Posted: 7/30/2010
Now there is a more efficient way to switch careers to become a Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS). A new program from the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing (JHUSON) streamlines baccalaureate to master’s education with an added bonus: jobs at Hopkins-affiliated hospitals. The first class will begin in January 2011.
The goal is to get more people interested in–and prepared for–a long-term career as an inpatient nurse, says Julie Stanik-Hutt, PhD, ACNP, CCNS, FAAN, director of the schools masters programs.
In this 34-month program, students will first enroll in the accelerated baccalaureate program, during which they will take up to 12 graduate-level credits along with their baccalaureate-level coursework. Upon receiving their RN license, students will complete a one-year residency–a full-time paid position as an inpatient nurse.
Following the residency, students will continue to work in the full-time position while undertaking a part-time master’s course of study. After 36 credit hours and more than 500 clinical hours, graduates will be positioned to improve care through bedside practice, evidence-based specialty practice, and quality improvement initiatives. As Clinical Nurse Specialists, they will also be qualified to serve as clinical faculty for future nursing students.
“This program aims to help nursing students successfully transition to autonomous RN practice, to keep new RNs at the bedside in a full-time residency, and then to retain these bedside RNs beyond the first year by providing CNS education,” says Stanik-Hutt. “The school is able to offer this program, in large part, because of our partnerships and shared resources.”
These partnerships are with the four Johns Hopkins-affiliated hospitals–the top-ranked Johns Hopkins Hospital, Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Howard County General Hospital, and Suburban Hospital.
The program is funded by a $ 1.2 million grant from the State of Maryland’s Nurse Support Program II, which aims to increase the number of bedside nurses in Maryland hospitals. JHUSON projects an annual increase in enrollment of 20 students the first year, with 100 students over the five years of funding support.
The new accelerated track allows for a 15 percent increase in the baccalaureate accelerated program annual student enrollment. The school’s existing baccalaureate programs (a 21-month traditional and 13.5-month accelerated program) will remain unchanged.
Applications for January 2011 admission must be submitted by September 22, 2010. For more information on the streamlined BS/MSN Clinical Nurse Specialist with Integrated Professional Residency, contact the Director of the Office of Admissions & Student Services, at (410) 955-7548.