College of Nursing
East Carolina University
Health Sciences
252-744-6388 fax
www.nursing.ecu.edu
, NC 27858-4353
October 30, 2013
Office of the Dean
744-6433
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Graduate Programs
Associate Dean
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D From:
Amy Jnah, Director, Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Concentration
To:
Dr. Jim Decker, Chair, Graduate Curriculum Committee
Cc:
Dr. Carol Winters, Chair, Graduate Curriculum Committee, College of Nursing,
Dr. Linda Mayne, University Graduate Curriculum Committee Resource Person.
Garris Conner, Chair, Graduate Faculty Organization
NNP Faculty (Amy Jnah, MSN, NNP-BC; Mollie Powell, DNP, NNP-BC; Garris
Conner, RN, DNS; Tracey Robertson, DNP, NNP-BC)
Subject: Executive Summary for NNP Curriculum Revisions
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Dr. Decker,
The Neonatal Nurse Practitioner (NNP) Faculty continually strives to maintain the East
Carolina University College of Nursing Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Concentration as one
of the top ranked programs in the country. As part of this process the faculty recently
conducted an assessment of curriculum based upon standards published by the American
Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). The Essentials of Master’s Education in
Nursing, authored by the AACN, provide the necessary Masters level core curricular
framework for graduate level programs and further delineates the core competencies which
Masters of Science in Nursing programs must incorporate into their curricula. The
publication of the 2011 Essentials of Master’s Education in Nursing standards prompted
the neonatal nurse practitioner program faculty to conduct the assessment of curriculum to
identify areas requiring updates to curriculum scope, sequence, breadth and depth. In
addition, the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF) recently
published 2013 population-specific standards for nurse practitioner programs, in
collaboration with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) and the
National Association of Neonatal Nurses (NANN). NONPF recommends that the
population-specific competencies be integrated in a logical sequence with the neonatal core
curriculum in order to embed synergy within the neonatal curriculum, ultimately preparing
nurse practitioner students for the increasing expectations of their specific advanced
practice nursing role.
As a means to adhere to updated AACN accreditation criteria, the following courses with
revisions are respectfully submitted for approval. The proposed revisions result in no to
change to total credit hour requirements for program completion. Additionally, the
proposed revisions allocate a total of 658 Level 3 neonatal intensive care student practicum
clock hours, which exceeds the 600 minimum required practicum clock hours for program
completion and eligibility to sit for the neonatal nurse practitioner national certification
examination. The courses to be presented for revision include:
NURS 6417 Developmental Physiology for Advanced Neonatal and Pediatric Nursing
Practice
NURS 6418 Health Assessment for Advanced Nursing Practice of Neonatal and Pediatric
Patients
NURS 6419 Clinical Pharmacology for Advanced Neonatal and Pediatric Nursing Practice
NURS 6420 Advanced Neonatal Nursing: Research and Theory I
NURS 6421 Advanced Neonatal Nursing Practicum I
NURS 6422 Advanced Neonatal Nursing: Research and Theory II
NURS 6423 Advanced Neonatal Nursing Practicum II
NURS 6424 Advanced Neonatal Nursing: Research and Theory III
A summary of the type of revision(s) requested, per course and category, is provided in the
table below:
Course Title
NURS 6417
X
Course
Description
X
Course
Objectives
X
Course Credit
NURS 6418
X
X
X
X
X
NURS 6419
X
X
X
X
X
NURS 6420
X
X
X
X
NURS 6421
X
X
X
X
NURS 6422
X
X
X
X
NURS 6423
X
X
X
X
NURS 6424
X
X
X
X
X
X
Topical
Outline
X
Required
Textbooks
X
The proposed courses were vetted through the College of Nursing Graduate Curriculum Committee on 11/7/13.
Additionally, the course proposals were vetted and approved with input from the College of Nursing Graduate
Faculty at the Graduate Faculty Organization meeting on 11/14/13. The Neonatal Nurse Practitioner faculty
appreciates the opportunity to present this comprehensive curriculum package to the University Graduate
Curriculum Committee for consideration.
Respectfully Submitted,
Amy Jnah, Director, Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Concentration
College of Nursing, Department of Graduate Sciences
Email: jnaha@ecu.edu; Tel: 216-375-9228