The Nursing Administration specialization in the MSA is designed to provide BSN-prepared nurses with a strong background in business provided by the MSA core. The lineup of courses in the specialization focus on development of skills and knowledge in nursing administration and related topics in health care. The latter includes the following:

• Nursing Management of Human and Financial Resources
• Health Economics (Business)
• Marketing for Nurse Administrators (Business)
• Nursing Leadership Development
• Nursing Care Planning and Management
• Nursing Administration Role Practicum.

This specialization will help address the critical need for nurses qualified to work on the administrative side of health care as directors of nursing and other administrative roles requiring a solid background in the clinical sciences and a solid skill-set in business.

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

The Nursing Administration track requires a letter of intent, three letters of professional reference, and GRE scores no later than the initial semester of enrollment as a degree-seeking student.

THE COURSEWORK

This track is an option within the Master of Science in Administration degree which includes 12 semester hours of MSA core coursework in managerial economics, financial management, management skills, marketing management, and management and organizational behavior. Students also complete a set of specialization courses to prepare for careers in nursing administration.

HOW TO APPLY

To apply to the MSA program, please use the form on this page. For the question, "If you have a specific information request, enter your question here:", please enter: "Nursing Administration track". Please also be sure to send an e-mail to Diane Gardner, Director of the UWF Nursing Program at dgardner@uwf.edu or (850) 473-7761 so we can start sending you additional information to get you ready for your first courses!

 

COMMUNITY SUPPORT FOR THIS TRACK

The Nursing Administration Specialization in the MSA has been developed to address the critical need for nurses qualified to work on the administrative side of health care. There is great concern both regionally and nationally over serious shortfalls in the nursing workforce due to the fact that graduation rates for students from nursing administration programs is not keeping up with retirements and with the rate of departure of nurses from jobs in health care.

This issue is especially acute in the area of nursing administration. While the aging of the U.S. population and demographic trends for Northwest Florida clearly predict increased use of health care services regionally, these same changes predict greater numbers of retirements and departures among existing health care professionals, including nurses.

The Nursing track in the MSA will help provide a workforce in nursing prepared to assume administrative responsibilities in areas of health care that require a strong background in the clinical sciences and a solid knowledge base in business. The dramatic nationwide shortage of nurses is reflected in a comparable regional shortfall both in the clinical and administrative arenas. The regional health care community has fully endorsed and financially supported every effort by UWF to develop nursing programs. They have provided close to $700,000 in support of the BSN and MSN, and have committed another large pool of funds to support the OWC/UWF joint RN to BSN program. They have provided space for the UWF generic BSN program, and have endorsed creation of a PJC/UWF partnership RN to BSN program with a promise to the State of Florida to provide continued funding following the award of a SUCCEED grant to initiate this effort.

Clearly the health care community, from Pensacola to Destin, is dedicated to providing significant support for development by UWF of educational opportunities in nursing. The Advisory Committees of the School of Allied Health and Life Sciences (Pensacola and FWB/Destin) have been involved at every step in the development of UWF’s educational portfolio in allied health. These committees consist of over 70 members from all walks of health care, including the CEO’s of all of the major hospitals and clinics from here to Destin. One of the programs most often cited as being critical to the workforce needs of regional health care has been a program that prepares nurses to enter administrative positions in health care. This requires a strong background in the clinical sciences (BSN or MSN) and a solid knowledge base in the basics of business. The proposed MSA specialization in Nursing Administration directly addresses this need.