Program goals: MN

Goals of the Master of Nursing Program are to prepare graduates who are able to:

  • Evaluate the adequacy of underlying knowledge from nursing science, related fields, and professional foundations as it informs nursing practice.
  • Competently assess, manage health-related issues with a defined population or care system, and evaluate the effectiveness of these nursing practices.
  • Utilize knowledge and skills in professional practice among diverse and multi-cultural populations.
  • Demonstrate competence in development of inquiry relevant to practice, education, or administration.
  • Develop and utilize leadership strategies that foster improvement of healthcare.
  • Articulate ethical issues and responsibilities involved in nursing practice.
  • Demonstrate critical interrogation of positionality, recognition of implicit biases, as well as knowledge and application of anti-racism principles to promote health equity.

Approved by Graduate Faculty in 2008 and by UW Tacoma Nursing Faculty in 2009.

Philosophy of graduate education

University of Washington School of Nursing

The School of Nursing faculty believes graduate education denotes the critical appraisal of the concepts and theories that underlie the nature and practice of nursing and the extension of the processes of inquiry (problem solving, critical thinking and research) for the development and testing of knowledge and for the translation of evidence to practice. The organization of graduate programs recognizes the diverse areas of specialized and advanced practice in nursing, is guided by the current state of knowledge and societal needs, and provides a foundation for the continuing evolution of new knowledge both in nursing and in other disciplines, and fosters leadership.

The faculty also believes that the diverse and varying educational, personal, and cultural experiences that students bring to their graduate studies are valuable to the programs and that the strengths of such background must be fostered and nurtured within educational environments that are characterized by free interchange among scholar/teachers. Furthermore, graduate study requires that scholarly exchange, objectivity, and creativity must prevail in the learning environments of the classroom and the laboratory. The faculty believes that the goals of graduate education require that a high level of inquiry be attained through the development of a collaborative role that involves both faculty and students in the discovery and refinement of knowledge. Further, graduate education requires learning experiences and environments that represent the multicultural composition of the world and reflect the broad range of interests and concerns of faculty and students and the communities they serve.

The faculty recognizes that each student also comes with individual goals and that the attainment of these goals will be achieved in various ways. Scholarly inquiry is a component of all graduate programs in the School.

Approved by UW School of Nursing Graduate Faculty in 1986 (revised 2000) and by UW Tacoma Nursing Faculty 2/2000, reviewed 10/2007.