Welcome to the 2014 edition of the College of Nursing
magazine. The theme for this issue focuses on our
commitment to graduate education in Nursing and
the preparation of Advanced Practice Registered
Nurses (APRNs) to improve care for individuals,
families, and populations.
classroom and the community. You will experience
the wide range of community-based clinical research
through our portfolio of cancer nursing and physical
activity research. You will learn how the Nursing Research
Center supports a career of scholarly inquiry with an
experienced team and state-of-the-art resources.
With implementation of the Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act, the number of individuals with health
insurance and access to healthcare has increased, and we
know that APRNs will be an essential part of providing
quality care. In concert with the Institute of Medicine
Report on the Future of Nursing, APRNs are an essential
part of the healthcare workforce and must be allowed to
practice to the full extent of their education and training.
You will be taken to Malawi and Tanzania to learn about
our expansion of international programs with special
emphasis on our Africa partnerships. You will also learn
about the many giving opportunities that will strengthen
our mission to enhance the health of the community
by providing excellence in nursing education, nursing
research, and nursing practice.
We know that APRNs are a critical part of delivering
quality care and are more important than ever on
impacting the systems of care in our communities.
Our master’s program has three concentrations to
prepare APRNs with specialized graduate education:
Nurse Practitioner (Family NP & Adult/Gero NP), AdultGerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist with Education,
and Nurse Anesthesia.
To further the strength of leadership in advanced
practice, we initiated a Doctor of Nursing Practice
Program for nurses with national certification in one
of the advanced practice specialty areas. The inaugural
DNP class was welcomed in fall 2013 with a weeklong
of intensives in conjunction with our PhD students.
You will meet some of our outstanding faculty
members, whose passion for practice enriches the
ENHANCE the student experience
ENRICH community, economic, and family life
EXPAND international reach
INCREASE research opportunities
STRENGTHEN stewardship
ADVANCE our culture of high performance
We have outstanding outcomes in each of these
strategic areas and will share them with you throughout
this magazine. We continue our pursuit of academic–
practice partnerships and engagement of all of our
communities of interest in our work to educate future
generations; to prepare the scholars and researchers of
the future; and to influence policy and planning for safer,
quality healthcare for all.
Mary H. Mundt, PhD, RN, FAAN
Dean and Professor
Michigan State University
College of Nursing
LETTER FROM THE DEAN
Throughout this publication you will discover how
academic advising enhances the student experience by
providing an outstanding level of support throughout
each student’s educational journey. You will read about
our rich history in creating graduate level education that
prepares nurses for advanced practice. You will learn
how we are providing a balanced array of educational
programs to prepare nurse leaders through our graduate
clinical programs.
The College is guided by the MSU Strategic Initiatives,
Bolder by Design:
MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF NURSING • NURSING.MSU.EDU
Letter From The Dean
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