MSN Frequently Asked Questions
Are Drexel's nursing programs accredited?
Yes. Drexel's nursing programs are fully accredited by the NLN-AC (National League for Nursing - Accrediting Commission) and the CCNE (Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education). Drexel University is regionally accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges & Secondary Schools (the same accreditation as Carnegie Mellon, Columbia, Cornell, New York University, Princeton, Yale and the University of Pennsylvania).
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Must I already hold an RN certification in order to participate in Drexel's MSN programs?
Yes. Having your RN licensure is an absolute requirement to being considered for any of Drexel's MSN programs.
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Are GRE scores required for admission into Drexel's MSN programs?
No.
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How does someone with an international degree go about applying to Drexel's online MSN programs?
In addition to the general admissions requirements, anyone who has been born outside of the United States is required to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and have an official score report (indicating a minimum score of 600) sent directly from Educational Testing Service (ETS) to Drexel University before their file is evaluated.
TOEFL scores must be less than two years old to be considered. Information regarding the TOEFL can be obtained by contacting:
Educational Testing Service
Princeton, NJ 08541
609-921-9000, or 609-771-7100
http://www.toefl.org
In addition, international students are required to list on their application all schools attended, including primary and secondary schools. Along with your application, you must enclose official transcripts (mark sheets and degree certificates) in your native language and in English from all colleges and graduate/ professional schools that you attended. Do not send transcripts from secondary schools. If your school issues only one transcript for life, you may send a notarized photocopy, bearing the seal on each page.
Applicants are responsible for contacting World Education Service for evaluation of transcripts:
World Education Service, Inc. (WES)
P.O. Box 745
Old Chelsea Station, New York, NY 10113-0745
212-966-6311
http://www.wes.org
Applicants are responsible for supplying all necessary documentation.
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Is it possible to transfer credits into Drexel's online MSN programs?
Yes. Course descriptions will need to be reviewed in order to determine if they are applicable to one of our programs. Transcripts are reviewed on an individual basis.
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Will I ever be required to come to campus?
For most of the MSN programs, the only program requirement that will not be completed online is the clinical which can be arranged conveniently near your own home.
However, the MSN Adult Acute Care, MSN Adult Psychiatric Mental Health, and the MSN Women's Health Nurse Practitioner programs do require on campus visits.
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How long does it take to complete one of Drexel's online MSN programs?
The time to complete the program depends on how many courses the student transfers in and how many courses they take per quarter. Generally, students take 1-2 courses per quarter based on their family and work commitments. Students may take as few or as many courses as they want per term, as long as the program is completed within seven years.
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Are there any available tuition discounts for employees or members of partnering health systems, associations, or corporations?
Yes. Drexel has a large network of partners all over the country who benefit from reduced tuition rates. To find out if your employer or association is one of Drexel's partners, please visit our network of partners webpage. If you are interested in learning how your company or association can become a partner, please fill out the form located at www.drexel.com/partners/partnerinforequest.aspx, call toll-free at 877-215-0009 or email at info@drexel.com.
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Why was the innovation track in the graduate nursing program developed at Drexel University?
Healthcare today is in an unprecedented period of change and few professionals are in a better position than nurses to observe and understand the issues of the patient care frontline. For the advanced practice nurse this represents both a challenge and an unparalleled opportunity to work “outside the box” of current thinking. Healthcare today needs practitioners, educators, and leaders who are prepared to offer creative, but practical, value-added solutions to the unique issues we face like lowering the patient care error rates that result in between 44,000 and 98,000 deaths per year; improving the work environment for nurses; using technology to improve care and create efficiencies. At Drexel we believe in innovation and we practice it in our own program offerings, practice initiatives, and educational technologies. We wish to drive innovation by encouraging nurses to “create” pioneering projects.
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What career options might I have when I complete the Drexel innovation track?
This MSN in Innovation in Advanced Nursing Practice will provide you with an understanding of what it means to innovate and the processes and environments that result in lasting change. As a clinician, educator, or nurse manager/executive, you will utilize the knowledge and skills in the program to change clinical systems and practice processes for the betterment of patient care or use the knowledge to leverage your hunches and start your own business as a consultant or entrepreneur.
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What are the research requirements for the MSN in innovation track?
“Introduction to Biostatistics” and “Methods of Health Research” are two of the core courses in the Masters program taken by all graduate nursing students. Instead of writing a thesis, students conduct an innovation “capstone project” to be completed over three quarters (30 weeks). This project may be centered in your home institution or focused on your own future enterprise. You will submit a portfolio of the project’s conception, development, implementation, and evaluation.
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How is the innovation track different from the masters in Nursing Leadership and Health Systems Management?
The primary objective for students in the Nursing Leadership MSN track is to develop the organizational, human resources, and strategic planning skills needed for managers and leaders within healthcare organizations. This program was recently redesigned with a new focus on the management of information and evidence-based decision making for the nurse administrator -- two skills critical for today’s high performance-oriented nurse executive. On the other hand, students in the Innovation Track focus specifically on the design of innovation and change to improve health and clinical systems. This may be a part of leadership and management but not its specific focus.
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Your curriculum guide indicates I can make a selection of a cognate from a different college in Drexel University. What kind of courses might i select?
Students in the Innovation Track may take up to three courses from the LeBow College of Business, the College of Information Science and Technology, and other Drexel Graduate Schools according to their innovation interests. For example, if you are particularly interested in using information technology to innovate care processes you might draw from electives in the College of Information Sciences in Healthcare Informatics. Or you may take electives inside of the College in Nursing and Health Professions such as Building and Leading High Performance Healthcare Organizations. There will be many electives from which to choose.
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What are some examples of capstone projects?
Many people do not know that the bilirubin light for newborns was invented because of the observation of a nurse that the jaundice in newborn babies whose cribbettes were near the sunlit nursery window cleared up at a faster rate than those not exposed to sun. A nurse who won the 2006 Drexel University, College of Nursing and Health Professions Bayada Award for Technological Innovation in Nursing Practice used an Electronic Health Record system to remind nurse teams to turn patients who were at high risk for pressure ulcers. The rate of pressure ulcers dropped 80% over time as a result. Your project will grow out of your observations and hunches about how you can improve practice or education, if you are a teacher. Remember Florence Nightingale’s innovation of introducing basic cleanliness to hospital wards during the Crimean War? This innovation dropped the mortality rate of soldiers dramatically since they were dying from infections not from their war wounds. Innovations are often so simple and one might be lurking among your hunches.
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How long will it take me to complete the master's in innovation program?
The entire program is 46 quarter-credits equaling 15 courses. You must remember that quarter courses are completed in 10 weeks instead of the traditional 15 week semester. A 46 quarter credit master’s degree is equivalent to a 30.5 semester credit master's degree. So the program is really very efficiently designed. There are two curricular plans: a seven quarter or a nine quarter plan. By taking two courses each quarter and adding an elective in three of the seven quarters, you could complete the program in one and a half years. However, you could choose to pace yourself differently, for example, taking one course per quarter.
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Can I complete the program online?
Yes, all courses can be completed online. During the capstone project three-quarter period, students will attend class online, both synchronously (in real time) and asynchronously (not everyone online at the same time), to discuss the progress of their project. The purpose of this discussion is to provide support, to share successes and pitfalls, and to disburse the innovation that is occurring among the student group.
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How are the requirements for the certificate program in innovation different from the degree?
The certificate in innovation has two options.
Option 1 is the Post-Baccalaureate Certificate Option, which requires that you take the three primary courses in the track - “Innovation in Advanced Nursing Practice: Theory and Application,” “Case Studies in Intra/Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Nursing,” and “The Nurse as an Intra/Entrepreneur and Consultant.” You will also take the first capstone course in which you will complete an innovation proposal. The total credits for the post-baccalaureate option is 12. Individuals who want to understand the theories of innovation, examine some successful and failed innovations, as well as learn what it takes to be a successful intra/entrepreneur will enjoy Option 1.
Option 2 is the Post Master’s Certificate Option, which requires that you take the primary courses in the track as listed above (9 credits) as well as the three capstone courses in which you will develop and complete a proposal for an innovation project and conduct the implementation and evaluation components (9 credits). Finally, a one credit professional seminar for advanced nursing practice will give you a total of 19 credits for this option. Option 2 is for the student who wishes to have a guided experience in the implementation and evaluation of the innovation proposed and actually complete a final work product. We believe having a portfolio of a final master’s level innovation project could sell a future employer on your idea or launch you into a new career opportunity.
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What makes the Drexel degree program unique?
Drexel is the first university to offer a MSN in Innovation and Intra/Entrepreneurship in Nursing in the Nation. Several universities offer nurse entrepreneur conferences. Other universities have collaborative programs in innovation between Schools of Business and Nursing. However, Drexel University’s program is unique in that its focus is innovation for the advanced practice nurse, educator or executive. It is not a degree in business, nor even a nursing-business hybrid; it is rather an advanced nursing degree with a focus in innovation. The program can be completed entirely online as is the format of delivery with many other Drexel programs.
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Is the Drexel innovation program accredited?
The College of Nursing and Health Professions Programs are fully accredited by National League for Nursing Accreditation Commission (NLNAC) and the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).
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Is this program only for the seasoned graduate nurse?
More important than time spent in nursing is your ability to be self-directed and your desire to understand innovation and create a significant change in healthcare or educational systems. We think this program will have appeal and relevance to both the seasoned nurse who has years of experiences from which to draw from for ideas and also to the young intra/entrepreneur who has ideas and inventions he or she wants to see marketed immediately.
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Am I eligible for financial aid for this program?
To be eligible for federal financial aid you must at least be enrolled part-time and that means you must take a minimum of 4.5 credits per quarter. This means that you must take more than one course per quarter to be eligible for financial aid.
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Are there scholarships available?
Notices about scholarship and grant availability are regularly sent when such monies are available to students. The MSN Program does have Advanced Nursing Education funds that are distributed on a formula basis. For nurses who live in Pennsylvania, there is often scholarship money available if certain conditions are met. There are also scholarships available through various sources. I encourage you to investigate the two links below:
http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Media/NewsReleases/2005/AACNMonsterRel.htm
http://www.nln.org/Careers/resources.htm
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