Program Overview

Nurse leaders are essential to lead and manage the workforce in a variety of healthcare settings. The nurse leader plays a vital role in shaping healthcare delivery, improving patient outcomes, and fostering a positive work environment. Their responsibilities go beyond clinical care and include strategic, managerial, and advocacy functions.

This program is for nurses with previously earned MSN degrees who wish to pursue nursing leadership as an advanced specialty. Our curriculum reflects national leadership competencies and courses tailored to operational and strategic leadership in an online format taught by expert faculty.

The certificate program consists of 13-14 credits of role specialty courses taught online including: Leadership Theory and Principles, Human Resources and Change Management, Healthcare Finance, and Leadership Skills in Healthcare. For students without MSN level direct care hours, an additional 1 credit will be required in the Advanced Nursing Practice clinical course.

In accordance with the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) accreditation requirements, MSN nursing leadership students would have an advanced nurse practice clinical experience (direct care hours) along with a practicum focusing on applying leadership skills within the healthcare setting for a total of 345 clinical hours.

For those master’s-prepared applicants to the program who already have direct patient care hours in their former graduate degree, they will only need 240 clinical practicum hours in the leadership skills course.