March 2, 2006
by Mimi Ko Cruz

Cal State Fullerton is finalizing plans for a new advanced degree in nursing program designed for students with non-nursing baccalaureate degrees.

The "entry-level" master's program provides coursework and clinical experiences needed to qualify students for licensure as a registered nurse (RN) and awards a master of science degree in nursing (MSN).

Applications for the program are being accepted with plans to admit 60 students on a "conditional" basis in the fall. The students will be able to take required prerequisite courses in anatomy, physiology, microbiology, chemistry, English, speech, statistics, critical thinking, psychology and sociology or cultural anthropology, said Mary Wickman, the program's planning director.

Wickman, hired last month to head the program, directed the RN program at Santa Ana College, where she worked for 15 years. She also served as chair of the nursing department at Mount St. Mary's College. She has a doctorate in nursing from UCLA.

CSUF's MSN program will be on an accelerated track, Wickman said.

Initially, the degree will be directed toward students who want to study nursing but have bachelor degrees in other fields, she said. Presently, all nursing students pursuing bachelor or master's degrees from CSUF already possess RN licensure.

Development of the new program was made possible by a $300,000 grant from Kaiser Permanente. Eventually, Wickman said, the program will be expanded to offer a pre-licensure baccalaureate degree in nursing.

"This accelerated, or innovative, RN to MSN program should be beneficial not only to students but also to the community at large, especially as the baby boomers are aging and demanding more healthcare services," said Roberta Rikli, dean of the College of Health and Human Development.

"The state of California and Orange County are in the midst of a severe nursing shortage," Wickman said. "Conservative estimates suggest that Orange County will need 800 new RNs per year for the next 10 years.

"Our accelerated MSN program will produce advanced degree graduates who are prepared to meet the community need for nurses, who are able to assume clinical leadership in all health-care settings and are prepared to implement evidence-based research, outcomes-based practice and quality improvement strategies."

CSUF's accelerated pre-licensure program is the first of its kind offered in any accredited college or university in Orange County, Wickman said.

Other California campuses that offer an accelerated MSN program include Azusa Pacific University, Cal State Los Angeles, Samuel Merritt College, San Francisco State University, UC San Diego, UC San Francisco, Western University of Health Sciences and Sonoma State University.

It is anticipated that it will take students 18 months to complete the pre-licensure course work and another 15 to 18 months to complete the MSN degree.

Wickman said plans to build a high-tech skills lab are in progress. The lab, once ready, will contain an estimated $250,000 worth of computer programs and audiovisual materials that will allow nursing students to practice skills in a simulated patient-care environment, she said.

"Having a nurse with an advanced degree and able to look at the care of the patient from a more global perspective is beneficial to the public," Wickman said.

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