preparation for comprehensive evaluation. The student is assigned to a health care or educational setting under the direction of an experienced master's prepared nurse executive/educator/practitioner for the practicum portion of the course. Eighty (80) precepted clinical hours are required.

HCM 735 - Healthcare Delivery Systems (4)

The course provides an extensive overview of leadership in the U.S. health services system. The focus of the course will be on the role health services leadership plays in the delivery of healthcare services, to include managing with professionals, financial management, services utilization, and other aspects of the U.S. healthcare system. The student will explore the key theoretical and practical elements of leadership as well as current issues clarifying how the U.S. health services system is organized, managed, and financed.

HCM 752 - Health Policy (4)

This course will explore the essential conceptual and analytical understanding of health policymaking and politics, including their impact on health administration and leadership. Selected policy issues will be explored through the application of political concepts and behavioral models, including a system model of policymaking. The emphasis will be on understanding the health leader’s approach to the policymaking system, become involved in it, and work through it to attain their objectives and those of their organization.

Major Electives

At least 12 credits from the following courses:

HCM 733 - Finance and Managerial Accounting in Healthcare Organizations (4)
The purpose of this course is to provide students with the fundamental concepts and calculations associated with financial accounting and managerial accounting within a healthcare organization. Students will study the foundational aspects of financial accounting with a primary focus on financial statements and the uses of the information in these statements. Students will also study the functional aspects of managerial accounting to include cost behavior, cost allocation, pricing, planning, budgeting, profit analysis, and performance evaluation. Application of these concepts will include analysis of case studies.
HCM 742 - Healthcare Laws and Ethics (4)
In this course students will develop a strong foundation in health law, enabling them to deal with the common legal, practical, moral, and ethical issues that healthcare organizations face on a daily basis. Topics will include statutory law, rules and regulations, tort law, criminal law, contract law, civil procedures, and trial procedure.
HCM 762 - Global Health (4)
The student will examine demographic measurements, epidemiological methods, outcomes assessment, health promotion, and disease prevention from a global perspective.
HCM 765 - Healthcare Operations Management (4)
Students will explore concepts and theories of operations management. The student will develop both knowledge and skills in solving the operational problems of healthcare organizations. This course will examine process improvement models that are aimed at improving the safety and quality of healthcare delivery within an organization.
HIM 702 - Health Information Governance (4)
This course covers the broad spectrum of strategic issues in healthcare including policies, guidelines, standards, processes, and controls required to manage and implement enterprise-level information. Treating information as a strategic asset to healthcare organizations, processes to manage various risks to the quality of information and ensure its appropriate use are covered.
PUAD 701 - Foundations of Public Service and Administration (4)
This foundational course provides an introduction to the social, economic, political, and ethical context of public administration in the United States. Students examine how public sector values differentiate government from the private sector and develop skills for critically evaluating issues faced by public administrators.
PUAD 725 - Ethical Decision Making (4)
This course explores ethical decision-making, public sector values, codes of ethics, and legal responsibilities that shape moral reasoning and judgment in public service. Students apply ethical frameworks and normative theories to analyze real-world ethical dilemmas faced by public administrators.
CJAD 670 - Victimology (4)
This course is a seminar/survey course on victimization in the United States. Emphasis is placed upon the impact of victimization upon the victims and society. In addition, the response of the criminal justice system and of society to these victimizations will be explored. Theories of crime prevention and victimization will be discussed throughout the semester to encourage students to analytically consider the factors which cause victimization, and which factors can possibly prevent victimizations from occurring.
CJAD 700 - Effective Administration of Justice (4)
Within the scope of the foundations of justice and administration and social, financial, legal and political opportunities and challenges, students will apply strategic decision making strategies to analyze the communicative structures, practices, and performance of organizations in the administration of justice. Specific goals, challenges, and leadership theories will be holistically summarized and synthesized to develop solutions within the courts, law enforcement, and corrections, in both not-for-profit and for-profit organizations. Applied perspectives in ethical leadership functions that respond to organizational problems and objectives through best-practices will also be addressed. As future leaders, students will, moreover, demonstrate fluency in employee rights and issues and apply budgeting strategies to maximize agency goals. Additional outcomes will address program planning, implementation, and evaluation, as well as appraisal of new technological advancements utilizing articulated and relevant criteria.
PUAD 710 - Managing Personnel Systems (4)
Students learn fundamental concepts and tools for managing one of the most important organizational resources in government: people. The course emphasizes the application of human resources concepts and tools for attracting, retaining, and developing employees and improving organizational performance in government organizations.
PUAD 740 - Financial Management & Budgeting (4)
Students learn to use fundamental budgeting and financial management concepts and tools necessary for leading and managing government organizations. Students learn to use analytical techniques for making administrative and policy decisions with significant financial implications. Students also examine the competing values and politics that underlie and impact financial decisions in government. Finally, students develop skills for effectively communicating financial analysis methods and conclusions with colleagues, elected officials, the media, and the public.
PUAD 745 - Strategy, Collaboration, & Communication (4)
Students learn to think strategically about leading organizations operating in a public environment where collaboration is required to achieve organizational goals. The course focuses on using strategic and network management concepts and tools to improve organizational performance and advance the public interest. The importance of strategically managing organizational communication is also examined. Finally, students develop skills for effectively communicating strategic planning methods, approaches, and decisions with colleagues, elected officials, the media, and the public.
HIM 761 - Healthcare Analytics (4)
This course addresses the process of retrieving, analyzing, and reporting intelligence to make healthcare decisions. It covers the techniques of extracting, transforming and loading data from a myriad of operational databases into corporate data warehouses, as well means to ensure that decision making is based on clean and reliable information. The course also includes ways to report the healthcare intelligence gathered.
HIM 710 - Clinical Workflow & Applications (4)
This course explores requirements for clinical workflows in a variety of inpatient, outpatient, and emergency healthcare environments. It covers the documentation, review, mapping, and diagramming of clinical workflow information and processes. The course also covers the linkages between the improvement of patient care to workflow mapping and change management, as part of evidence based decision making in healthcare.
CJAD 680 - Grant Writing (4)
This course introduces students to funding sources and grant writing. Students will be expected to locate funding options and write a grant application.
MGMT 780 - Organizational Leadership Theories (4)
This course provides an overview of the historical and current leadership concepts, theories and constructs. Application and assessment of the individual leadership style will enable the student to develop their leadership voice. This course will provide a construct that will enable the student to identify transferrable skills that align with the organization that they are serving in. This course will challenge students to assess their own leadership strengths and weaknesses and produce an in-depth plan of action to develop and refine leadership competencies. Students will conduct substantive scholarly research to address and capture relevant and cutting-edge leadership theoretical work for application in course assignments.
MGMT 785 - Change Management for Organizational Leaders (4)
This course focuses on research and evaluation of the key theoretical concepts and practices central to the leading of organizational change initiatives. Students will evaluate real-world situations in a manner that supports the ability to initiate, implement and sustain major change. The management of change is a dynamic process. This course focuses on understanding how to plan and implement change in various organizations and other settings.
PSYC 602 - Individual & Organizational Intelligence (4)
This course focuses on the application of systems theory, social psychology concepts, organizational lifecycles, and biological principles to the understanding of business operations. Includes a review of basic business principles, multiple intelligences, organizational intelligence, organizational culture, emotional intelligence, biomimicry and organizational DNA.
NURS 799 - MSN Practicum (1-4)
The MSN practicum experience provides students with the opportunity to receive academic credit for experience in an authentic work environment, which may be either external or internal to the University depending on the student’s preference. The student will have the option of precepted or non-precepted experiences that are approved by the faculty member.
HRM 713 - Human Resource Management (4)
This course examines the strategic role of Human Resources (HR) in driving organizational success through effective policies, practices, and human capital initiatives. Students will explore how HR contributes to enterprise-wide strategy, workforce planning, and talent management. Emphasis is placed on HR’s collaboration with all types of managers in areas such as hiring, training, and compensation. The course also addresses the evolving responsibilities of HR in a global workplace and the challenges of a changing workforce, equipping students with strategies to enhance organizational performance and productivity.
GRAD 770 - Lean Six Sigma (4)
The purpose of this course is to train individuals in Lean Six Sigma skills and strategies to improve processes and provide safe, effective care environments. The learner will demonstrate the practical application of tools utilized with Lean Six Sigma methodologies. Students will have the opportunity to apply the knowledge learned during this course concurrently with a case study designed specifically to use Six Sigma methodologies. Students will develop a Lean Six Sigma project plan that can serve as the foundation for completing a major project for Lean Six Sigma certification following the completion of the course. Interested students would need to apply for Lean Six Sigma certification and complete the major project with Franklin University's Center for Professional Training & Development.