Impact Lives

Master of Science in Nursing (M.S.N.) Online Curriculum

Advance your nursing career in a rapidly growing health care industry with Benedictine University.

Our CCNE-accredited curriculum starts with 15 credits of foundation courses covering evidence-based nursing practice, health promotion, ethical and cultural competence, quality and safety, and health care policy and advocacy. From there, choose to complete the Nurse Educator Concentration and become a knowledge leader in your organization (24 credits) or the Nurse Executive Leader Concentration and become an operational leader (21 credits).

In either concentration, your final two courses will focus solely on an on-ground practicum where you'll apply your learning to attain master's level competency in a real clinical setting. Many students complete the practicum where they work, though another clinical site may be selected.

Foundation Courses (15 semester credits)

NRHL 5501 Health Promotion and Interprofessional Collaboration (3 Credits)

This course provides an in-depth review of approaches to health promotion as well as effective collaboration among members of the healthcare community. Students explore the problems and issues in using behavioral and social science theories, concepts, and data to inform health promotion and health education research and interventions. The course emphasizes developing appreciation for the diversity of expertise in interprofessional collaborative teams as well as establishing basic concepts of effective teamwork.

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Prerequisite: This is a foundational course requiring a minimum letter grade of “B”.


NRHL 5502 Ethical and Culturally Competent Healthcare Professional (3 Credits)

This course draws upon philosophy, ethics, and the social sciences to examine key concepts of professional practice that form the foundations for leadership, including professional obligations, duties, rights, and cultural competence. Coursework leads to an increased understanding of interplay among socio-cultural contexts, ethics, and cultural beliefs about health and illness. Basic principles of epidemiology, community-based assessment and evaluation, issues of equity, and the risks to vulnerable populations are explored. Students also study the role of the educator, administrator, and social change agent to explore what it means to be a culturally competent, ethical healthcare professional and leader in health systems or education.

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Prerequisite: This is a foundational course requiring a minimum letter grade of “B”.


NRHL 5503 Evidence-based Nursing Practice: Research and Process Improvement (3 Credits)

This course provides students with skills required to systematically research and evaluate current nursing knowledge to promote evidence-based nursing practice. Coursework emphasizes critical analysis of the current literature and proposed research methods, including quantitative and/or qualitative approaches to research, sampling procedures, data collection methods, and data analysis planning. Research topics such as ethical and cultural issues, methodological procedures associated with scientific investigation, and potential barriers to evidence-based practice are also course themes. Students are encouraged to critically analyze differing research paradigms as well as current issues surrounding evidence-based research.

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Prerequisite: This is a foundational course requiring a minimum letter grade of “B”.


NRHL 5505 Healthcare Policy and Advocacy (3 Credits)

This course provides an overview of healthcare policy, organization, and financing with emphasis on current industry trends. Students assess the atmosphere in which policy is created and how compromise and bargaining shape policy decisions. Current policy initiatives involving healthcare delivery as well as nursing are analyzed. Coursework emphasizes the role of the nurse as a healthcare leader and advocate in the healthcare policy formation process.

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Prerequisite: This is a foundational course requiring a minimum letter grade of “B”.


NRHL 5506 Quality Improvement & Safety in Healthcare Systems (3 Credits)

This course analyzes problems caused by the varying levels of healthcare quality and strategies for improving them using models of evaluation and process improvement. Students learn to apply principles of quality and regulatory management with an emphasis on defining, measuring, and evaluating outcomes within organizations and systems to become effective leaders and change agents. Students are expected to participate in the development of actual quality measures and explain how such measures could be used in a defined health or educational system.

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Prerequisite: NRHL 5503 – Evidence-based Nursing Practice: Research and Process Improvement.


Nurse Educator Concentration Courses (24 semester credits)

NRHL 6507 Advanced Health Assessment (3 Credits)

This course builds upon the student’s previous health assessment experience to provide the foundation for advanced roles in nursing. The course emphasizes physical, psychosocial, spiritual, and functional assessment among diverse populations. Advanced assessment topics include focused health histories, advanced physical assessment techniques, differentiation of assessment findings, and health assessment documentation standards.

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Prerequisite: NRHL 5501, NRHL 5502, NRHL 5503, NRHL 5505, NRHL 5506


NRHL 6508 Advanced Pathophysiology (3 Credits)

The course focuses on the application of advanced knowledge of the complex physiological functions and pathophysiological processes to the care of individuals with healthcare problems. Course content examines alterations in function as well as adaptive, integrative, and regulatory mechanisms at the molecular, cellular, organ, and system levels. The course is designed to enable the graduate nursing student to recognize and analyze these physiological changes and to apply this knowledge in a wide variety of clinical settings.

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Prerequisite: NRHL 5501, NRHL 5502, NRHL 5503, NRHL 5505, NRHL 5506


NRHL 6509 Advanced Pharmacology (3 Credits)

This course provides the graduate nursing student with the necessary knowledge to develop a greater understanding of pharmacology and application. The course content builds upon the student’s current understanding of pharmacology. Students will explore the principles of pharmacology as they apply to various disease processes with consideration of medication selection factors, client adherence, and ethical implications. Clinical application of pharmacological management, adverse reactions, and patient education implications are presented through case studies and scenarios.

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Prerequisite: NRHL 6508


NRHL 6641 Instructional Strategies (3 Credits)

This course focuses on teaching and learning strategies in nursing education. Students examine frameworks for analyzing pedagogical philosophies, adult learning theories, ethical issues and professional values related to nursing education, as well as the integration of new technology in instructional design and delivery. The course emphasizes best teaching practices for nurse educators.

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Prerequisite: NRHL 6507, NRHL 6509


NRHL 6645 Curriculum Development (3 Credits)

This course focuses on the role of the nurse educator in the development of innovative curricula and instructional design in a variety of settings. The student examines conceptual frameworks and key curriculum components of course development. Trends in curriculum, technology, program evaluation, and regulatory and accreditation standards are explored.

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Prerequisite: NRHL 6641


NRHL 6647 Evaluation Strategies and Methods (3 Credits)

This course focuses on the role of the nurse educator in the assessment and evaluation of learning. The student applies key strategies to effectively measure achievement of learning outcomes in a variety of settings. Legal, ethical, regulatory issues and the importance of evaluating personal teaching effectiveness are explored.

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Prerequisite: NRHL 6645


NRHL 6653 Advanced Nursing Practice: Clinical Immersion (3 Credits)

This course builds upon the synthesis of prior knowledge and skills that promote the advancement of professional clinical nursing practice. The student applies nursing research and evidence-based practice to develop advanced clinical competency in a defined area of nursing practice. The course requires 70 practicum clock hours of clinical learning experience in the practice setting and the development of a nursing project proposal.

Prerequisite: NRHL 6648


NRHL 6655 Advanced Nursing Practice: Capstone Project Implementation (3 Credits)

This course provides opportunities for the student to apply knowledge and skills learned throughout the program into nursing practice. Under the direction of the faculty and guidance from the preceptor, students complete a nursing project that demonstrates their cumulative learning, nursing practice abilities, and professional growth that reflects master’s nursing practice. The project validates students' ability to synthesize and apply new knowledge and skills to real-world clinical issues and problems. The course requires 70 practicum clock hours of clinical learning experiences in the practice setting.

Prerequisite: NRHL 6653


Nurse Executive Leader Concentration Courses (21 semester credits)

NRHL 6620 Building Effective Communication and Relationships (3 Credits)

This course covers knowledge and skills related to effective communication and relationship- building across various healthcare settings. Students study communication strategies to address nursing and organizational issues and conflicts, as well as advanced communication skills related to diversity in the workplace, generational benefits, recruitment and retention, collaborative decision-making, and shared governance. Building trust and credible organizational relationships with key stakeholders is also emphasized.

Prerequisite: NRHL 5501, NRHL 5502, NRHL 5503, NRHL 5505, NRHL 5506


NRHL 6622 Professionalism and Executive Career Development (3 Credits)

Students focus on the knowledge, skills, and tools to effectively coach and further the professional development of others within the healthcare organization. Coursework emphasizes the concepts of professionalism, personal and professional accountability, transparency, advocacy, and ethical standards. Students complete a comprehensive executive leadership career assessment, conduct a gap analysis, and develop an executive career plan for the future.

Prerequisite: NRHL 5501, NRHL 5502, NRHL 5503, NRHL 5505, NRHL 5506


NRHL 6624 Advanced Knowledge of Healthcare Systems (3 Credits)

This course explores the skills and knowledge nurse executives need to effectively lead in a variety of healthcare systems. Students study the unique needs of healthcare settings such as hospitals, ambulatory facilities, community-based services, long-term care, and private practice as well as financial, operational, regulatory, and clinical aspects of management specific to a range of healthcare systems. Factors such as reimbursement, technology, staffing, leadership, organizational design and complexity, and for-profit and not-for-profit aspects of the system will also be addressed in the context of nursing leadership strategies.

Prerequisite: NRHL 5501, NRHL 5502, NRHL 5503, NRHL 5505, NRHL 5506


NRHL 6646 Nursing Leadership and Systems Thinking (3 Credits)

This course explores principles of nursing leadership and the skills required for nurse managers and executives to function effectively in complex healthcare environments. The student develops leadership self-awareness in order to effectively lead change, build strong cultures and effective teams, and resolve conflicts.

Prerequisite: NRHL 6620, NRHL 6622, NRHL 6624


NRHL 6648 Financial Management and Resource Allocation (3 Credits)

This course advances student knowledge regarding financial accounting, budgeting, cost analysis, planning and control, and management of financial resources. The role of nurse manager and executive leader as it relates to responsible financial management in healthcare is explored.

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Prerequisite: NRHL 6646


NRHL 6653 Advanced Nursing Practice: Clinical Immersion (3 Credits)

This course builds upon the synthesis of prior knowledge and skills that promote the advancement of professional clinical nursing practice. The student applies nursing research and evidence-based practice to develop advanced clinical competency in a defined area of nursing practice. The course requires 70 practicum clock hours of clinical learning experience in the practice setting and the development of a nursing project proposal.

Prerequisite: NRHL 6648


NRHL 6655 Advanced Nursing Practice: Capstone Project Implementation (3 Credits)

This course provides opportunities for the student to apply knowledge and skills learned throughout the program into nursing practice. Under the direction of the faculty and guidance from the preceptor, students complete a nursing project that demonstrates their cumulative learning, nursing practice abilities, and professional growth that reflects master’s nursing practice. The project validates students' ability to synthesize and apply new knowledge and skills to real-world clinical issues and problems. The course requires 70 practicum clock hours of clinical learning experiences in the practice setting.

Prerequisite: NRHL 6653


Do you have more questions about the Online MSN classes at Benedictine University? Request more information or call (866) 295-3104 today to speak to a program manager.