Milwaukee School of Engineering will roll out a Master of Science in Nursing: Health Care Systems Management program this fall to prepare nurse leaders to maneuver the growing complexity of health care environments.
The new masters program, which will blend nursing and business concepts, will cover topics like fiscal resources, human resources, quality of nursing care, effective delivery of health care, policy and regulation, and health care ethics.
The program will prepare students to tackle business and administrative concepts “through the nursing lens and the nursing perspective,” said Dr. Josie Wollenhaupt, graduate program director at MSOE.
As nursing managers contend with fiscal matters, data analysis, quality and safety of health care, and advancements in technology, on top of the immediate health concerns of their patients, they need strong business skillsets as well, Wollenhaupt said.
Program content, to be facilitated both in the classroom and online, will break down into 14 courses totaling 47 quarter credits. Half of the classes will be hosted by MSOE’s School of Nursing while the other half will focus on applicable business content in the Rader School of Business. Classes in the school of business will also incorporate core knowledge the university delivers to graduate students in all disciplines.
The new MSN degree program will equip students with skills needed by hospital managers at the unit level, managers of clinics, supervisors in public health settings, nurse executives, and nursing entrepreneurs, according to Wollenhaupt.
Students navigating the program full time will be able to complete it in about 16 months.
MSOE hopes to enroll 10 to 15 students with bachelor degrees in nursing in the new MSN degree program in the fall.
