Academic Nursing Specialties: Nursing Service Administration
Ranked in 2007* Note that the top 3 programs all required an Informatics course as core
curriculum (in blue print) within the plan of study for Nursing Services Administration education and
additionally offered electives informatics beyond the core course through an informatics curriculum.
UNIVERSITY OF IOWA COLLEGE OF NURSING (1)
MASTER OF SCIENCE IN NURSING
Contact information
101 Nursing Building
Iowa City, IA 52242-1121
(319) 335-7018
Web site: http://www.nursing.uiowa.edu/
MSN Nursing Systems Administration: 33 Semester Hours
Curriculum - Core
96:211 Evidence Based Practice (3)
96:209 Health Sys/Econ/Policy (3)
96:208 Leadership for Advance Nursing Practice (3)
96:263 Intro to Informatics in Nursing and Health Care (3)
Curriculum – Administrative Focus
96:260 Nursing Systems Administration I (4)
96:261 Nursing Systems Administration II (5)
96:266 Advanced Case Management (3)
Portfolio/Project/Thesis (0-5)
96:260 and 96:261 are offered every other year. 96:266 is offered every other year until 2010.
96:299 Thesis, 5 sh, 96:298 Project 2 – 3 sh, 000:001 Portfolio 0 sh (0-5)
Curriculum - Selectives and Electives - noted below and as approved by academic advisor:
Selective/Elective (3) Selective/Elective (3) Selective/Elective (3)
Selectives:
1. Strongly recommended: 96:210 Healthcare Financial Management.
2. One of the College of Nursing’s Community Health courses (if in community administration,)
3. An Informatics course.
Electives: Choose from leadership and management-related UI courses in College of Nursing,
College of Public Health, College of Business, or other advisor-approved leadership and
management-related courses at the master’s level.
+ A nursing selective is a menu of designated courses from the College of Nursing that faculty
have identified as either adding breadth or depth to a particular degree option. The student may
choose freely from the courses in the menu in accordance with their interests and/or career plans.
The number of hours or courses that may be fulfilled through the selective is dependent on the
requirements of the degree option.
Deadline for application: February 1 – Fall semester start
Nursing Informatics: 38 semester hours
The MSN in Nursing Informatics is offered online, with at least 6 semester hours of core courses
offered online each fall and spring. Students must complete the four courses (12sh) from the core
curriculum in addition to 5 courses (15 s.h.) of advanced informatics courses, selected courses
that support the informatics specialization for each student, and a thesis or project. The student is
encouraged to work closely with their advisor to fulfill the requirements of this plan of study.
Curriculum - Core
96:211 Evidence Based Practice (3)
96:209 Health Sys/Econ/Policy (3)
96:208 Leadership for Advanced Nsg Practice (3)
96:263 Intro to Inform in Nursing & Health Care(3)
Curriculum – Informatics Focus
22C: 104 Introduction to Informatics (3)
96:283 Health Informatics I (3)
22C: 144 Database Systems (3) or 96:309 Knowledge Discovery & Data Mining (3)
96:310 Advanced Nursing Informatics (3)
96:312 Advanced Practicum Clinical Informtion Systems (3)
Selectives +/Electives
Computer Programming Course (3)
96:289 Health Informatics II
Choose from informatics and administrative-related UI courses in College of Nursing, College of
Public Health, College of Business, College of Computer Science or other advisor-approved
leadership and management-related courses at the master’s level.
Thesis/Project
Thesis (5 sh) or Project (2-3 sh)
Choose from electives as approved by academic advisor:
+A nursing elective is a menu of designated courses from the College of Nursing that faculty
have identified as either adding breadth or depth to a particular degree option. The number of
hours our courses that may be fulfilled through the elective is dependent on the requirements of
the degree option.
Deadline for application:
February 1 – fall semester
PhD Nursing Focal Areas There are four specific PhD nursing focal areas: Nursing in Aging; Nursing
Administration; Child and Family Nursing; Nursing Informatics
Focus areas indicate areas of study in which there are cadres of faculty with funded programs of research.
Students will interact with faculty with clinical and research expertise in their focal area of concentration.
The programs of study are flexible and individualized to meet the interest and training needs of the
student. Each student completes a required core of courses and then engages in intensive research
interests. The many cognate areas available to doctoral students indicate the diverse opportunities
available at The University of Iowa and create rich opportunities for student growth.
PhD - Focal Area: Nursing Service Administration
Nursing administration is an area which combines the perspective of nursing with the methods of
administration. The practice of nursing administration focuses of the administration of organized nursing
services within health-care organizations and health-care systems for the purpose of delivering nursing
services to groups of patients.
Nursing administration research is the study of organizational factors and management practices and their
impact on nurses, nursing delivery systems, and patient outcomes. Nursing administration research is
concerned with establishing the costs of nursing care, examining the relationships between nursing
services and quality patient care, and viewing problems of nursing service delivery with the broader
context of policy analysis and delivery of health-care services.
PhD - Focal Area: Informatics
The Doctor of Philosophy in nursing program will prepare scientists to conduct research in nursing and
contribute to the body of knowledge in the discipline of nursing. The PhD-NI option focuses on health
and nursing informatics research. Specific foci include data and information management, knowledge
building (knowledge discovery), telehealth (community-based care delivery), and bioinformatics
(imaging and genetics). Graduates aspire to leadership roles as researchers, managers/executives, faculty,
consultants, and entrepreneurs.
UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA COLLEGE OF NURSING (2)
Contact information
420 Guardian Drive
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6096
(215) 898-8281
Web site: http://www.nursing.upenn.edu/academic_programs/grad/
Nursing and Health Care Administration
The University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing is a worldwide leader in academia, research, and
career preparation for nurses. The Nursing and Health Care Administration Program draws upon the
strengths of a top ranked School of Nursing and the top ranked Wharton School of Business. The
Program emphasizes curriculum flexibility and allows students the opportunity to design a course of
study to best suit their career goals. The coursework for the MSN in Nursing and Health Care
Administration is interdisciplinary and tailored to meet the needs and career interests of a diverse student
population. Students are required to complete seven course units in Nursing and Health Care
Administration Courses, as well as, three additional Graduate Nursing Requirements. The remaining six
courses comprise the business concentration. Courses are generally selected from the Wharton School’s
Health Care Department, or the School of Arts & Science Program, Center for Organizational Dynamics,
although other courses can be taken with the approval of your advisor. Visit the Nursing & Health Care
Administration Program Web Page for Minor & MSN/MBA course of study.
CURRICULUM - Core Courses (8 course units)
NURS610 - Basic Concepts in Economics and Accounting
NURS637 - Introduction to Research Methods and Design
NURS650 - Health Systems Analysis
NURS651 - Nursing Informatics
NURS652 - Applied Finance
NURS653 - Nursing Administration Consultation
NURS748 - Leadership Development for Health
CURRICULUM - Theory Courses (6 course units)
BUSI001 - Business Elective #1 -ORDYNM603 - Administrative Decision Making and Problem Solving -ORHCMG841 - Health Services Systems -ORHCMG854 - Legal Aspects of Health Care -ORHCMG855 - Management of Health Care for the Elderly -ORHCMG858 - Health Care Marketing -ORHCMG859 - Comparative Health Care Systems -ORHCMG863 - Management and Economics of Pharmaceutical and Medical Technology -OR-
HCMG866 - E-Health: Business Models and Impact -ORNURS537 - Foundations in Patient Safety -OROPIM691 - Negotiations
CURRICULUM - Clinical Courses (1 course unit)
NURS655 - Nursing Administration Practicum
CURRICULUM Elective Courses (1 course unit)
ELEC001 - Graduate Nursing Elective #1 -ORNURS654 - Business of Nursing
Doctoral Programs
Coursework
The doctoral program in Nursing consists of 13 required courses beyond the masters degree. The program
also includes a Qualifying Examination, a Preliminary examination, a defense of the dissertation proposal,
dissertation work, and a defense of the final dissertation. A full time student takes three or four courses a
semester in the Fall and Spring Semester of every year.
The School of Nursing is committed to fully funding all full time students. Full funding provides a
stipend and tuition support for four years. Part time students are also welcome to apply and the program
may be taken on a part time basis. Upon acceptance to the Doctoral Program each student is assigned an
advisor from the Standing Faculty of the School of Nursing. The student and advisor develop individual
plans of study. However, a typical model curriculum for a full time student is provided below:
Fall Semester, Year 1
N750 Inquiry and Nursing
N813 Qualitative Paradigm Empirical Nursing Research
Statistics (either SOCI535, STAT500, or PUBH501)
Spring Semester, Year 1
N753 Evolving Nursing Science
N754 Quantitative Research Designs and Methods
Statistics (either SOCI536, STAT501, or EPID524/525)
WRITE SELF FUNDING GRANT (NRSA, Hartford, etc)
Fall Semester, Year 2
Concentration Course
Concentration Course
Concentration Course
Spring Semester, Year 2
Concentration Course
Concentration Course
Concentration Course
QUALIFYING EXAMINATION
Fall Semester, Year 3
N800 Dissertation Seminar
PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION
Spring Semester, Year 3
Defense of Dissertation Proposal
DISSERTATION STATUS UNTIL DEFENSE OF DISSERTATION
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA-CHAPEL HILL SCHOOL OF NURSING (2)
Contact information
Carrington Hall, CB #7460
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7460
(919) 966-4260
Web site: http://nursing.unc.edu/
MSN: Health Care Systems
The Health Care Systems (HCS) Advanced Practice Area in the Master of Science degree
program prepares students with knowledge and skills needed to succeed in a variety of leadership
positions in health care organizations. This advanced practice area includes content in
management and leadership, informatics, financial management, human resource management,
quality improvement, outcomes management, and education. Such an approach prepares
graduates with a breadth and depth of knowledge and skills needed to develop, implement, and
measure the impact of innovations in care delivery at all levels within health care organizations.
Health Care Systems prepares students to become advanced practice leaders in five areas:

Administration: Prepares students with advanced knowledge and skills in the
management, organization, and delivery of systems of care, with emphasis on human and
financial resource management.

Informatics: Prepares students with in-depth knowledge and skills in information
management and processing principles to support data, information, and knowledge needs in
the practice of nursing.

Outcomes Management: Prepares students with advanced skills in managing patient and
systems outcomes, emphasizing quality and performance improvement, outcomes
measurement, and introducing practice innovations.
Upon entry to the program, students choose one of these five areas of focus for their graduate
study based on their personal experiences and career goals. Students enrolled in HCS complete
core MSN and HCS specialty courses, supporting coursework commensurate with their area of
focus and future goals, and an intensive residential experience. For the residency, students are
individually placed with preceptors employed in selected clinical practice sites for role
integration and immersion. Full-time students usually complete their program of study in five
semesters, while part-time students typically complete the program in three to five years. Upon
completion of the program and with the requisite experience, graduates may be eligible to sit for
appropriate certification examinations in their area of focus. HCS faculty members are sensitive
to students' learning needs by employing a variety of instructional modalities, including seminar
or classroom settings, and on-line instruction. As a result, HCS courses may be offered using
traditional classroom settings and/or Web-enhanced technologies.
Curriculum - Professional Core (6 credits):
NURS 646 Health Care Policy in the US: Development, Impacts, and Implications for
Nurses (3 credits)Examines health care systems development, impact, and prospects for
change. Content enables nurses to draw implications for nursing practice and advocacy for
improving systems. (3 classroom hours/week)
NURS 647 Approaches to Advanced Practice Integrating Theories, Roles and Issues (3
credits) Examines the historical evolution, theoretical roots, current roles and context of
advanced practice nursing. Content addresses the definition, issues, and scope of advanced
practice nursing within a changing environment. (3 classroom hours/week)
Curriculum – Research Core (9-11 credits)
NURS 774Research for Nursing Practice I (3 credits) This two course sequence explores the
philosophy, logic, and methods of research and statistical analysis for use in clinical practice.
This course focuses on the relations between research and practice, the research process, and on
non-experimental designs. (3 classroom hours per week.)
NURS 775 Research for Nursing Practice II (3 credits) This two course sequence explores
the philosophy, logic, and methods of research and statistical analysis for use in clinical practice.
This course focuses on sampling, measurement, data management, experimental designs, and on
the use of data for improving practice. (3 classroom hours per week.)
NURS 992 Master's Paper (3 credits) Students complete a master's paper under the guidance
and supervision of a faculty mentor and advisory committee. Completion of a scholarly paper
reflecting the activity is required.
OR
NURS 993 Master's Thesis (3-6 credits) Students complete a thesis under the guidance and
supervision of a faculty mentor and advisory committee. Completion of a scholarly paper
reflecting the activity is required.
Curriculum -Advanced Practice Area (19 credits)
Health Care System students in Administration, Outcomes Management, and Informatics are
required to complete all of the five courses listed below and an intense residency in their area of
focus, for a total of 19 credits. Health Care Systems students in Education also complete 19
credit hours by taking four of the five HCS courses listed below, six credit hours of nursing
education courses, and an intensive residency.
NURS 870 Health Care Informatics (3 credits) This online course focuses on developing an
understanding of the concepts relevant to health care informatics, and the use of computerized
information systems in health care organizations, with a focus on applications that support
clinical and administrative decision making.
NURS 871 Leadership in Organizations (3 credits) This course examines health care and
nursing practice organizations, the influence of the external and internal environment on these
organizations, and the role and relationship of nurse leaders to the nursing practice environment
and to the greater organization. (3 classroom hours)
NURS 872 Human Resources Management (3 credits) This course explores the knowledge
and skills required for effective human resource management. Managerial behaviors that
promote and maintain a professional nursing practice environment are emphasized. (3 classroom
hours per week; 60 clinical hours per semester)
NURS 873 Financial Management (3 credits) This course examines issues related to health
care economics, financial management, and budgeting, to facilitate managerial decision-making.
(3 classroom hours per week)
NURS 874 Outcomes Management (3 credits) This course explores theories and methods
related to outcomes management for quality improvement in health care, including improvement
science, patient safety approaches, health services research, evidence-based practice, and
translation research. (3 classroom hours per week; 60 clinical hours per semester)
NURS 704 Scientific Writing (1 credit) This course focuses on the principles and practice of
scientific writing, with emphasis on research proposals, theses, report preparation, dissertations,
and articles for publication.
NURS 878 Health Care Systems Residency and Integrative Seminar (3 credits) This online
and residency course provides an environment where students develop, implement, and evaluate
advanced practice leadership strategies in a Health Care Systems area of focus. An understanding
of systems structures, processes, and outcomes is gained through practical experiences, personal
reflection, and seminar discussions. (Approximately 180 clinical hours per semester.)
Curriculum - Administration Focus Area (6 credits)
The Health Care Systems curriculum prepares students for leadership roles in one of four areas
of focus: Administration, Outcomes Management, Informatics, or Education. Students in each of
these focus areas are required to take additional credit hours of coursework to strengthen their
selected focus area and support their personal career goals. Examples of courses for each option
that may be available to students are listed below. Students work closely with their academic
advisor in the selection and approval of these or other courses within the University.
HPAA 405 Organization and Administration of Multihospital Systems (3 credits) Legal,
financial, and organizational issues of multihospital systems development and management are
examined, including issues of corporate reorganizations, strategic planning, and marketing.
Prototypes and operating examples are considered.
HPAA 732 Management of Organizational Change (3 credits) The objective of this course is
to improve competence in analyzing health organizations and managing planned change.
HPAA 725 Health Administration and Planning I (3 credits) This course provides an
overview of the concepts, processes, and methods used in policy analysis, strategic planning, and
management in the health care sector.
HPAA 742 Long-Term Financial Management of Healthcare Organizations (3 credits)
Advanced financial management concepts and practices in health service organizations,
including: working capital management, capital markets, capital structure, capital budgeting, and
reimbursement implications.
HPAA 715 Health Economics for Policy and Administration (3 credits) Provides training in
the theory of health economics and applies this theory to important issues in health policy and
administration.
Curriculum – Informatics Focus Area (6 credits)
INLS 461 Information Tools (3 credits) Tools and concepts for information use. Information
literacy, microcomputer software use and maintenance, microcomputer applications, and
networked information systems.
INLS 523 Introduction to Database Concepts and Applications (3 credits) Design and
implementation of database systems. Semantic modeling, relational database theory, including
normalization, indexing and query construction, SQL.
INLS 582 Systems Analysis (3 credits) Introduction to the systems approach to the design and
development of information systems. Methods and tools for the analysis and modeling of system
functionality (e.g., structured analysis) and data represented in the system (e.g., object-oriented
analysis) are studied.
INLS 572 Internet Applications (3 credits) Introduction to Internet concepts, applications, and
services. Introduces the TCP/IP protocol suite along with clients and servers for Internet
communication, browsing, and navigation. Examines policy, management, and implementation
issues.
INLS 718 User Interface Design (3 credits) Basic principles for designing the human interface
to information systems, emphasizing computer-assisted systems. Major topics: users' conceptual
models of systems, human information processing capabilities, styles of interfaces, evaluation
methods. (Prerequisite: INLS 162).
Curriculum – Outcomes Management Focus Area (6 Credits)
BA 232 Managing for Quality (variable credits) Increasingly, business organizations are
adopting a set of practices for the systematic improvement of customer value. Whether these
practices are called Total Quality Management (TQM), reengineering, operational excellence, or
something else, they have in common a number of underlying concepts. This course explores
those underlying ideas.
HPAA 472 Program Evaluation (3 credits) Concepts and methods of the program evaluation
paradigm as applied in health administration; experiential learning of evaluation planning,
design, and implementation.
HPAA 761 Quality and Utilization Management (3 credits) Evolution and current status of
health care quality management systems and programs for utilization control. Includes discussion
of alternative quality assurance methods; hospital accreditation; government programs.
HPAA 762 Measurement Methods and Applications in Health Care Quality (3 credits)
Methods and practices for quality control and assurance in health care organizations.
HPAA 265 Health Policy Issues Analysis (3 credits) A framework for analysis is developed
and applied to three major health policy issues, e.g., medical care rationing, role of public health,
or technology assessment.
Curriculum - Electives
NURS 899 Special Topics in Nursing The study of special topics directed by an authority in the
field.
NURS 910 Knowledge Development in Nursing Examines the origin and development of
nursing knowledge, theories and research testing nursing theories and models.
NURS 915 Nursing, Health Organizations and Policy Making Interrelated responses of
nursing, the organization of healthcare and policy over nurse leaders to public policies in
policymaking, with consequences for organizations administration, services, staffing,
interorganizational linkages, and health of the public.
NURS 921 Theories of Prevention of Chronic Conditions Overview of theory and research
related to the prevention of chronic conditions across the life span. Concepts such as health,
illness, chronicity, risk, vulnerability, resilience, and disability are examined.
NURS 922 Theories of Management of Chronic Conditions Examines theories and concepts
related to the management of chronic illness including their historical evolutions, social-political
influences, implicit assumptions and biases.
NURS 928 Organizational Theories Applied to Nursing Examines contemporary issues and
programs in nursing systems. Students use a four-level nursing systems model to analyze
programs of research related to systems.
NURS 930 Issues in Prediction, Prevention, and Amelioration with Infants and Children at
Risk Developmental science is applied to research with children at risk for health problems and
their parents. Examine conceptual models, design, and ethical issues in studies aimed at
improving children’s health.
NURS 932 Families and Health Theoretical, methodological, and ethical issues related to
family research including health promotion, risk reduction, vulnerability, and health risk, in the
context of acute and chronic illness across the life span.
NURS 933 Methods for the Evaluation and Improvement of Health Care Systems Examines
literature on quality of care effectiveness, safety, efficiency, equity, timeliness and patientcenteredness. Critically evaluates conceptual frameworks, research designs, sources of data,
analytic approaches, and implications for health care policy.
NURS 950 Analysis of the Academic Role in Nursing Education Knowledge, theories and
skills necessary for transition into an academic teaching role in university schools of nursing.
Particular emphasis on the teaching-learning process as utilized in higher education.
NURS 953 Ethics and Law in Health Care and Research Addresses ethical/legal dilemmas in
health care and research and how health professionals resolve dilemmas. Students analyze
nurses’ ethical/legal responsibilities, decision-making, and synthesize literature from ethics, law
and policy.
NURS 957 From Theory to Intervention in Chronic Conditions
In-depth exploration of selected programmatic research in nursing and related fields on
prevention and management of chronic conditions in order to generate and evaluate treatment
theory and intervention protocol.
NURS 958 Designing Intervention Studies Examination of methodological, ethical, and
practical issues in the design and implementation of theory-based intervention studies.
NURS 960 Proseminar in Nursing The Doctoral Executive Committee will select the specific
topics within a proseminar for each semester in September of the preceding year.
NURS 961 Integrative Literature Review Designed to develop students' skills in writing
integrative literature reviews, students read method literature, issue literature, and examples of
published integrative reviews.
NURS 970 Advanced Statistics I: Principles of Regression and Correlation Principles of
bivariate and multivariate regression and correlations are studied. Emphasis is on the application
of these techniques in the analysis of nursing and health related data.
NURS 971 Advanced Statistics II: Principles of Analysis of Variance Principles of variance
and covariance/ univariance ANOVA, multiple ANOVA, ANCOVA, repeated measures
ANOVA are studied. Emphasis is on application of these techniques in the analysis of nursing
and health-related data.
NURS 976 Issues in Sampling and Design for Nursing Research Discussion of critical
analyses of methodologies and design. Quantitative measures, qualitative methods, design and
sampling methods are examined for the study of nursing phenomena.
NURS 977 Qualitative Methods Examines the philosophical orientation and methods of
qualitative techniques including grounded theory and phenomenology, considerations of research
designs, ethical issues, issues of rigor, data collection, and analysis.
NURS 978 Principles of Measurement Examination of measurement and techniques for
assessing validity, reliability, and structure of data collection instruments. Instrumental
construction and procedures for critical evaluation of instruments are included.
NURS 979 Qualitative Analysis Emphasizes the work of analysis and interpretation. Students
apply relevant qualitative techniques to their own data.
NURS 980 Observational Methods Explores quantitative observational research techniques.
Strategies for developing coding systems, determining reliability and validity, and analyzing data
are included.
NURS 981 Longitudinal Methods and Analysis Examines longitudinal research methods,
including conceptualization, design, and analysis. Assumptions and limitations of longitudinal
statistics, relationship between design and analyses, and strategies to maintain scientific integrity
are covered.
NURS 985 Research Seminar and Practicum: Guided Individual Research Experience
Directs students to develop research skills related to dissertation and future research.
Other Non-Nursing Academic Schools that focus more on Informatics training in
the areas for American Health Information Management Association.
Among other things, it lists the 200 accredited training programs. Some of the better-regarded
ones include:
Ohio State University
Temple University
University of Pittsburgh
University of Utah
University of Missouri-Columbia
University of Alabama-Birmingham
University of Illinois-Chicago
Stanford University
University of Oregon Medical Center
University of Washington