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Saint Vincent College receives approval for Direct Entry Master of Science in Nursing program

Saint Vincent College receives approval for Direct Entry Master of Science in Nursing program

by Public Relations | July 12, 2024

LATROBE, PA – Saint Vincent College announced today that it has received approval from the Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing to offer a new Direct Entry Master of Science in Nursing (DE-MSN) program starting in summer 2025. The DE-MSN program will prepare students who did not study nursing in college for clinical careers.

The DE-MSN is designed to address current and anticipated shortages of qualified master’s-prepared registered nurses by enrolling professionals in other fields directly into an advanced nursing degree. This direct enrollment approach decreases the time from education to employment and aims to bring mature and experienced individuals into nursing practice.

Students in Saint Vincent’s DE-MSN program can earn their degrees in 24 months and will be prepared to take the NCLEX-RN exam to become registered nurses. Graduates of the program will also be eligible to sit for national certification as a Clinical Nurse Leader. The program will be held in-person and will include training in state-of-the-art skills and simulation labs, which will allow students to learn patient assessment and clinical treatment skills through hands-on practice with advanced patient simulators and in-person healthcare environments, and clinical rotations.

“We are very excited to launch this new program alongside our recently-launched undergraduate nursing program,” remarked Dr. Helen K. Burns, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, Rev. Owen Roth, O.S.B., Inaugural Chair of the Department of Nursing. “Our graduates will be well-prepared to enter the field as nurses with the expertise to promote health and make positive changes to elevate patient care.”

Saint Vincent is partnering with a number of regional healthcare institutions in a variety of care settings across the lifespan, providing students with the opportunity to gain hands-on clinical experience in a range of care contexts, including medical-surgical environments, geriatrics, surgery, behavioral health, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, emergency departments, intensive care units, and intermediate care and community health settings.

Dr. Stephen Jodis, dean of the Herbert W. Boyer School of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Computing, echoed Dr. Burns’ excitement. “We are thrilled to offer this new DE-MSN degree and continue to expand our new nursing program,” he explained. “Through our emphasis on excellent clinical preparation and expert faculty mentorships, our graduates will have the expertise needed to excel and the opportunity for promotion into advanced specialties.”

"The DE-MSN program will provide our students with a high-quality education that integrates the Benedictine values of community, hospitality, respect and love of learning,” added Fr. Paul Taylor, O.S.B., C’87, S’91, president of Saint Vincent College. “With the foundation Saint Vincent will lay in our advanced program, graduates will not only be able to provide excellent patient care grounded in Benedictine values but also be prepared to advance into leadership roles or continue toward a doctoral degree.”

The program will apply for accreditation from the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, the national accreditation agency for baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs.

Last April, Saint Vincent announced its plan to build Rhodora and John Donahue Hall, which will be the on-campus home of the Department of Nursing—which now consists of the pre-licensure Bachelor of Science in Nursing, graduate-level Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice and the new DE-MSN program. Additionally, the first floor of the building will house the David Scaife Family Center for Excellence and Innovation in Nursing. The Center will feature a nursing skills lab, a virtual reality suite, simulation labs, a telehealth suite, conference rooms and classrooms to support the nursing curriculum across all educational levels. Construction on the three-story building on the west side of campus is scheduled to begin in February 2025 and be completed in April 2026.

Interested students can visit the College website (www.stvincent.edu) or contact the Department of Nursing at 724-805-2829 or nursing@stvincent.edu.

Dr. Burns in discussion with Saint Vincent College nursing students

Dr. Burns in discussion with Saint Vincent College nursing students.

 

 

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