Program Coordinator:
Stephanie Chalupka, EdD, RN, PHNCNS-BC, FAAOHN
Phone: 508-929-8680
Email: schalupka@worcester.edu
Program Description*
The Master of Science in Community/Public Health Nursing is designed to prepare graduates for leadership roles as Advanced Public Health Nurses (APHN). The Advanced Public Health Nurse is a clinical nurse specialist with advanced knowledge and proficiency in utilizing public health sciences and skills in the assessment of communities and populations, policy development, program planning, effective communication, and the impact of environmental and cultural influences on health. By combining public/community health with nursing theory and research, the advanced public health nurse’s practice considers all influences on the population and community in decision making and outcome evaluation. The Advanced Public Health Nurse is actively engaged in education (e.g. community, staff, students, and colleagues), case management, expert clinical practice, consultation, research, and administration. The Advanced Public Health Nurse is a leader in population-based health care practice, and the implementation of this role is based on the American Nurses Association Public Health Nursing: Scope and Standards for Practice competencies and will vary across settings. Graduate of this program are eligible to sit for the American Nurses Credentialing Center examination for certification as an Advanced Public Health Nurse.
*This program is fully accredited by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC) with pending accreditation from Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).
Admission Requirements
In addition to the general admission requirements for graduate study at Worcester State College, applicants must have: 1.) current licensure to practice as a professional nurse, 2.) a baccalaureate degree in Nursing or completion of a bridge component for RN’s with baccalaureate degrees in other areas, 3.) introductory or undergraduate courses in statistics and research, and, 4) satisfactory scores on GRE or MAT (taken within five years of the date of application).
Requirements of the Program
The Master of Science in Community/Public Health Nursing requires the completion of forty-two (42) credit hours of graduate courses. This curriculum includes 500 hours of clinical practice in community/public health settings.**
** All clinical and some didactic courses
must be completed in sequence.
Program Sequence
Core Courses for Master Degree in Nursing
Semester I
NU 910 Professional Role Development (3 credits)
NU 920 Conceptual Foundations of Nursing (3 credits)
Semester II
NU 925 Nursing Research in Advanced Practice (3 credits)
NU 930 Social Policy and the Economics of the Health Care Delivery System (3 credits)
Interdisciplinary Courses
Semester III
NU 936 Epidemiology (3 credits)
NU 941 Program Planning and Evaluation (3 credits)
Semester IV
NU 946 Biostatistics (3 credits)
NU 951 Administration (3 credits)
Specialty Courses in Public Health Nursing
Semester V
NU 961 Nursing Science I: Community/Public Health CNS I Theory and Practicum (9 credits)
Semester VI
NU 966 Nursing Science II Community/Public Health CNS I
Theory and Practicum (9 credits)